The Haunted Observatory: Curiosities from the Astronomer's CabinetPrometheus Books, 05.06.2007 - 416 Seiten For many centuries observers of the night sky interpreted the moving planets and the surrounding starry realms in terms of concentric crystalline spheres, in the center of which hung the Earth -- the hub of creation. But with the discoveries of Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton, astronomers were suddenly struck by a momentous truth: the solar system was neither small nor intimate, but extended an unfathomable distance toward countless even more distant stars. The endless possibilities of these astounding developments fired scientists'' imaginations, leading both to further discoveries and to flights of fancy. While newly discovered facts are important and interesting, the quaint curiosities and spectral "ghosts" that led scientists astray have a fascination of their own. This is the subject of astronomer Richard Baum in this elegant narrative about the mysteries and wonders of celestial exploration. The fabled "mountains of Venus," a "city in the moon," ghostly rings around Uranus and Neptune, bright inexplicable objects seen near the sun, and the truth behind Coleridge''s "Star dogged Moon" in his famous poem about the Ancient Mariner -- these are just some of the intriguing twists and turns that astronomers took while investigating our starry neighbors. Baum vividly conveys the romance of astronomy at a time when the vistas of outer space were a new frontier and astronomers, guided only by imagination and analogy, set forth on uncharted seas and were haunted for a lifetime by marvels both seen and imagined. |
Inhalt
Preface | 9 |
A World Rumored Beyond | 35 |
The Prescience of William Lassell | 67 |
An Unresolved Mystery | 93 |
Is there a Satellite to the Moon? | 103 |
The Himalayas of Venus | 129 |
Venus Like a Comet | 195 |
Bright Objects near the Sun | 205 |
Enigmatic Objects | 237 |
The Wartmann Mystery | 267 |
Epilogue | 299 |
Glossary | 395 |
Andere Ausgaben - Alle anzeigen
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
angular appearance arcseconds Ashbrook asteroids Astronomische Nachrichten atmosphere August Barnard body bright British Astronomical Association Cambridge Celestial Challis cloud comet crescent cusp dark Dawes December diameter discovered discovery disk distance E. E. Barnard Earth eclipse elongation English Mechanic faint Ferguson Gruithuisen Herschel Hind History ofAstronomy Hygea Ibid inferior conjunction J. R. Hind January Joseph Ashbrook Journal Jupiter letter Lewis Swift Lick Observatory light Lilienthal limb London luminous lunar Mädler magnitude Mars Mechanic and World Mercury meteors Monthly Notices Moon moon’s motion mountains Neptune night noted November object observation Observatory occultation October Olbers optical orbit phenomenon photographic Planet Venus planetary plates polar position possible refractor reported right ascension ring Royal Astronomical Society satellite Saturn Schröter seen September shadow sight spot star Sun’s T. W. Webb telescope tion Tombaugh Trouvelot twilight Uranus Verrier visible William William Lassell World of Science