*************************************************************************** * * * ELEKTRONISCHE MITTEILUNGEN ZUR ASTRONOMIEGESCHICHTE * * * * Herausgegeben vom Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte * * in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft * * * * Nr. 67, 27. November 2003 * * * * Redaktion: Wolfgang R. Dick und Hilmar W. Duerbeck * * * *************************************************************************** Inhalt ------ Mitteilung zu den Abonnements 1. Ausstellung in Goettingen 2. 2004 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize to Michael Hoskin 3. History of astronomy at the 203rd AAS Meeting 4. Symposium on History of Meteorology 5. Eddington Workshop 6. Christian-Wolff-Kongress in Halle 7. Symposium on Scientific Instrument Collections Danksagung Impressum ........................................................................... Mitteilung zu den Abonnements ----------------------------- Liebe Leser der EMA, die Verwaltung der Versandlisten fuer die EMA ist eine etwas muehselige Angelegenheit: Von Zeit zu Zeit kommen neue Abonnenten hinzu (das ist die erfreuliche Seite), manche Leser teilen geaenderte Adressen mit, und nach jedem Versand kommen mehrere Fehlermeldungen zurueck: "User unknown", "mailbox full", "over quota", usw. Manchmal handelt es sich nur um einen temporaeren Ausfall, meist aber bleibt das Problem dauerhaft bestehen. Bisher habe ich ueber einige Zeit die Fehlermeldungen gesammelt und dann geprueft, um es sich um ein zeitweiliges oder ein dauerhaftes Problem handelt. Oefters habe ich sogar Anstrengungen unternommen, die neue Adresse festzustellen, was sehr oft auch zum Erfolg fuehrte. Dieses Vorgehen ist aber zeitaufwendig und kann so nicht laenger fortgefuehrt werden. Ab sofort werde ich daher folgende Methode anwenden: Nach dem Eintreffen der ersten Fehlermeldung wird die betreffende Adresse aus der Verteilerliste geloescht. Nach etwa einem Monat versende ich an alle geloeschten Adressen noch einmal eine Testnachricht mit der Bitte, darauf zu antworten. Nur wenn der betroffene Abonnent antwortet, wird er wieder in den Verteiler aufgenommen. Bitte reagieren Sie daher unbedingt, wenn Sie eine solche Mitteilung erhalten! Noch besser aber teilen Sie rechtzeitig mit, wenn sich Ihre Adresse aendert oder Sie kein Interesse mehr an den EMA haben. Sie erleichtern mir damit die Arbeit ganz wesentlich. Mit freundlichen Gruessen, Ihr Wolfgang Dick ........................................................................... Item 1 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... Ausstellung in Goettingen ------------------------- 300 Jahre St. Petersburg Russland und die "Goettingische Seele" Paulinerkirche, 26. Oktober 2003 bis 18. Januar 2004 (geschlossen vom 22.12.2003 bis zum 06.01.2004) Die Ausstellung geht auf die Geschichte St. Petersburgs und die wissenschaftlichen Beziehungen zwischen Goettingen und Russland ein. Die Verbindungen Goettinger und russischer Gelehrter, unter ihnen Carl Friedrich Gauss, werden ausfuehrlich dargestellt. Oeffnungszeiten: Di - So 11.00 - 18.00 Uhr Eintritt: Tageskarte 3,- Euro, ermaessigt 1,50 Euro Dauerkarte 10,- Euro, ermaessigt 5,- Euro Kinder bis zum 12. Lebensjahr frei Fuehrungen: Sonderfuehrungen auch ausserhalb der Oeffnungszeiten nach Anmeldung unter Telefon: 0551-392456 Kostenlose Fuehrungen jeden Samstag um 15.00 Uhr Informationsmaterial: CD-ROM 14,- Euro Katalog 14,- Euro (auch online verfuegbar) Im Set 25,- Euro Aus dem Vortragsprogramm: Jeweils sonntags, 11 Uhr c.t. 07. Dez. 2003, Prof. Dr. Karin Reich (Hamburg): Die Beziehungen von Carl Friedrich Gauss zu Russland Ort: Paulinerkirche Historisches Gebaeude der Niedersaechsischen Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Goettingen Papendiek 14, 37073 Goettingen Weitere Informationen: http://www.paulinerkirche-goettingen.de [Quelle: http://www.paulinerkirche-goettingen.de; nach einem Hinweis von Karin Reich] ........................................................................... Item 2 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... 2004 LeRoy E. Doggett Prize to Michael Hoskin --------------------------------------------- The Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society is pleased to announce that Michael Hoskin has been awarded the Fourth LeRoy E. Doggett Prize for Historical Astronomy. The award of the Prize was for his distinguished career and publication record that has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy. With this award, the AAS has invited Michael to give the Doggett Prize Lecture at a plenary session at the AAS meeting in Atlanta, and it has been provisionally scheduled for the morning of Monday, January 5, 2004. For his Lecture, he will speak about "The REAL Caroline Herschel." As a leading expert on William Herschel, Hoskin has written broadly on the Herschel family and its achievements. Last spring he published his latest contribution, The Herschel Partnership: As Viewed by Caroline. This work, which contains a wide variety of previously untapped archival material, will be the definitive source for Caroline Herschel's biography for many years to come. In a separate volume Hoskin has also edited the two autobiographies that Caroline wrote at different times of her life. His other recent books demonstrate his broad perspectives in the field. They include The Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy (1997), The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy (1999), and Tombs, Temples and Orientations: A new perspective on Mediterranean Prehistory (2001). The last volume, which summarizes many seasons of fieldwork around the Mediterranean basin, is a significant and original contribution to archaeoastronomy. Hoskin has long been renowned for both his scholarship and the high standards he has maintained in editing and publishing. In 1970 he founded the Journal for the History of Astronomy and has since served as its editor. The Journal, which is now in its 34th year, has helped to define the field of historical astronmy and give it a central focus. It was primarily for his lifetime work on JHA that he was honored in 2001, when Minor Planet (12223) Hoskin was named after him. Since 1969 Hoskin has been a Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge. When he learned that he was to be the fourth recipient of the Doggett Prize, he wrote: "The Prize is indeed a very great honour, and although it is the result of the initiative of the historians of a particular country, it is as yet the only prize in our field and this award to a non-American raises it to international status. I am very grateful to you and your colleagues for this compliment which will provide a highlight to my career." His lecture will be preceded by the presentation to him of The LeRoy E. Doggett Prize for Historical Astronomy. [Source: http://www.aas.org/~had/announce.html] ........................................................................... Item 3 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... History of astronomy at the 203rd AAS Meeting --------------------------------------------- On January 4-8, 2004, the 203rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) will be held in Atlanta, GA, USA. The Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) of the AAS organized the following sessions: Sunday, January 4, 2004, 2:00-5:00pm Session 1 HAD I: Transit of Venus Chasing Venus: Putting the Transits of Venus on Exhibition R.S. Brashear (Smithsonian Inst.) Jeremiah Horrocks, The New Astronomy, And The Transit Of Venus W. Applebaum (Illinois Institute of Technology) The American Transit of Venus Expeditions of 1874 and 1882 S.J. Dick (NASA) Explanation of the Black-Drop Effect at Transits of Mercury and the Forthcoming Transit of Venus J.M. Pasachoff (Williams College-Hopkins Obs.), G. Schneider (Steward Obs., U. Az.), L. Golub (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) David Peck Todd and the transit of 1882: A lover's triangle forms while an astronomer triangulates the distance to the Sun W.P. Sheehan (Independent Scholar) E. E. Barnard and the New Star in the Andromeda Nebula J. Bryan (McDonald Observatory) Monday, January 5, 2004, 10:00-11:30am Session 28 HAD II Space Travel is Utter Bilge: Early Ideas on Interplanetary Exploration D.K. Yeomans (JPL/Caltech) The Maximum Duration of Astronomical Incomprehension V.L. Trimble (University of Maryland, College Park) Leslie Peltier, Amateur Astronomer and Observer Extraordinaire B.G. Corbin (U.S. Naval Observatory) The Forgotten History of the 4050 Angstrom Group of C3 B.J. McCall (UC Berkeley) The Clyde W. Tombaugh Papers and the Rio Grande Historical Collections: Preserving the History of Astronomy M. Gottwald (New Mexico State University) Challenges of Data Archives R.E.M. Griffin (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory) Monday, January 5, 2004, 11:40am-12:30pm Session 29 Doggett Prize Lecture The REAL Caroline Herschel M.A. Hoskin (Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK) Monday, January 5, 2004, 2:00-3:30pm Session 35 HAD III The Latitude and Epoch for the Origin of the Astronomical Lore of Eudoxus B.E. Schaefer (Louisiana S. U.) First Description of Discrete Stars Composing the Milky Way in Thomas Watson's Hekatompathia (1582) E.L. Altschuler (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine), W. Jansen (Independent Scholar) Galileo's Telescopy and Jupiter's Tablet P.D. Usher (Penn State) Lowell's Martian "Canals" in the Light of Modern CCD Imaging C.M. Gaskell (Univ. Nebraska), T. A. Dobbins (ALPO) What Happened to the Amateurs After Professionalization? The Amateurization of Astronomy in Britain and the United States T.R. Williams (Rice University) Remeasuring the Alignment of the Nantucket Meridian Line P.B. Boyce (Maria Mitchell Obs.), A. Davis (SUNY at Plattsburgh and Maria Mitchell Obs.) Satellite Imagery Measures of the Astronomically Aligned Megaliths at Nabta Playa T.G. Brophy (EMCS Consulting), P.A. Rosen (California Institute of Technology) Contact address for the 203rd AAS Meeting: American Astronomical Society 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20009-1231, USA phone 202-328-2010, fax 202-234-2560 e-mail aas@aas.org More information on the AAS Meeting including abstracts of papers is available at: http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas203/ For information on HAD see: http://www.aas.org/~had/had.html [Text compiled from information at http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas203/] ........................................................................... Item 4 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... Symposium on History of Meteorology ----------------------------------- (Aus: Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy, No. 54, November 24, 2003, Item 1) The Presidential History Symposium, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and organized by the AMS History Committee, will be held 13 January 2004, as part of the 84th Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS) in mid-September 2003. The 84th Annual Meeting is being organized around the broad theme of "prediction." This past century, the overarching challenge to the atmospheric and related sciences has been to predict weather and climate. These sciences, perhaps more than any others, are tested on a daily basis through the forecasting of the various elements of the Earth's environment. Numerical weather prediction is widely regarded to be among the foremost scientific accomplishments of the 20th century. Especially significant advances have been made in atmospheric and oceanic forecasting of weather and climate systems over the past 20 years. Papers that broadly address historical issues of "prediction" in the development of scientific theory and applications in the geophysical sciences are solicited. Possible themes might include the role of patronage in determining what gets predicted, how disciplinary communities determine the predictability of an event or phenomena, how the public has viewed scientific prediction, scientific controversies surrounding predictions, and how predictions have affected the development of governmental policy. Historians of science and scientists engaged in historical research are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal. Abstracts are due no later than 1 August 2003. Please contact History Committee Chairperson: Dr. Kristine Harper, 946 NW Circle Blvd., #306, Corvallis, OR 97330-1410, USA. E-mail: kharper@proaxis.com. [Text provided by Ron Doel.] ........................................................................... Item 5 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... Eddington Workshop ------------------ Arthur Stanley Eddington - Interdisciplinary Perspectives: A workshop hosted by the Centre for Research in the Arts Social Sciences & Humanities (CRASSH) Cambridge UK, Wednesday 10th - Thursday 11th March 2004 This workshop brings together scholars from the history of science, philosophy, literary studies and the history of art, as well as physics and astronomy. The aims are: to explore Arther S. Eddington's continuing significance for these various disciplines, to gain a richer appreciation of his life and work, and to explore ways of promoting effective interdisciplinary discussion. Papers will be circulated in advance and all participants are asked to read these before the workshop. The emphasis will be on structured discussion, and the contribution in discussion of those not supplying a formal paper will form an equally significant component of the workshop. Contributed papers from: Malcolm Longair, Steven French, Matt Stanley, Gavin Parkinson, Michael Whitworth, Arthur Miller, Robert Smith, Ian Durham, Alan Batten and Kate Price. Participants with an interest in Eddington, from any discipline, including graduate students, are welcome. The deadline for registration is 20 January 2004. To get the most out of the workshop format, places are limited to 40 people. For further details and abstracts see the CRASSH webpage, http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/events2004/eddington.html To find out more or to register your interest please contact the convener: Dr Kate Price Junior Research Fellow Homerton College Hills Road Cambridge CB2 2PH UK Telephone: +44 (0)1223 507189 Fax: +44 (0)1223 507120 e-mail: kep26@cam.ac.uk [Text provided by William Vanderburgh on behalf of Kate Price.] ........................................................................... Item 6 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... Christian-Wolff-Kongress in Halle --------------------------------- Erster Internationaler Christian-Wolff-Kongress: "Christian Wolff und die Europaeische Aufklaerung" 6.-10. April 2004, Halle an der Saale Vom 6. bis 10. April 2004 veranstaltet das Interdisziplinaere Zentrum fuer die Erforschung der Europaeischen Aufklaerung der Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg aus Anlass der 250. Wiederkehr des Todestages von Christian Wolff den ersten Internationalen Christian-Wolff-Kongress zum Thema "Christian Wolff und die Europaeische Aufklaerung". In Plenumsvortraegen, oeffentlichen Abendvortraegen und 17 Sektionen sollen das Werk Christian Wolffs und seine Wirkung im Kontext der Europaeischen Aufklaerung sowie seine Bedeutung fuer die Philosophie der Neuzeit untersucht werden. Folgende Sektionen sind vorgesehen: 1. System der Metaphysik 2. Logik 3. Ontologie 4. Psychologie 5. Kosmologie 6. Theologie 7. Ethik 8. Politik 9. Recht 10. Mathematik 11. Naturwissenschaften 12. Aesthetik 13. Poetik 14. Wolff und die Schulphilosophie 15. Wolff und seine Schule in Halle 16. Wolff und die europaeischen Akademien der Wissenschaften 17. Biographie Organisation: Prof. Dr. Juergen Stolzenberg Das Programm (Plenarvortraege/Sektionen und Sektionsvortraege) sind im Internet unter http://www.izea.uni-halle.de/veranst/wolffkon.htm einsehbar. Interessenten fuer die Teilnahme ohne Vortrag werden gebeten, sich ebenfalls anzumelden. Sie erhalten dann weitere Informationen. Anschrift: Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg Interdisziplinaeres Zentrum fuer die Erforschung der Europaeischen Aufklaerung Stichwort: "Wolff-Kongress" D-06099 Halle (Saale) E-mail: Wolffkongress@izea.uni-halle.de Fax: ++49 - (0) 345 - 55 - 2 72 52 [Quelle: Andreas Kleinert an Oldenburg-Mailingliste, 29.12.2002] ........................................................................... Item 7 EMA Nr. 67, 27. Nov. 2003 ........................................................................... Symposium on Scientific Instrument Collections ---------------------------------------------- (Aus: Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy, No. 54, November 24, 2003, Item 3) Mundi subterranei - Scientific Instrument Collections in the University An International Symposium at Dartmouth College, 24-27 June 2004 Co-sponsored by the Scientific Instrument Commission and Dartmouth College The Dartmouth Collection of Historic Scientific Instruments dates from the founding of the College in 1769. It mirrors the development of American science in an academic setting, from the early days of the Republic through the Cold War. There are surveying chains, orreries, telescopes and globes from the first years of the College; American and European apparatus from the early nineteenth century; apparatus from the purchasing trips of Dartmouth professors throughout the nineteenth century; the astronomical instruments of the Shattuck observatory (built in 1853) and of Charles Young (1843-1908), who became a pioneer in the study of the solar spectrum. The collection is strong in instruments from the early student laboratories, teaching and research apparatus dating from the first few decades of the new Wilder Laboratory (1900), and apparatus, rare and common, from the period 1920-1980. The instruments are accompanied by a large number of original boxes, pamplets, purchase receipts, lab notes, correspondence and catalogues. The Dartmouth collection is currently being reorganized and catalogued. Although hundreds of universities and colleges have preserved historic scientific apparatus, many of these collections remain less than fully accessible and may even be virtually unknown outside of (and within) their home institutions. Yet these collections, taken individually, provide unique windows into the history of scientific research, pedagogy and popularization. Taken collectively, they represent a vast resource for research and teaching that is not duplicated in large national collections of historic scientific instruments. The purpose of the Dartmouth Conference is to stimulate creative thinking about potential futures for these university collections. In particular, we hope: 1. To encourage the development of a network among these collections and their caretakers. 2. To provide a forum to discuss practical problems that pertain to such collections, including acquisition, cataloguing and documentation, storage, access, exhibitions, preservation, environmental safety, and security. 3. To explore ways to raise the profile of these collections on campus and to enhance opportunities to use them for teaching and research. 4. To share scholarly information about scientific instruments at universities, their histories and the collections in which they reside. In addition to several invited panels and a keynote address, the conference will feature contributed papers and posters. We invite proposals for paper or posters on the following topics: a. Practicalities of collection management, curatorial interpretation, and the relationship of the holdings and their caretakers to other university collections, departments, museums or administrative entities. b. Uses for university instrument collections, such as undergraduate or graduate teaching, research, online or onsite exhibitions, and celebration of local heritage. c. Histories of particular collections, collectors, or site-specific instruments; and histories of instruments or scientific practice as informed by the holdings of university collections considered collectively. Parts of the Dartmouth Collection will be on display and the Shattuck Observatory (1853) will be open. Dartmouth is situated in semi-rural New Hampshire, readily accessible by air or surface from Boston. For those who might wish to extend their stay, the region provides many cultural, historic and outdoor activities. Early summer weather can be very pleasant in New England! We plan to have a day of optional field trips. In the morning we will visit the American Precision Museum in Windsor, VT where we can inspect two floors of precision machines. We hope to make special arrangement to visit the stores, which are filled with additional machines. Of special interest are several ruling engines. We will then travel to Springfield, VT and lunch at the Hartness House. An underground tunnel connects the Hartness House with the Hartness Turret Telescope (refractor) which will be open for our inspection. We are making arrangements to visit the restored Porter Turret Telescope (reflector) located on a nearby hill. The building is large enough to accommodate several people and the instrument is used in the daytime to project the solar image. Lodging will be made available in a Dartmouth College dormitory for a nominal amount (c. USD45 per night). The Hanover Inn will provide discounted rooms (c. USD85 per night). Please continue to consult our website for additional information. www.dartmouth.edu/~sicu , where also a detailed program is given. The SICU Planning Committee Francis Manasek (chair), Richard Kremer, David Pantalony, Sara Schechner [Sources: David A. Pantalony to Rete Discussion Group, 10 June 2003; www.dartmouth.edu/~sicu] ........................................................................... Danksagung ---------- Fuer die direkte Zusendung von Informationen danken wir Ron Doel, Kate Price, Karin Reich und William Vanderburgh. ........................................................................... Impressum --------- Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte (EMA) Herausgegeben vom Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft Redaktion: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick und Dr. Hilmar W. Duerbeck Archiv bisheriger Ausgaben: http://www.astrohist.org/aa/ema/ 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 in der Regel halbjaehrlich erscheinen: Preis: 1,- Euro/Ausgabe zzgl. Versandkosten Ausserhalb von Deutschland: kostenfrei, Spenden erwuenscht Bezug: Einsendung von 1,50 Euro (Einzelheft) oder 3,- Euro (Nr. 20-21) in Briefmarken an die Redaktion Redaktion: Dr. W. R. Dick, Anschrift siehe unten Kostenlose Probeexemplare koennen bei der Redaktion angefordert werden. Anschriften des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte: URL: http://www.astrohist.org/ 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, e-mail: pbrosche@astro.uni-bonn.de Sekretaer: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Vogelsang 35 A, D-14478 Potsdam, e-mail: wdick@astrohist.org Spendenkonto der Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte: Empfaenger: Astronomische Gesellschaft, Konto-Nr.: 310 330 402, Volksbank Coesfeld-Duelmen, BLZ 401 631 23 Ueberweisungen aus dem Ausland: Konto Nr. 16218-203, Postbank Hamburg, BLZ 200 100 20 Einzahlungen auf letzteres Konto bitte mit Vermerk "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte". ***************************************************************************