*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 28, May 20, 1998 * * * * Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. Conference Announcement: Peter the Great and the West: New Perspectives 2. The 1998 Annual Meeting of the Antique Telescope Society 3. Second International Conference on "The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena" ("INSAP II") 4. New Books Acknowledgements Imprint ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 28, May 20, 1998 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement Peter the Great and the West: New Perspectives ---------------------------------------------- International Conference, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, 9-11 July 1998 This conference is one of a number of events being held in the UK to mark the three hundredth anniversary of the visit to Britain in 1698 of Tsar Peter I of Russia (reigned 1682-1725), during which he learnt also about astronomy at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. It has been organised jointly by the National Maritime Museum and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, the University of London's specialist institution for the study of Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR. The conference will explore British-Russian relations in the area of shipbuilding and navigation, but will also address broader questions of modernisation and Westernisation associated with Peter's reforms. It will be hosted by eminent lecturers from Russia, the UK and the USA, Subjects to be covered include `Russia and Europe', `Peter - the man and his methods', and `the Petrine legacy and its relevance to today's Russia'. Peter the Great and the West will be of interest to historians, diplomats, maritime and military specialists, and anyone interested in Russia's past and present. The conference coincides with the exhibition, Peter the Great in England 1698, which will be running at the National Maritime Museum from 2 April to 27 September 1998 (see ENHA 27, Item 5). The Conference begins with an Introductory Lecture in the early evening of Thursday 9 July, and closes at 4.45pm on Saturday 11 July. In addition, a Conference Dinner will take place on Friday 10 July. Conference information: There will be a charge for registration at the Peter the Great Conference: GBP 60.00. Conference Dinner Tickets: GBP 35.00. For a conference leaflet with full booking details contact: Catherine Sones, Research Group Executive, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF, UK, Tel: +44 (0)181 312 6716, Fax: +44 (0)181 312 6722, E-mail: cesone@nmm.ac.uk For more information, see also: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/rcs/conf/peter.html ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 28, May 20, 1998 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement The 1998 Annual Meeting of the Antique Telescope Society -------------------------------------------------------- The 1998 Annual Meeting of the Antique Telescope Society will be held October 23-25 at Harvard University. Activities include paper sessions, keynote address by Owen Gingerich, invited lectures by Barbara Welther and Peter Hingley, tours of the Harvard College Observatory, the Harvard Collection of Historic Scientific Instruments, and other sites of astronomical and historical interest, a display of rare books on astronomy in Widener Library, and displays of instruments by members. For further information, contact the Secretary of the Society. Antique Telescope Society Walter H. Breyer, Secretary 1275 Poplar Grove Lane Cumming, GA 30041 e-mail: whbreyer@mindspring.com [Provided by Peter Abrahams, e-mail: telscope@europa.com] ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 28, May 20, 1998 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement Second International Conference on "The Inspiration of Astronomical ------------------------------------------------------------------- Phenomena" ("INSAP II") ----------------------- 7-14 January 1999, The Mediterranean Island of Malta The sky makes up half of mankind's world; the Earth around us makes up the other half. This meeting will explore mankind's fascination with the astronomical phenomena that define the sky - the lights in the sky, by day and by night - which have been a strong and often dominant element in human life and culture. Scholars from a variety of disciplines (including Archaeology, Art, Classics, History and Prehistory, Mythology and Folklore, Philosophy, the Physical Sciences, and Religion) will attend "INSAP II" to discuss the impacts astronomical phenomena have had on mankind. Presentations by attendees will be grouped under four main topics: Literature; Art; Myth and Religion; History and Prehistory. The Conference will allow the attendees to address the many and variegated cultural impacts of the perceptions of the day and night skies, providing a mechanism for a broad group of artists, historians, philosophers, and scientists to meet, compare notes, and have the chance to ask those questions of each other about their work which may have been lying fallow for decades. Attendance will be by invitation from among those applying. Full information on the Conference and an application form can be obtained by contacting the Organizing Committee, or from our Website (URL: http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~white/insap.htm). This Conference is the second to be held on this general theme. Details of the first meeting (held at Castel Gandolfo, Vatican State, 27 June-2 July 1994), and the publication references that include many of the papers presented there, may be found also at the above Website (URL as given). This Conference is sponsored by the OTS Foundation and the Vatican Observatory. The Organizing Committee: Professor Raymond E. White, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona (Chair) (rwhite@as.arizona.edu) Rev. George V. Coyne, S. J., The Vatican Observatory (gcoyne@as.arizona.edu) Dr. Rolf M. Sinclair, National Science Foundation, Arlington VA (rsinclai@nsf.gov) Prof. Frank Ventura, Malta (fven@cis.um.edu.mt) ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 28, May 20, 1998 ........................................................................... New Books --------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 27, 3. Maerz 1998, Item 3. Partial translations by the editor.) Academy Building. The heart of Leiden University. Leiden: Leiden University, Press and Information Services, 1996. Pp. 16, NLG 5.00 [A short history of and guide through the Academy Building, now the main building of Leiden University, and the small University Museum inside. The use of the building as an observatory in the 17th century is shortly described. Distribution: Press and Information Services, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9500, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.] Baum, Richard; Sheehan, William: In search of planet Vulcan. The ghost in Newton's clockwork universe. New York: Plenum Press, 1997. Pp. xiv, 310, 21.5 x 15 cm, ISBN 0-306-45567-6, $ 28.95 (hb) Review: P.Moore: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 117 (1997) 4, 222 Review: E.A.Whitaker: Sky & Telescope 94 (1997) 4, 68-70 Review: P.Moore: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1141, 382-383 Chown, Marcus: Afterglow of creation: From the fireball to the discovery of cosmic ripples. Mill Valley, CA: University Science Books, 1996. Pp. xii, 222, 16.5 x 24 cm, ISBN 0-935702-40-7, $ 28.50, GBP 19.95 (hb) [Popular account of the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation and thirty years of progress in the field. The book begins with the 1920s and culminates with the flight of the COBE satellite.] Review: D.M.F.Chapman: J. Roy. Astr. Soc. Can. 91 (1997) 3, 141-142 Cornelius, Geoffrey: Was Sternbilder erzaehlen. Die Mythologie der Sterne. [What constellations are telling. The mythology of the stars. - In German] Stuttgart: Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, 1997. 176 p., 88 illus., 16 x 23,5 cm, ISBN 3-440-07495-1, DM 29.80 (pb) Datnow, Claire L.: Edwin Hubble : Discovering of Galaxies. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishing, 1997. Pp. 128, illus., ISBN 0894909347, $ 18.95 (hb) (Great minds of science) [Juvenile book. Chronology: p. 113-115. Includes bibliographical references (p. 125) and index.] Diacu, F.; Holmes, P.: Celestial encounters. The origins of chaos and stability. Princeton (New Jersey, USA): Princeton University Press, 1996. Pp. xvii, 233, ISBN 0-691-02743-9, US$ 24.95 [Account of celestial mehanics, ranging from the birth of chaos theory to the latest work on the stability of the solar system. The book is leavened by anecdotes about the pioneering scientists and their discoveries.] Dimitrijevic, Milan S.; Milogradov-Turin, Jelena; Popovic, Luka C. (Eds.): Razvoj astronomije kod srba. Developments of astronomy among Serbs. Beograd (Belgrade): Astronomical Observatory, 1997. Pp. 276 (Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade, No. 56) [Proceedings of a conference, Belgrade, 7-9 April 1997. In Serbian, abstracts in English.] Edmondson, Frank K.: AURA and its US National Observatories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Pp. 367, 25 x 18 cm, ISBN 0-521-55345-8, GBP 65, $ 80 (hb) Review: D.Stickland: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1140, 322-323 Eisfeld, Rainer: Mondsuechtig. Wernher von Braun und die Geburt der Raumfahrt aus dem Geist der Barbarei. [Moonstruck. Wernher von Braun and the birth of space flight from the spirit of barbarism. - In German] Reinbeck bei Hamburg: Rowohlt Verlag, 1996. 288 p., 24 tabs., ISBN 3-498-01660-1, DM 42.00 (hb) Emter, Elisabeth: Literatur und Quantentheorie. Die Rezeption der modernen Physik in Schriften zur Literatur und Philosophie deutschsprachiger Autoren (1925-1970). [Literature and Quantum Theory. The reception of modern physics in writings on literature and philosophy by German authors (1925-1970). - In German] Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1995. X, 358 p., ISBN 3-11-014873-0, DM 168.00 (hb) (Quellen und Forschungen zur Literaturgeschichte und Kulturgeschichte, Bd. 2) [Demonstrates also, to which extent Friedrich Duerrenmatt's writings were indebted to the philosophical studies of Arthur Eddington.] Review: M.Springer: Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1997) 7, 116-117 Fischer, Ernst Peter: Aristoteles, Einstein & Co. Eine kleine Geschichte der Wissenschaft in Portraets. [A short history of science in portraits. - In German] Muenchen, Zuerich: R. Piper, 1995. 448 p.; 2nd corr. ed. 1996. 442 p., illus., ISBN 3-492-03778-X, DM 42.00 (hb) [Contents: Aristoteles, Almagest and alchemy, Alhazen and Avicenna, Albertus Magnus, Nicolaus Copernicus, Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, Antoine Lavoisier, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, James Clerk Maxwell, Hermann von Helmholtz, Gregor Mendel, Ludwig Boltzmann, Marie Curie, Lise Meitner, Barbara McClintock, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Linus Pauling, John von Neumann, Max Delbrueck, Richard P. Feynman.] Review: T.Rubitzko: Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1997) 6, 141 Fischer, Ernst Peter: Aristoteles & Co. Eine kleine Geschichte der Wissenschaft in Portraets von der Antike bis ins 19. Jahrhundert [A short history of science in portraits from antiquity to the 19th century. - In German] Muenchen: R. Piper, 1996. 235 p., 12 illus., ISBN 3-492-22326-5, DM 16.90 (pb) (Serie Piper, Bd. 2326) Fischer, Ernst Peter: Einstein & Co. Eine kleine Geschichte der Wissenschaft der letzten hundert Jahre in Portraets [A short history of science during the last 100 years in portraits . - In German] Muenchen: R. Piper, 1997. 229 p., ISBN 3-492-22491-1, DM 16.90 (pb) (Serie Piper, Bd. 2491) Fischer, Ernst Peter: Einstein. Ein Genie und sein ueberfordertes Publikum. [Einstein. A genius and his audience which could not cope. - In German] Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1996. XIV, 243 p., 44 illus., ISBN 3-540-61112-6, DM 36.00 (pb) Review: I.Derado: Phys. Bl. 53 (1997) 9, 907 Fox, Mary Virginia: Edwin Hubble: American Astronomer. New York: Franklin Watts, 1997. Pp. 112, ISBN 053111371X, $ 21.50 (hb) (Book Report Biographies) [Juvenile book. Includes bibliographical references and index.] Godwin, Francis: The Man in the Moon. With a modern introduction by Andy Johnson and Ron Shoesmith. Woonton Almeley, Herefordshire: Logaston Press, 1996. Pp. ix, 70 + 8 plates, 22 x 14 cm, ISBN 1-873-82764-4, GBP 8.95 (hb) [Francis Godwin (1562-1633) was Bishop of Hereford. He described the idea of a journey to the Moon, with surprising understanding of gravity. Distribution: Post free from Logaston Press, Little Logaston, Woonton, Almeley, Herefordshire HR3 6QH, Great Britain.] Review: R.F.Griffin: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1138, 155-156 Review: J.H.Rogers: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 107 (1997) 1, 42 Grundmann, S.: Einsteins Akte. Einsteins Jahre in Deutschland aus der Sicht der deutschen Politik. [Einstein's file. Einstein's years in Germany from the point of view of German politics. - In German] Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1997. XIV, 550 p., 70 illus., ISBN 3-540-63197-6, DM 48.00 (hb) [With documents of the time published here first and with previously unknown documents about Einstein.] Haas, M.R.; Davidson, J.A.; Erickson, E.F. (Eds.): From gas to stars to dust. Proceedings. Airborne Astronomy Symposium on the Galactic Ecosystem: From gas to stars to dust, Moffett Field, CA (USA), 5-8 July 1994. San Francisco, Ca.: Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1995. Pp. xxxii, 737, ISBN 0-937707-92-9, US$ 38.00 (Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Vol. 73) [From the contents: 8. KAO history and education] Hetherington, Norriss S.: Hubble's cosmology: A guided study of selected texts. Tucson: Pachart Publishing House, 1996. Pp. xx, 218, ISBN 0-88126-287-0, $ 67.00 (pb) (Pachart History of Astronomy Series, v. 11) [Eight of Hubble's papers, reprinted in facsimile, with extensive commentary and annotations.] Isaac Newton and Woolsthorpe Manor. London: The National Trust, 1997. Pp. 30, GBP 1.95 Kafatos, Menas; Kondo, Yoji (Eds.): Examining the Big Bang and diffuse background radiations. Proceedings of the 168th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, held in The Hague, The Netherlands, August 23-26, 1994. Dordrecht, Boston, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996. Pp. xi, 586, ISBN 0-7923-3815-4, Dfl. 320.00 (International Astronomical Union, Symposium, No. 168) [Contains also: Virginia Trimble: Background and Big Bang: Some extracts from their history] Kaminski, Heinz: Sternenstrassen der Vorzeit. Von Stonehenge nach Atlantis [Star ways of prehistoric times. From Stonehenge to Atlantis.- In German] Muenchen: Bettendorf, 1995. 356 p., ISBN 3-88498-092-0, DM 39.80 (hb) [To be used with caution.] Review: W.Schlosser: Astron. Raumfahrt 33 (1996) 35 (5/96), 45 Kepler, Johannes: Gesammelte Werke, Band 15. Briefe, Band III: 1604-1607. [Collected works, vol. 15. Letters, vol. III: 1604-1607] Herausgegeben von der Kepler-Kommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 2nd, unaltered ed. Muenchen: Verlag C.H.Beck, 1995. 563 p., ISBN 3-406-01667-7, DM 168.00 (pb) Klare, Gerhard (Ed.): Abstracts of contributed talks and posters presented at the scientific fall meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft at Bochum, September 27-October 1, 1993. Hamburg: Astronomische Gesellschaft, 1993. Pp. 212, illus. (Astronomische Gesellschaft Abstract Series, No. 9) [Contains also abstracts from the meeting of the Working Group for the History of Astronomy.] Kowal, C.T.: Asteroids. Their nature and utilization. 2nd edition Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 1996. Pp. xvii, 153, 24.5 x 17 cm, ISBN 0-471-96039-X, GBP 30.00 (hb) [Includes a chapter on history.] Review: D.W.Hughes: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1138, 164 Review: A.J.Hollis: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 107 (1997) 3, 149 Kragh, H.: Cosmology and controversy. The historical development of two theories of the universe. Princeton (New Jersey, USA): Princeton University Press, 1996. Pp. xiii, 500, ISBN 0-691-02623-8, US$ 35.00 Moore, Patrick: Eyes on the Universe. The story of the telescope. London: Springer-Verlag, 1997. Pp. viii, 114, ISBN 3-540-76164-0, GBP 9.95 (pb) Review: H.McGee: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 117 (1997) 4, 221 Paturi, Felix R.: Harenberg Schluesseldaten Astronomie. Von den Sonnenuhren der Babylonier bis zu den Raumsonden im 21. Jahrhundert. [Harenberg key data of astronomy. From Babylonian sundials to the space probes of the 21st century. - In German] Dortmund: Harenberg Lexikon Verlag, 1996. 616 p., numerous illus., most in colour, ISBN 3-611-00537-1, DM 68.00 (hb) [Chronological history of astronomy, complemented by thematic tables. p. 585-595: outstanding astronomers. Contains an index of persons and items. Contains no references and no bibliography.] Ramsay, John T.; Licht, A. Lewis: The comet of 44 BC and Caesar's funeral games. Atlanta (Georgia, USA): Scholar's Press, 1996. Pp. 236, ISBN 0-7885-0274-3, $ 17.95 (pb) Review: D.W.Hughes: Astronomy and Geophysics 38 (1997) 3, 32-33 Rosen, Dennis; Rosen, Sylvia: London science. Museums, libraries, and places of scientific, technological & medical interest. London: Prion (Multimedia Books), 1994. Pp. 224, numerous illus., most in colour, ISBN 1-85375-140-5, GBP 9.99 (hb) [Describes museums, teaching centres, learned societies, libraries, laboratories, works of art, monuments, memorial plaques, graves, instrument and book dealers. The emphasis is on history of science rather than modern science. Includes many places of interest for historians of astronomy.] Schultz, Uwe (Hrsg.): Scheibe, Kugel, Schwarzes Loch. Die wissenschaftliche Eroberung des Kosmos. [Disc, sphere, black hole. The scientific conquest of the universe. - In German] Frankfurt a.M., Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1996. 360 p., numerous illus., ISBN 3-458-33504-8, DM 19.80 (pb) (Insel-Taschenbuecher, Nr. 1804) [Paperback edition. First published in 1990. Popular articles on astronomy and its history, with contributions by W.Schlosser, W.Saltzer, F.Krafft, P.Kunitzsch, D.King, H.M.Nobis, M.Schramm, F.Schmeidler, G.D.Roth, D.B.Herrmann, A.Wittmann, H.-H.Voigt, R.Kippenhahn and others.] Sobel, Dava: Laengengrad. Die wahre Geschichte eines einsamen Genies, welches das groesste wissenschaftliche Problem seiner Zeit loeste. Berlin: Berlin Verlag Arno Spitz, 1996. 239 p., ISBN 3-8270-0214-1, DM 36.00 (hb) [Translation of: Longitude (1995); on John Harrison (1693-1776) and the problem of longitude at sea.] Spitzer Jr., Lyman; Ostriker, Jeremiah P. (Eds.): Dreams, stars, and electrons. Selected writings of Lyman Spitzer, Jr. Princeton (New Jersey, USA): Princeton University Press, 1997. Pp. 536, 23.5 x 15 cm, ISBN 0-691-03702-7, $ 99.50 (hb) Review: P.W.J.L.Brand: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1141, 377 Springford, M. (Ed.): Electron. A centenary volume. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Pp. 330, 25 x 18 cm, ISBN 0-521-56130-2, GBP 37.50 (hb) [First chapter: details of J. J. Thomson's experiments. Next chapters: different aspects of the electron, tracing their development during this century (among these: the electron in the cosmos).] Review: E.A.Davis: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1141, 384 Stephenson, F. Richard: Historical eclipses and the Earth's rotation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Pp. xvi, 557, ISBN 0-521-46194-4, GBP 95.00 (hb) Review: J.E.Jones: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 117 (1997) 4, 220 van Helden, Anne C.; van Gent, Rob H.: The Huygens Collection. Leiden: Museum Boerhaave, 1995. Pp. V, 32, ISBN 90-6292-107-8, NLG 10.00 (pb) (Communication / Museum Boerhave, 264) [Translation of: De Huygenscollectie. Leiden: Museum Boerhaave, 1995. (Mededeling / Museum Boerhave, 262)] Westfall, Richard S.: Isaac Newton - Eine Biographie. [Isaac Newton - a biography. - In German. Translated from English.] Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 1996. 330 p., numerous illus., ISBN 3-8274-0040-6, DM 58.00 (hb) Review: D.Hoffmann: Physik in unserer Zeit 28 (1997) 2, XIV Willis, Allan J.; Hartquist, Thomas W. (Eds.): Astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. A Festschrift for Professor Sir Robert Wilson. Dordrecht, Boston, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996. Pp. 399, 24.5 x 16 m, ISBN 0-792-34151-1, GBP 99, $ 156 (hb) [Originally published as Astrophysics and Space Science Vol. 237 (1996), No. 1-2.] Review: R.J.Tayler: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1137, 115 Wilson, Raymond N.: Reflecting telecope optics I. Basic design theory and its historical development. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1996. Pp. xiv, 573, 214 figs., 24 x 16 cm, ISBN 3-540-58964-3, DM 128.00 (hb) (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library) Review: J.Solf: Sterne Weltraum 35 (1996) 12, 980 Review: C.F.W.Harmer: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1138, 173 Review: [Anonymous:] Messenger (1997) 90, 35 Wright, Helen: Sweeper in the sky: The life of Maria Mitchell. Clinton Corners, NY: College Avenue Press, 1997. Pp. 270, ISBN 1-883551-70-6, $ 24.95 [First published in 1949. Unabridged text of the first edition, with new preface, epilogue, and numerous photographs.] ........................................................................... Acknowledgements ---------------- For information we thank: Peter Abrahams, Larry Klaes (Boston), and Catherine Sones (London). ........................................................................... Imprint ------- Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA) Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick All items without an author's name are editorial contributions. Articles as well as information for the several sections are appreciated. Subscription for ENHA is free. Readers and subscribers are asked for occasional voluntary donations to the working group. 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 possible only with the editor's permission. Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of Astronomy: URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/aa.html Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany, Tel.: (++6592) 2150, Fax: (++6592) 985140 Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie, Aussenstelle Potsdam, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: (++331) 316 618, E-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.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: acct # 162 18-203, Postgiroamt Hamburg, BLZ 200 400 20 Please sign with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************