*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 13, February 15, 1996 * * * * A translation of * * * * ELEKTRONISCHE MITTEILUNGEN ZUR ASTRONOMIEGESCHICHTE * * Nr. 13, 29. Januar 1996 * * * * Edited by: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick * * * * Translated by: Mr. Donald Bellunduno <76450.1741@CompuServe.COM> * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. R. W. Home: Towards an International Bibliographical Database in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine 2. Educational tour "Astronomy in China" 3. Exhibit at Kansas City, MO, USA 4. Conference Calendar 1996 5. New books 6. Addendum by the translator: Space Calendar of events for 1996 Expressions of thanks Imprint ........................................................................... Editorial --------- The electronic newsletter No. 13 has suffered from a technical problem at the nearest Internet router at Berlin. EMA 13 had been finished on 22 December 1995 but could be distributed only on 29 January after the installation of a new operating system at that router. Due to this obstruction also the WWW pages for the history of astronomy at Bonn (http://aibn55.astro.uni-bonn.de:8000/~pbrosche/astoria.html) could not be updated for several weeks. Now these have been extended considerably. Please note the new Copyright Statement in the imprint. My best wishes for 1996 to all readers! Wolfgang R. Dick ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 13, Feb 15, 1996 ........................................................................... Towards an International Bibliographical Database in the History of ------------------------------------------------------------------- Science, Technology and Medicine -------------------------------- By R. W. Home, Parkville, Australia A workshop on bibliographical tools in the history of science, technology and medicine, sponsored by the Commission on Bibliography and Documentation of the Division of History of Science, IUHPS, was held at Liege, Belgium, on 25-26 September 1995. Hosted by Professor Robert Halleux, Secretary-General of DHS and Head of the Centre d'Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques, Universite de Liege, the meeting brought together the compilers of a number of the leading bibliographies covering aspects of current work in the history of science, technology and medicine that are published on a serial basis throughout the world, and a number of interested historians of science. At an earlier meeting held at Trento, Italy, in 1992, a proposal had been advanced to make the information contained in these bibliographies more widely available by developing a unified international bibliographical database in electronic form. The present meeting was intended to advance this project. Some of the most important existing bibliographies are already available on-line, and the meeting saw impressive demonstrations of the History of Science and Technology (HST) file maintained by the Research Libraries Group (RLG) in the USA and made available through the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN) subscription service, and of the on-line version of the Italian national bibliography of the history of science, Bibliografia Italiana di Storia della Scienza (BISS). The HST file includes the bibliographies of the history of science published annually in Isis since 1976, and the bibliographies of the history of technology published in Technology and Culture since 1987. The electronic file has a variety of indexes that are not available in the better-known paper versions, and may be searched by subject or title word as well as alphabetical phrase listing. It thus constitutes an even more valuable tool for the researcher. The meeting was told that an agreement has recently been signed that will see the very large French database, FRANCIS, that includes the bibliographies of the history of science formerly published in the Bulletin signaletique series, mounted on RLIN. Once this is done, RLG and INIST, the organization responsible for FRANCIS, could explore the possibility of adding a copy of the history of science segment to the existing HST file, thus very considerably enriching the latter. In addition, negotiations are well advanced to add the BISS database to the HST file, while also leaving it available free through the Internet. The meeting noted that several other bibliographies are produced regularly, some on a national basis (e.g. Australia, Belgium, Spain), others covering specific subject areas in the history of science (e.g. metrology, oceanography, scientific instruments). There are also two major bibliographies reporting current work in the history of medicine, the Bibliography of the History of Medicine produced by the National Library of Medicine in the USA and Current Work in the History of Medicine, produced by the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in the UK, both of which were represented at the meeting. The former of these has long been accessible electronically as part of the enormous medical database, MEDLINE, and it has recently been decided that in future it will only be accessible in that form. Two important listings unfortunately seem recently to have ceased being produced, namely the bibliography of Russian work in the history of science and technology that was published for many years by the Institute for the History of Science and Technology in Moscow and the very valuable bibliography of the history of natural history that was produced for a number of years by the Natural History Museum in London. The meeting was told that the future of the history of science segment of FRANCIS was far from secure, and it was agreed that the Commission on Bibliography and Documentation should make representations to the relevant French authorities, urging upon them the importance of maintaining and even strengthening the systematic bibliographical coverage of francophone work in this field. It was also agreed that representations should be made to the National Library of Medicine concerning the desirability of maintaining a printed version of its bibliography of the history of medicine. It was noted that at present, no bibliographies are being regularly produced covering the work being done by several major national or regional groups of historians of science and technology, including those in India, Latin America and the Muslim world. The lack of systematic bibliographical coverage of German-language publications was particularly striking. The meeting considered at length the means by which the proposed database might be made accessible to users. For individual compilers simply to put their products "free to air" would be a recipe for chaos: active management of the files, such as is provided for the HST data base on RLIN, will become more and more necessary as more files are brought into the scheme. This, however, generates costs which, in the case of RLIN, are covered by the fees paid by institutional subscribers to the service. (The fee payable currently varies from US$570 to $900 per annum for up to five simultaneous users, or $1,480 to $2,610 for up to 25 simultaneous users, depending on whether the subscribing institution is a member of RLG and on whether the HST subscription is linked to RLG's RLIN Bibliographic database.) These costs would have to be met in some way, however the scheme were to be run. At the same time, it was agreed that it was important to ensure that access to the scheme was not confined to the privileged few but that it was open to all potential users. At present, some sixty-one institutions, mostly universities through their libraries, subscribe to the service and provide free access to users within that institution. The possibility was noted of a consortium of libraries taking out a combined subscription to RLIN's HST file, as had been done by a group of eighteen university libraries in Ohio, and by a group of university libraries in Australia, in each case substantially reducing the subscription that had to be paid by individual participating libraries. The RLG representative at the meeting, John Haeger, indicated that his organization would also be prepared to explore other options that would help reduce the cost to individual users. The meeting also considered some of the technical problems in maintaining world-wide access to a database, especially in relation to the slowness with which the system operated during busy periods (a problem that was all too evident during the demonstration at the meeting of the RLIN system). The possibility of establishing "mirror" sites on different continents was aired but was discounted by John Haeger on behalf of RLG on the ground of cost. He explained that RLG's preferred alternative was to establish dedicated lines - as many as necessary - on routes such as the transatlantic link where the open network was consistently overloaded and slow; the HST file was, comparatively speaking, a very small segment of the RLIN operation, but subscribers to it would automatically benefit from the fact that RLG had recently entered into agreements with major European libraries that would require it to maintain high-quality intercontinental linkages. Following extensive discussion of the issues involved, the meeting agreed to report to the Executive Committee of the Division of History of Science the Commission's aim of creating a world bibliographical database of current work in the history of science, technology and medicine, and to recommend that the existing HST file on RLIN be used as the starting point of the proposed database. The Commission supported the bibliographical initiatives of RLG in the field of the history of science, technology and medicine, and would endorse efforts by different European partners to initiate or develop on-line bibliographical works in this field with the support of the European Union. While noting that the choice as to whether additional national or thematic bibliographies should seek to adhere to RLIN was entirely at the discretion of their initiators, the Commission would warmly encourage them to do so. European members of the Commission (from Belgium, France, Great Britain and Italy) observed that, apart from the bibliographies produced by the Wellcome Institute and the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, bibliographical work in the field of the history of science, technology and medicine needed to be strengthened within the countries of the European Union. In particular, it should be revived in France, improved in Belgium and initiated in Germany. These partners agreed to put forward a project to the European Union, seeking finance to set up a common database. This partnership would initially involve Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, and would subsequently incorporate the other countries of the Union. The partnership would ultimately be enlarged to include Turkey, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The meeting noted that a set of bibliographical guidelines needed to be prepared for the proposed international database, that could be made available to all national or other teams planning to elaborate a bibliography with a view to having it incorporated in the international database. A working group was appointed, comprising Anna Citernesi (Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza), Henry Lowood (Stanford University) and John Neu (University of Wisconsin), to define these guidelines. It is envisaged that the working group will submit a preliminary report in the Spring of 1996. Once the guidelines are agreed, the Commission will make them available to all interested groups. Anyone wishing to be sent a copy should contact Dr Lowood, joint secretary of the Commission, at Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, CA 94305-6004, USA (fax: (415) 725 1068. e-mail: henry.lowood@forsythe.stanford.edu). Author's address: R. W. Home Department of History and Philosophy of Science University of Melbourne Parkville, Victoria 3052 Australia E-mail: Rod_Home@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au Editor's note: Prof. R. W. Home is President of the Commission on Bibliography and Documentation of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS). ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 13, Feb 15, 1996 ........................................................................... Educational tour "Astronomy in China" ------------------------------------- This educational tour to China will undertake a deep understanding of historical and modern astronomy in China. The tour will begin at the historical observatories in Dengfeng and Beijing and will end at the 2m-Telescope in Xinglong. During talks with leading astronomers the participants will get to know the actual research results of modern Chinese astronomy. Schedule: 20 July -10 August 1996, price: c. DM 6600 Director of program: Eckehard Schmidt, Postfach 4616, D-90025 Nuernberg, Germany, Tel. 0911-5865512 (Mon-Fri 8am-2pm), Fax 0911-5865549. Information is free of charge. ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 13, Feb 15, 1996 ........................................................................... Exhibit at Kansas City, MO, USA ------------------------------- "Out of This World: The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas" is an exhibit running at the Linda Hall Library, Kansas City, MO, USA, from November 1, 1995, to February 1, 1996. The exhibit displays forty-three star atlases and maps covering the period from 1482 to 1851. It includes all of the famous atlases, such as those of Bayer, Schiller, Hevelius, Flamsteed, and Bode, and well as many lesser known but highly appealing atlases. More information and an electronic catalog of this exhibition is available on the World Wide Web at URL http://www.lhl.lib.mo.us/pubserv/hos/stars/welcome.htm or from the Library home page at http://www.lhl.lib.mo.us . Comments, suggestions, or criticisms are welcome to: William B. Ashworth, Jr. Associate Professor, Dept. of History, University of Missouri--KC Consultant, History of Science Collection, Linda Hall Library, 5109 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO 64110, USA E-mail: ashwortb@lhl.lib.mo.us, Voice-mail: (816) 926-8719, Fax: (816) 926-8790 ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 13, Feb 15, 1996 ........................................................................... Conference Calendar 1996 ------------------------ See also the previous issues for more events in 1996/97. 14-15 January 1996, San Antonio, TX, USA 187th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Historical Astronomy Division sessions: Sunday, January 14, 1:00-5:00pm Monday, January 15, 10:45am-12:15pm, 2:45-4:15pm HAD will hold three sessions. On Sunday afternoon, "Applied History of Astronomy" will explore the uses of historical documentation and analysis for solving current problems in astronomy and astrophysics. This session will include both invited and contributed papers. On Monday, two sessions will be devoted to contributed papers. Papers on ancient astronomies and on recent or current astronomies of non-Western cultures will be put in the morning session, "Astronomies and Cultures." In the afternoon, "The Western Tradition" will cover the line of astronomy from the Middle Ages to the present day; from Sacrobosco to the Space Telescope, one might say. For more information, contact Woody Sullivan at woody@astro.washington.edu [Source: http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas187/prelim/had2.html] 22 January 1996, Berlin, Germany 10th Dahlem Archival talk. Prof. Dr. Dieter B. Herrmann: 100 years of the Archenhold-Observatory Place: Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft [Archive for the History of the Max Planck Society], Boltzmannstrasse 14, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, near metro station Thielplatz. Because of the limited number of available seats it is requested that those wishing to attend please register by telephone ahead of time: (030) 841 33 701, Mon-Fri 8am-4pm. 6-9 March 1996, Potsdam, Germany Conference of the Urania society of Potsdam "Bruno H. Buergel - Life and Works". Proceedings of the conference will be published. In order to register: Urania-Verein "Wilhelm Foerster", Brandenburger Str. 38, D-14467 Potsdam, Germany, Tel. (0331) 291741, Fax (0331) 293683 16-19 May 1996, Oberschleissheim-Lustheim near Munich, Germany 25th Annual Conference of the Working Group for Sundials (Arbeitskreis Sonnenuhren) Registery up until 31 January to: Guenther Berger, Nadistr. 18, D-80809 Muenchen, Germany, Tel. and Fax (089) 351 12 03 8-9 June 1996, Holidays Observatory Calina, Switzerland Colloqium "The History of Astronomy" Information and registry: Hans Bodmer, Schlottenbueelstr. 9b, CH-8625 Gossau/ZH, Switzerland, Tel. (++01) 9361830 (in the evening) 7-11 August 1996, Budapest, Ungarn Symposium of the International Committee for the History of Technology Contacts: Hans-Joachim Braun, Universitaet der Bundeswehr Hamburg, D-22039 Hamburg, Tel. (040) 6541-2794, Fax (040) 6541-2762, e-mail: HJ-BRAUN@unibw-hamburg.de 20-21 September 1996, Kremsmuenster, Austria Annual Conference of the Working Group for Sundials in the Austrian Astronomical Society (Arbeitsgruppe Sonnenuhren im Oesterreichischen Astronomischen Verein) Information: Dipl.Ing. Karl Schwarzinger, Am Tigls 76A, A-6073 Sistrans, Austria, Tel. and Fax: 0512 / 37 88 68 12 October 1996, Berlin, Germany 100 years Archenhold Observatory. Celebrations beginning 11 am Archenhold-Sternwarte, Alt-Treptow 1, D-12435 Berlin, Germany, Tel. (030) 5348080, Fax (030) 5348083 ........................................................................... Item 5 ENHA No. 13, Feb 15, 1996 ........................................................................... New Books --------- Boelling, Reinhard (Hrsg.): Das Fotoalbum fuer Weierstrass. A Photo Album for Weierstrass. Braunschweig: Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft, 1994. XII, 116 pp., 29.7 x 21 cm, ISBN 3-528-06602-4, hardbound DM 98.00 [2 photo albums, compiled by students, colleagues and friends of Weierstrass who for his 70th birthday in 1885; it contains 340 portraits of mathematicians, astronomers and physicists] Brosche, Peter: Astronomie der Goethezeit. Textsammlung aus Zeitschriften und Briefen Franz Xaver von Zachs. [Astronomy during the time of Goethe. Collection of texts from journals and letters of Franz Xaver von Zach] Thun, Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Harri Deutsch, 1995. 230 pp., 20 illus., ISBN 3-8171-3280-8, DM 38.00 (= Ostwalds Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften, Bd. 280) Clagett, Marshall: Ancient Egyptian science, vol. II: calendars, clocks and astronomy. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1995, $ 50 (= Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 214) [Distribution: American Philosophical Society, P.O. Box 40098, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA, Fax: 215-440-3450] Colwell, P.: Solving Kepler's equation over three centuries. Richmond, VA: Willmann-Bell, 1993. Pp. 212, ISBN 0-943396-40-9, US$ 24.95 Fischer, Daniel; Duerbeck, Hilmar W.: Hubble: Ein neues Fenster zum All. [Hubble: A New Window on the Universe] Basel: Birkhaeuser Verlag, 1995. 174 pp., c. 60 colour and 30 b/w illus., ISBN 3-7643-5201-9, hardbound DM 68.00, SFr 58.00 [General portrayel of the Hubble Project and the scientific results, with a short historical synopsis of Earth-based telescopes and the plans that went into building the HST] Florence, R.: The perfect machine. Building the Palomar telescope. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 1994. Pp. 461, ISBN 0-06-018205-9, US$ 27.50 Gehlhar, Fritz: Wie der Mensch seinen Kosmos schuf. Eine kleine Kulturgeschichte der Astronomie [How Man built his cosmos. A short cultural history of astronomy]. Berlin: Aufbau-Verlag, 1995. c. 200 pp., c. 60 illus., ISBN 3-7466-8018-2, paperback DM 14.90 (= Aufbau Taschenbuch, 8018) Hawlitschek, Kurt: Johann Faulhaber 1580 - 1635. Eine Bluetezeit der mathematischen Wissenschaften in Ulm [A flowering time in the mathematical sciences in Ulm]. Ulm, 1995. 336 pp., numerous illus., hardbound DM 29.80 (= Veroeffentl. der Stadtbibliothek Ulm, 18) [also on Faulhabers scientific discussions with Johannes Kepler] Kilmister, C.W.: Eddington's search for a fundamental theory. A key to the Universe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. 256, ISBN 0-521-37165-1, GBP 35, $ 59.95 (hb) Review: L.Mestel: The Observatory 115 (1995) 1128, 272-273 Krige, John; Russo, Arturo: Europe in space 1960 - 1973. Paris: European Space Agency, 1994. Pp. 150, ISBN 92-9092-125-0, Dfl. 70.00 Leverington, David: A history of astronomy from 1890 to the present. London, Berlin, Heidelberg et al.: Springer-Verlag, 1995. Pp. xii, 387, ISBN 3-540-19915-2, DM 48.00 (pb) Mercator, Gerhard: Atlas. Kosmographische Gedanken ueber die Erschaffung der Welt und ihre kartographische Gestalt [Cosmographical thoughts on the creation of the World and it's cartographical form]. W. Kruecken (Ed.). Duisburg: Gert Wohlfahrth Verlag Fachtechnik, 1994. 240 pp., ISBN 3-87463-217-2, hardbound DM 34.00 (= Ed. Mercator) [Reprint of Mercator's atlas of 1595, reprinted for the first time with complete foreword, translation, and thorough commentary] Peterson, Ivars: Was Newton nicht wusste. Chaos im Sonnensystem. [What Newton didn't know. Chaos in the solar system] Basel: Birkhaeuser Verlag, 1994. 347 pp., ISBN 3-7643-2978-5, DM 68.00 [Translation of Newton's clock: chaos in the solar system, 1994] Zenkert, Arnold: Faszination Sonnenuhr [Fascination with sundials]. 2nd, revised and enlarged edition. Thun, Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Harri Deutsch, 1995. 164 pp., 55 Photos, 80 drawings, ISBN 3-8171-1386-2, hardbound c. DM 29.80 [also on the history of the sundial] Zur Geschichte des Vermessungswesens. Vermessung in der Antike, Historische Karten, Der Geodaet in der Literatur und bildenden Kunst, Biographien, Basisvermessungen, Instrumentenbau, Grenzmale. [On the history of surveying. Surveying in antiquity, historical maps, the geodesist in literature and fine arts, biographies, base measurements, instrument making, and boundary stones.] Wiesbaden: Verlag Chmielorz GmbH, 1995. 123 pp., ISBN 3-87124-128-8 (= VDV-Schriftenreihe, Bd. 8) [The contributions are dedicated to Helmut Minow, the co-founder and long-time director of the lecturing circle "History of Surveying" (Gespraechskreis "Geschichte des Vermessungswesens") in the VDV (Verein Deutscher Vermessungsingenieure = Society of German Surveyors), and of the later special group (Fachgruppe) of the same name in the VDV. Contents: among others: M.A.Rappenglueck, Measuring with a line and a staff - Lepinski Vir 7000 years ago; B.Zimmermann, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel and the East Prussian Arc Measurement; G.Opdenberg, Historical surveying instruments. All texts in German.] ........................................................................... Item 6 ENHA No. 13, Feb 15, 1996 ........................................................................... Addendum by the translator: Space Calendar of events for 1996 ------------------------------------------------------------- This Space Calendar covers space-related activities and anniversaries for the upcoming year. It is also available on the World Wide Web at: http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ The WWW version of the Space Calendar includes links to other home pages that have additional information on that subject. This calendar is compiled and maintained by Ron Baalke. Please send any updates or corrections to baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov. Note that anniversary dates are listed in 5 year increments only. Non-historical items have been deleted from the original calendar. ========================= SPACE CALENDAR ========================= January 1996 Jan 01 - 195th Anniversary (1801), Discovery of the First Asteroid (Ceres) by Piazzi. Jan 15 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Helios-2 Launch (Solar Orbiter) Jan 24 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Voyager 2 Uranus Flyby Jan 28 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion Jan 31 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Apollo 14 Launch Jan 31 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 9 Launch (Soviet Moon Lander) February 1996 Feb 04 - Clyde Tombaugh's 90th Birthday (1906) Feb 19 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Mir Space Station Launch (Soviet Union) March 1996 Mar 01 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Venera 3 Impact on Venus Mar 04 - 215th Anniversary (1781), Herschel's Discovery of Uranus Mar 06 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Vega 1, Comet Halley Flyby Mar 08 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Suisei, Comet Halley Flyby Mar 09 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Vega 2, Comet Halley Flyby Mar 11 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Sakigake, Comet Halley Flyby Mar 13 - 10th Anniversary (1986), Giotto, Comet Halley Flyby Mar 16 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 8 Launch Mar 28 - 10th Anniversary (1986), ICE, Comet Halley Flyby Mar 31 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 10 Launch, 1st Moon Orbiter April 1996 Apr 12 - 35th Anniversary (1961), 1st Man in Space, Yuri Gagarin Apr 12 - 15th Annivesrary (1981), 1st Space Shuttle Launch, Columbia, STS-1 Apr 17 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Helios-2 Perihelion (.29 AU from Sun) Apr 19 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Salyut 1 Launch, 1st Space Station (Soviet Union) May 1996 May 05 - 35th Anniversary (1961), 1st US Man in Space, Alan Shephard May 11 - 80th Anniversary (1916), Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity May 19 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mars 2 Launch (Soviet Mars Orbiter/ Lander) May 25 - 35th Anniversary (1961), John F. Kennedy's Moon Goal Speech May 28 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mars 3 Launch (Soviet Mars Orbiter/ Lander) May 30 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mariner 9 Launch (Mars Orbiter) May 30 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Surveyor 1 Launch (Moon Soft Lander) June 1996 Jun 03 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 9 Launch July 1996 Jul 18 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 10 Launch Jul 20 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Viking 1 Mars Landing Jul 21 - 35th Anniversary (1961), Mercury 4 Launch Jul 26 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Apollo 15 Launch August 1996 Aug 06 - 35th Anniversary (1961), Vostok 2 Launch Aug 09 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Luna 24 Launch (Soviet Moon Sample Return) Aug 10 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Lunar Orbiter 1 Launch Aug 17 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Pioneer 7 Launch (Solar Orbiter) Aug 24 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 11 Launch (Soviet Lunar Orbiter) Aug 25 - 15th Anniversary (1981), Voyager 2 Saturn Flyby September 1996 Sep 03 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Viking 2 Mars Landing Sep 12 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 11 Launch Sep 23 - 150th Anniversary (1846), J. Galle's Discovery of Neptune Sep 28 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Luna 19 Launch (Soviet Lunar Orbiter) October 1996 Oct 10 - 150th Anniversary (1846), William Lassell's Discovery of Neptune's moon Triton Oct 22 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 12 Launch (Soviet Lunar Orbiter) Oct 24 - 145th Anniversary (1851), William Lassell's Discovery of Uranus moons Umbriel and Ariel Oct 25 - 325th Anniversary (1671), Giovanni Cassini's Discovery of Saturn's moon Iapetus Oct 30 - 15th Anniversary (1981), Venera 13 Launch (Soviet Venus Lander) November 1996 Nov 04 - 15th Anniversary (1981), Venera 14 Launch (Venus Flyby/Lander) Nov 06 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Lunar Orbiter 2 Launch Nov 08 - Edmund Halley's 340th Birthday (1656) Nov 11 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 12 Launch Nov 14 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mariner 9 Mars Orbit Insertion Nov 27 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mars 2 Mars Orbit Insertion/Lander Crash (Soviet Union) December 1996 Dec 02 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Mars 2 Mars Orbit Insertion/Mars Landing Dec 14 - Tycho Brahe's 450th Birthday (1546) Dec 15 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Dollfus' Discovery of Saturn Moon Janus Dec 22 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 13 Launch (Soviet Moon Lander) Dec 27 - Johannes Kepler's 425th Birthday (1571) .......................................................................... Expressions of thanks --------------------- In addition to the authors of contributions, we also wish to thank: William B. Ashworth (Kansas City), Guenther Berger (Munich), Peter Brosche (Daun), Hilmar Duerbeck (Muenster), Eckehard Schmidt (Nuremberg), Karl Schwarzinger (Sistrans), Giancarlo Truffa (Milan). ........................................................................... Imprint ------- Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA) Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft A translation of "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick Translated by: Mr. Donald Bellunduno <76450.1741@compuserve.com> All items without an author's name are editorial contributions. Articles as well as information for the several sections are appreciated. Copyright Statement: The Electronic Newsletters for the History of Astronomy may be freely re-distributed in the case that no charge is imposed. Public offer in WWW servers, BBS etc. is allowed after the editor has been informed. Non-commercial reproduction of single items in electronic or printed media is permitted when the source is indicated clearly; the editor has to be informed. Subscription to EMA/ENHA is free. Subscribers and readers are asked for occasional donations to the working group. (Printed) Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte (in German): Price: DM 1.50 / issue plus postage and packing costs outside Germany: free Subscription: Send in DM 2.50 (one issue) or DM 5.00 (Nos. 8-9) in stamps to the editor Editor: Dr. W. R. Dick, Otterkiez 14, D-14478 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: (+331) 863199 Astronomische Gesellschaft / Astronomical Society: Chairman: Prof. Dr. Hanns Ruder, University of Tuebingen, Theoretical Astrophysics and Computational Physics, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, D-72076 Tuebingen Secretary: Dr. Reinhard Schielicke, Universitaetssternwarte, Schillergaesschen 2, D-07745 Jena, Tel.: (+3641) 63 03 36, E-mail: schie@georg.astro.uni-jena.de Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of Astronomy: Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany, Tel.: (+6592) 2150, Fax: (+6592) 2937 Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Institut fuer Angewandte Geodaesie, Aussenstelle Potsdam, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: (+331) 316 619, E-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de Treasurer: Dr. Reinhard Schielicke, Universitaetssternwarte, Schillergaesschen 2, D-07745 Jena, Tel.: (+3641) 63 03 36, E-mail: schie@georg.astro.uni-jena.de Secretary for Public Relations: Dr. Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Deutsches Museum, Museumsinsel 1, D-80538 Muenchen, Germany, Tel.: (+89) 2179 277, Fax: (+89) 2179 324, E-mail: t7911ac@sunmail.lrz-muenchen.de Bank Acct. of the Working Group of the Astronomische Gesellschaft: Acct # 333 410 41, Sparkasse Bochum (BLZ 430 500 01) Contributions from foreign countries to: acct # 162 18-203, Postgiroamt Hamburg, BLZ 200 400 20 Please sign all payments with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************