*************************************************************************** * * * ELEKTRONISCHE MITTEILUNGEN ZUR ASTRONOMIEGESCHICHTE * * * * Herausgegeben vom Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte * * in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft * * * * Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 * * * * Redaktion: Wolfgang R. Dick * * * *************************************************************************** Inhalt ------ 1. Internationale Beziehungen in der Astronomie / Kolloquium 2. Adam Perkins: Keeping time: a celebration of the year 2000 3. Conference Announcement: Ideas Whose Time Had Come 4. International Solar Eclipse Conference 5. The Stewart Museum Globe Symposium 6. The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena - Third Conference 7. Stattgefundene Tagungen 2000 Danksagung Impressum ........................................................................... Item 1 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... Internationale Beziehungen in der Astronomie -------------------------------------------- Kolloquium des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte im Rahmen der Jahrestagung der Astronomischen Gesellschaft Montag, 18. September 2000, Lilienthal bei Bremen, Deutschland Die naechste Internationale Wissenschaftliche Jahrestagung der Astronomischen Gesellschaft (AG) findet in Bremen statt. Der Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte plant in diesem Zusammenhang sowie anlaesslich des Gruendungsjubilaeums der 'Vereinigten Astronomischen Gesellschaft' ein Kolloquium "Internationale Beziehungen in der Astronomie", das am Montag, dem 18. September 2000, stattfindet. Vortraege, die sich auf den Tagungsort Lilienthal oder die Zeit von Olbers, Schroeter und Bessel beziehen, sind besonders willkommen. Tagungsort ist Murkens Hof, Klosterstr. 25, 28865 Lilienthal (etwa 15 km ausserhalb von Bremen; Strassenbahnlinie 4 ab Bremen Hbf bis Horn, dort umsteigen in Buslinie 30 bis Lilienthal Mitte). Beginn ist um 10.00 Uhr, Ende gegen 17 Uhr. Im Anschluss findet eine Mitgliederversammlung des Arbeitskreises statt, Gaeste sind herzlich eingeladen. Waehrend des Treffens besteht die Moeglichkeit, einzelne astronomiehistorische Buecher zu erwerben. Koordinatoren des Kolloquiums sind: Prof. Dr. Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Tel. (040) 42838-5262, Fax: (040) 42838-5260, e-mail: wolfschmidt@math.uni-hamburg.de Dr. Guenther Oestmann, Tel.: (040)42838-3579, Fax: (040) 42838-5260, e-mail: oestmann@math.uni-hamburg.de Institut fuer Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Mathematik und Technik der Universitaet Hamburg Bundesstr. 55 - Geomatikum 20146 Hamburg Bitte richten Sie Anfragen und Ihre Anmeldung zum Splinter-Treffen an die Koordinatoren, mit ihnen ist auch die Redezeit (voraussichtlich nicht mehr als 20 min) abzusprechen. Bitte melden Sie sich auch an, wenn Sie keinen Vortrag halten, damit Ihnen der genaue Ort und die genaue Zeit des Treffens sowie das Programm mitgeteilt werden kann. Fuer den Vorabend (Sonntag) ist ab etwa 20 Uhr ein informeller Auftakt im Bremer Ratskeller (Bremen, Innenstadt) geplant. Bitte teilen Sie den Koordinatoren auch mit, ob Sie zu diesem geselligen Beisammensein kommen moechten. Am Mittwoch, dem 20.9.2000, laedt die Gemeinde Lilienthal die Teilnehmer der AG-Tagung zu einem Empfang um 17.30 Uhr in das Kulturzentrum Murkens Hof ein. Vor 200 Jahren wurde an diesem Tag die 'Vereinigte Astronomische Gesellschaft' gegruendet, die man im weiteren Sinne als Vorlaeuferin der AG ansehen kann. Prof. H.-H. Voigt (Goettingen) wird dazu ein kurzes Referat halten. Nach einem Rundgang durch die astronomischen Staetten erfolgt eine Bewirtung im Gasthof Borgfelder Landhaus. Die Vortraege beim Splintertreffen koennen in Englisch oder Deutsch gehalten werden. Nach dem 24. Juli 2000 eingehende Vortragsanmeldungen werden nur beruecksichtigt, wenn noch Vortragszeit zur Verfuegung steht. Die schriftlichen Kurzfassungen der Vortraege koennen im Band 17 der AG Abstract Series veroeffentlicht werden. Diese Abstracts sind unter Verwendung des AG-Macros (http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/Astron_Ges/agamacro.tex oder per e-mail von den Koordinatoren) in LaTeX zu erstellen. Vom Herausgeber werden fuer die Abstracts grundsaetzlich nur englischsprachige Beitraege ohne Abbildungen in der vorgegebenen Form angenommen, die als LaTeX-Quelltexte unkomprimiert, uncodiert und nicht als MIME- oder tar-Files an einen der Koordinatoren bis zum 24. Juli und spaetestens bis zum 26. Juli, 24 Uhr, an den Herausgeber (schie@astro.uni-jena.de) per e-mail geschickt worden sind. Sollten Sie Ihren Abstract nicht mit LaTeX erstellen und/oder per e-mail senden koennen, so setzen Sie sich bitte rechtzeitig mit einem der Koordinatoren in Verbindung, um mit ihm zu klaeren, in welcher alternativen Form und bis wann spaetestens Sie ihm Ihr Abstract senden koennen. Englische Sprache ist aber auf jeden Fall vorgeschrieben. Die Abstracts werden von Mitte August an vollstaendig ueber das Astrophysics Data System (ADS) abrufbar sein. Teilnehmer, die ausschliesslich an diesem Splinter-Treffen teilnehmen, zahlen eine Tagungsgebuehr von 30,- DM und melden sich bitte nur bei den Koordinatoren an. Wer auch an anderen Teilen der AG-Tagung teilnehmen moechte, meldet sich bitte auch bei der AG-Tagungsleitung an: Der Tagungsbeitrag betraegt in diesem Fall fuer AG-Mitglieder 120,- DM, fuer Studenten 60,- DM und fuer Nichtmitglieder 160,- DM. Ab etwa Mitte August kann das genaue Programm eingesehen werden unter: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/bremen2000/ Unter http://AG2000.physik.uni-bremen.de/ finden sich weitere Hinweise zur AG-Tagung. ........................................................................... Item 2 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... Keeping time: a celebration of the year 2000 -------------------------------------------- By Adam Perkins, Cambridge, UK (Aus: Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy, No. 42, May 19, 2000, Item 1) In commemoration of the calendar's turn to the year 2000 an exhibition `Keeping time', on display from March until September, will draw on the enormous wealth of material in the University Library's collections to reflect many aspects of the human appreciation of time and its passage. One large collection of manuscripts in the Library is the Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives. To the westerner, the words Greenwich and time are closely linked. In the seventeenth century, following the observation of the regularity of the pendulum, European mechanical clocks reached new levels of accuracy. The accurate measure of time lead directly to accurate astronomical observations, and the modern science of astrometry, the exact measurement of the positions of stars and celestial bodies in the sky, was born. From seventeenth century astronomy sprang the enormous development of the physical sciences progressing since then. But the precise regularity of the atomic clocks giving us our time today is not the only manner in which we can perceive time. In the middle ages the daylight was sometimes merely divided into two, the fore and after noon; or the time between sunrise and sunset was divided into twelve equal parts, parts which varied in length of time throughout the year. The solar year is central to life on Earth but calendars in different cultures vary. It is the lunar cycle which gives us the very word `month' and the calendar in, for instance, Islam is a lunar calendar. In literature, Donne and Shakespeare lament the passing of the years while the idea of moving through time has stimulated authors who have created works with little or no relation to scientific ideas of time and time-keeping. Time travel has been a device used in children's fiction, romance and historical novels. The aim of the exhibition `Keeping time' is to explore some of the many ways in which humankind has sought to grasp and use the idea of time and our place in time. Cambridge University Library Exhibition Centre, West Road, Cambridge, UK Opening times: 18 March to 15 September 2000 (closed 21-24 April; 28 August) Monday-Friday 09.00-18.00; Saturday 09.00-12.30. Exhibition open to all. Admission free. Further information is available on the website http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Exhibitions/Keeping_Time/ which has some images. Author's address: Adam Perkins, Royal Greenwich Observatory Archivist, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, University Library, West Road, E-mail: ajp@ula.cam.ac.uk Cambridge CB3 9DR, Telephone (direct): +44 (0) 1223 333056 United Kingdom. Telephone (UL sw/bd): +44 (0) 1223 333000 Facsimile: +44 (0) 1223 333160 URLs: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/MSS/ telnet://ul.cam.ac.uk/ ........................................................................... Item 3 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement: Ideas Whose Time Had Come -------------------------------------------------- A British Society for the History of Science/Royal Institution conference at the Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1X 4BS Friday, 15 September 2000 The meeting will revisit a classic issue of historiography, that of simultaneous discovery and invention. The emphasis will be on drawing out common themes in a series of case studies in a wide range of sciences. 9.30 Registration and Coffee 10.00 J.V. Field (Birkbeck College) "Perspective" 10.45 Albert van Helden (Rice University) "Let's look *at* the telescope" 11.30 coffee 12.00 Eberhard Knobloch (University of Berlin) "Newton's and Leibniz's calculus: why and how did it come into being?" 12.45 Crosbie Smith (University of Kent) "Energy conservation as retrospective discovery" 13.30 lunch (cafes around RI) 14.45 Janet Browne (Wellcome Institute) "'I never saw a more striking coincidence': Darwin and Wallace revisited" 15.30 Frank James (Royal Institution) "Experiments whose time had come: the case of Michael Faraday" 16.15 Presentation of the BSHS Dingle Prize to Stevin Shapin followed by tea 16.45 Robert W. Smith (University of Alberta) "The expanding universe: power, prestige and the making of the Hubble constant" 17.00 Whitfield Diffie (Sun Microsystems) "Secrecy and independent discovery in cryptography" 18.15 Alex Keller (University of Leicester) "Conclusions?" 18.30 Reception -------------------------------------------------------------- Booking Form The registration fee is: 19 pounds for members of BSHS or RI 16 pounds for BSHS student and retired members 22 pounds for non-members To register, send this form with payment to: BSHS Executive Secretary 31 High Street Stanford in the Vale Faringdon OXON SN7 8LH I wish to register for the meeting "Ideas whose time had come" I enclose a payment of ________________ _____by cheque (please tick) or _____by card (please tick) If card, my card is Mastercard/Visa/Eurocard (delete as appropriate) No._______________________________ Expiry Date_______________________ Signature_________________________ Name______________________________ Address___________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ ........................................................................... Item 4 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... International Solar Eclipse Conference -------------------------------------- (Aus: Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy, No. 41, May 16, 2000, Item 3) Title: A crossroad on physics and eclipses of the sun Venue: Elzenveld, Antwerp Belgium Dates: 14 - 15 October, 2000 Introduction: Over the last years, there have been dramatic changes in solar eclipse travelling. Solar Eclipse specialists meet most of the time in the shadow of the Moon. Solar Eclipse meetings out of totality are rare, or are mainly focused on solar physics. The Solar Eclipse Mailing List and the Solar Eclipse Newsletter has been successful as a vehicle in bringing together solar eclipse enthusiast, professionals and amateurs alike. Because there is no central eclipse in 2000 we have been presented with a perfect opportunity for an International Solar Eclipse Conference. We have had this project in mind for some time, but mainly due to planning eclipse travels it has been put on hold. The aim of the conference is to bring together professionals and amateurs, addicts, enthusiasts, and chasers, as with the mailing list and the newsletter, sharing information, knowledge, and experience. Organisers: Patrick Poitevin and Joanne Edmonds WebPages: http://www.eclipsechasers.net Address: Patrick Poitevin, 7A, The Drift, Rowlands Castle, Havant, PO9 6DG Hampshire, England Belgian Contact address: Poitevin, Secretaris Meyerlei 69, 2170 Merksem Accounts: Belgium 001-0591949-34 ASLK of Patrick Poitevin England sort code 56 00 64 account 83716440 Natwest, Portsmouth branch of Patrick Poitevin USA: On Line by any Credit Card Purpose: Two days of lectures will be given in each of the disciplines: predictions, mathematics, solar physics, weather forecasting, eye safety, diameter measuring, edge and central, and ancient eclipse research. Of course the August 99 eclipse and the forthcoming Africa 2001 eclipse should be great topics of discussion, along with the once-in-a-blue-eclipse eclipse of July 2000, five years of SOHO and the Solar Maximum. Lectures and poster sessions by professionals and by amateurs. Guest speakers: We have invited ten international guest speakers, to give a lecture on their own specialised subject. These ten professional lectures are expect to last approximately 45 minutes and the smaller presentations from others to last about 30 minutes. We have the agreement from those guest speakers and we can ensure they are the ten masters in their discipline. Dr. Jay Anderson, Meteorologist with Environment Canada: The Meteorology of the Lunar Shadow. Dr. B. Ralph Chou, Associate Professor, University of Waterloo School of Optometry, Canada: Solar eclipse eye safety Dr. Fred Espenak, NASA Astronomer, Goddard Space Flight Center, USA: Predictions for the Total Solar Eclipse of 2001 (and beyond...) Prof. Eijiro Hiei, Professor of Meisei University, Professor Emeritus of University of Tokyo, Japan: Physical Conditions of Coronal Structure obtained from Eclipse Observations Dr. Ed C. Krupp, Director Griffith Observatory, USA: Devoured by Darkness-Eclipse Lore and Myth Dr. Barrie W. Jones, Head of the Physics and Astronomy Department at The Open University, United Kingdom: Shadow bands, and other atmospheric effects of solar eclipses Dr. Serge Koutchmy, Astrophysicist at the Institute d'Astrophysique de Paris-CNRS, France: Eclipse corona: some recent advances Mr. Paul D. Maley, Expedition Coordinator for the NASA Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society (Ring of Fire Expeditions), Vice President of the International Occultation Timing Association, USA: Opportunities for Research: Observing Eclipses at the Limit Lines Prof. Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA; Chair, Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union: Solar Eclipses: Teaching Us About the Sun Prof. Francis Richard Stephenson, Department of Physics, University of Durham, United Kingdom: Historical eclipses and the changing length of day. Some other speakers committed to give a lecture as well. Ajay Talwar (India), Balch Dave (USA), Berghmans David and Clette Frederic (Belgium), Brunier Serge (France), Callebaut Dirk and Makarov Valentin (Belgium and Russia), Casado Juan Carlos (Spain), Clette Frederic (Belgium), Diego Francisco (United Kingdom), Foing Bernard (ESA), Fischer Daniel (Germany), Guillermier Pierre (France), Hopper John (USA), Jones Eric (United Kingdom), Lariviere Jean Marc (Canada), Lemaire Joseph (Belgium), Kalabwe Peter (Zambia), Meiser Gernot (Germany), Podmore Francis (Zimbabwe), Riedl Peter (South Africa), Rusin Voyto (Slovakia), Staiger Olivier (Switzerland), Vayada Nilesh and Yogini (India), Verichte Erwin (Belgium), Verbelen Felix (Belgium) The organisations and institutes whom will participate are currently: Royal Observatory Belgium (ROB), European Space Agency (ESA), EIT Group Belgium, Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BISA-IASB), Public Observatory Urania Antwerp Belgium Lecture fees for attendees: Saturday lectures: 40 USD Sunday lectures: 40 USD Two days of lectures: 70 USD Accommodation fees for attendees: Accommodation Elzenveld 14/15.10.00 per night: single 40 USD double 55 USD VIP 80 USD Gastronomical fees for attendees: Lunch Saturday: 40 USD Diner Saturday: 50 USD Breakfast Sunday: 15 USD Lunch Sunday: 40 USD Diner Sunday 50 USD [Text provided by Patrick Poitevin, e-mail: patrick_poitevin@hotmail.com] ........................................................................... Item 5 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... The Stewart Museum Globe Symposium ---------------------------------- Stewart Museum, Ile Sainte-Helene, Montreal 19-22 October 2000 FIRST CIRCULAR (May 2000) The Stewart Museum is organizing a symposium concentrating on early globes, to be held 19-22 October 2000. The symposium will give participants an opportunity to hear presentations by various globe experts as well as to study the 50 terrestrial and celestial globes and 70 globe-related works in the museum's exhibition of early globes, "Yes! The World is Round." Invited speakers will include Peter van der Krogt and Elly Dekker from The Netherlands, Catherine Hofmann and Christian Jacob from France, Jan Mokre from Vienna, and Robert Derome, an art historian from Montreal. The registration fee which will include lunches and dinners during the symposium is $285 (Canadian). The registration deadline is 8 September 2000. (If space is still available after that date, the fee will be $325.) Participation will be limited to 75 persons. English will be the principal language of the symposium. In order to receive the second circular and registration form, please contact the globe symposium secretary: Nadia Hammadi - nhammadi@stewart-museum.org Stewart Museum, PO Box 1200, Station A, Montreal (Qc), H3C 2Y9, Canada Tel: (514) 861-6703, ext. 260 / Fax: (514) 284-0123 Please feel free to contact one of the three symposium organizers for further information: Ed Dahl - edahl@iosphere.net Jean-Francois Gauvin - jfgauvin@stewart-museum.org Eileen Meillon - emeillon@stewart-museum.org [Text provided by Jean-Francois Gauvin.] ........................................................................... Item 6 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena - Third Conference ------------------------------------------------------------ (Aus: Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy, No. 42, May 19, 2000, Item 2) Palermo (Sicily), Italy - December 31, 2000-January 6, 2001 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS AND PAPERS Dear Colleagues: We wish to inform you of the up-coming Third International Conference on The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena ("INSAP III"). This meeting will explore mankind's fascination with the sky by day and by night, which has been a strong and often dominant element in human life and culture. The conference will provide a meeting place for artists and scholars from a variety of disciplines (including Archaeology and Anthropology, Art and Art History, Classics, History and Prehistory, the Physical and Social Sciences, Mythology and Folklore, Philosophy, and Religion) to present and discuss their studies of the influences that astronomical phenomena have had on mankind. The first two meetings (Castel Gandolfo, 1994; Malta, 1999) successfully brought together for the first time people from just such a range of disciplines to address topics of common interest. Papers from the first meeting were published in "Vistas in Astronomy" (1995) and in "Leonardo" (1996), and those from the second will appear shortly in book form. These papers (described on our Website under "the First (or Second) INSAP Conference") give an idea of the range of subjects presented at these meetings. A similar publication is planned for the third meeting. The meeting will be held overlooking the Mediterranean, a few minutes from the center of Palermo, and will start with a New Year's Eve (and Millennium Eve) banquet December 31, 2000. The meeting rooms will include ample space for display (and sale) of works of art by attendees. Full information on INSAP III and on the earlier conferences, and an application form for the upcoming meeting, can be found on our Website (http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~white/insap) or obtained from the undersigned. Attendance will be by invitation from among those applying. All presentations and discussions will be in English. This Conference is sponsored by the Palermo Observatory, the Vatican Observatory, and the Steward Observatory, and is hosted by the Palermo Observatory as part of the bicentennial of the discovery there of the first asteroid, Ceres, on the nights of January 1-3, 1801. Please circulate or post this announcement. Prof. Salvatore Serio, Palermo Observatory (Chair, Local Organizing Committee) serio@oapa.astropa.unipa.it Dr. Rolf M. Sinclair, Chevy Chase MD (International Organizing Committee) rolf@santafe.edu Prof. Raymond E. White, Steward Observatory (International Organizing Committee) rwhite@as.arizona.edu ........................................................................... Item 7 EMA Nr. 50, 22. Juni 2000 ........................................................................... Stattgefundene Tagungen 2000 ---------------------------- Weitere Tagungen im Jahr 2000 wurden in den vorangegangenen Ausgaben angekuendigt. Fuer eine komplette Liste aller bisher gemeldeten Tagungen siehe: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_meet.html April 10-15, 2000, Rome, Italy Societa Astronomica Italiana, XLIV Congresso Nazionale With a history of astronomy session URL: http://www.mporzio.astro.it/~sait2000/ April 29-May 2, 2000, Long Beach, CA, USA April Meeting 2000 of the American Physical Society Session Q22: FHP: New Perspectives on the Development of Ancient Astronomy URLs: http://www.aps.org/meet/APR00/ http://www.aps.org/meet/APR00/baps/abs/S5810.html ........................................................................... Danksagung ---------- Neben dem Autor sei fuer Informationen gedankt: Jon Agar, Jean-Francois Gauvin, Guenther Oestmann, Patrick Poitevin, Gudrun Wolfschmidt. ........................................................................... Impressum --------- Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte (EMA) Herausgegeben vom Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft Redaktion: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick Alle nicht namentlich gekennzeichneten Mitteilungen sind redaktionelle Beitraege. Aufsaetze sowie Mitteilungen fuer die Rubriken werden gern entgegengenommen. Der Bezug der EMA ist kostenlos. Abonnenten und Leser werden um gelegentliche freiwillige Spenden an den Arbeitskreis gebeten. Die Elektronischen Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte duerfen unbegrenzt weiterverbreitet werden, sofern dafuer keine Gebuehr erhoben wird. Ein oeffentliches Abgebot in WWW-Servern, BBS etc. ist gestattet, sofern die Redaktion informiert wird. Die Reproduktion von Auszuegen in elektronischen oder Druckmedien ist nur mit Genehmigung der Redaktion gestattet. Die Elektronischen Mitteilungen ergaenzen die gedruckten Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte, die derzeit halbjaehrlich erscheinen: Preis: 1,50 DM/Ausgabe zzgl. Versandkosten Ausserhalb der BRD: kostenfrei, Spenden erwuenscht Bezug: Einsendung von 2,50 DM (Einzelheft) oder 5,- DM (Nr. 16-17) in Briefmarken an die Redaktion Redaktion: Dr. W. R. Dick, Otterkiez 14, D-14478 Potsdam, Tel.: (++331) 863199 Kostenlose Probeexemplare koennen bei der Redaktion angefordert werden. Anschriften des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte: URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/aa.html Vorsitzender: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Tel.: +49(0)6592 2150, Fax: +49(0)6592 985140 Sekretaer: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie, Aussenstelle Potsdam, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam, Tel.: +49(0)331 316 618, e-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de Spendenkonto der Astronomischen Gesellschaft: Konto-Nr. 333 410 41, Sparkasse Bochum (BLZ 430 500 01) Ueberweisungen aus dem Ausland: Konto Nr. 16218-203, Postbank Hamburg, BLZ 200 100 20 Alle Einzahlungen bitte mit Vermerk "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************