*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 57, May 23, 2004 * * * * Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick and Hilmar W. Duerbeck * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. ICHA Newsletters 2. SIC Transits of Venus website 3. Symposium: Venus voor de Zon 4. Festival of the Transit of Venus 5. "Chasing Venus" exhibition and lecture series at the Smithsonian 6. The New Astronomy - A Meeting to Honor Woody Sullivan on his 60th Birthday 7. "The Scientific Instrument Collections in the University" Conference (SICU) 8. VITRUM - exhibition on ancient glass and science Acknowledgements Imprint ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... ICHA Newsletters ---------------- The Newsletters of the Inter-Union Commission for History of Astronomy (ICHA) are now available online in PDF format at http://www.astrohist.org/iaucomm41/news/ . The latest issue is No. 6, April 2004. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to send hardcopies of the newsletters to ICHA members. Contents of No. 6, April 2004: A. Sydney and Beyond, by C. L. N. Ruggles B. Minutes of the General Business Meeting held in Sydney 2003 by S. Dick C. Minutes of the Meeting of the Organising Committee of C41/ICHA by C. L. N. Ruggles D. Status of the Inter-Union Commission for History of Astronomy (ICHA) E. Information: The acceptance of new members into IAU at Sydney by A. Gurshtein F. Memorandum: Concerning the Acceptance of New Members into the Inter-Union Commission on History of Astronomy (ICHA) by A. Gurshtein and F. R. Stephenson G. Procedures for Admitting non-IAU Members to the ICHA H. History Programme at Sydney I. General Information about the Working Groups J. The IAU Historical Instruments Working Group; 1: Progress Report 2003-04 K. The IAU Astronomical Archives Working Group; 2: Progress Report L. The IAU Transits Of Venus Working Group; 3: Progress Report M. The IAU Historic Radio Astronomy Working Group; 1: Progress Report N. The Struve Geodetic Arc (Press Release) by J. R. Smith O. Earth Dial - a new project: Mars landers create opportunity for Web-linked sundials around the world (Press Release) by W. T. Sullivan P. Journals and Publications: - Archaeoastronomy. The Journal of Astronomy in Culture, by C. McCluskey - Rittenhouse (Astronomical Papers), by R. Brooks - Contributions on history of geophysics and cosmical physics - Books 2000/2003 - Some research papers by C41/ICHA members - 2001/2003 Q. News: - A new book: Astronomical instruments and archives from the Asia-Pacific region, by D. A. King - Astronomy in the Baghdad of the Caliphs, by D. A. King - Doggett Prize, by R. Brashear - The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding our View of Planet Earth, by W. Orchiston - Scientific Instrument Collections in the University by F. Manasek, R. Kremer, D. Pantalony, S. Schechner - The European Scientist - Symposium on the era and work of Franz Xaver von Zach (1754 - 1832) - The Fifth International Conference on Oriental Astronomy by K.-Y. Chen - European Society for the History of Science, by S. Dupouy - Sharing the celestial sphere: A conference under the joint auspices of IAU and IUHPS/DHS, by R. Kochhar - History of Astronomy Displays and Exhibitions Chasing Venus : Observing the Transits of Venus, 1631-2004 - Obituaries: Simeon Ya. Braude, by G. Tsarevsky Bernard Cohen, by E. Mendelsohn and G. Smith ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... SIC Transits of Venus website ----------------------------- We are pleased to announce the launch of a new website on the Transits of Venus at http://transits.mhs.ox.ac.uk. The core of the site is a browsable database of historical instruments and images from collections around the world. Institutions and individuals are invited to develop the site by contributing their own material. Currently the site displays material from: - Museo della Specola, Universita di Bologna - Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University - Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford - National Museum of American History, Washington - Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, Dresden - UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council To take part in this international collaboration, visit the Contributors section of the site. Material is submitted directly online for instant access on the web. The site is an initiative of the Scientific Instrument Commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. It was developed at the University of Oxford and is hosted by the Museum of the History of Science. Stephen Johnston Sara Schechner Steven Turner [Source: Stephen Johnston to HASTRO-L, the History of Astronomy Dicussion Group, 10 May 2004] ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... Symposium: Venus voor de Zon ---------------------------- On the eve of the first transit of Venus in front of the Sun since 121 1/2 years, the University of Utrecht organizes an afternoon Symposium about the background of these special astronomical events and their role in the history of science. Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2004 Place: Museum Sterrenwacht Sonnenborgh (Utrecht) Audience: interested public, students, science journalists Programme: 12:30-13:00 Introduction, coffee and tea 13:00-13:30 Robert Wielinga: Wat is een Venusovergang 13:30-14:00 Albert van Helden: The Venus Transits of 1761 and 1769 14:00-14:30 Rob van Gent: Waarnemingen van de Venusovergangen van 1761 & 1769 in Batavia (Nederlands Indie) 14:30-15:00 Jessica Ratcliff: Astronomical Photography and the 1874 Transit of Venus 15:00-15:30 Break (coffee and tea) 15:30-16:00 Klaus Staubermann & Rob van Gent: Rondleiding bij de Venusovergang tentoonstelling in Museum Sterrenwacht Sonnenborgh 16:00-16:30 Hilmar Duerbeck: The German Transit of Venus Expeditions of 1874 and 1882 16:30-17:00 Frans Snik: Van 'Black Drop' naar 'Bright Points': Waarnemingen van de Venusovergang met de Dutch Open Telescope op La Palma 17:00-18:00 Closing Abstracts of the papers are available at http://www.venusvoordezon.nl/symposium/ . Participants of the symposium are kindly requested to register at the Museum Sterrenwacht Sonnenborgh (tel. 030-2302818) or by informing info@sonnenborgh.nl . Organizers: Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht (http://www.museum.uu.nl/) Museum Sterrenwacht Sonnenborgh (http://www.sonnenborgh.nl/) Instituut voor de Geschiedenis en Grondslagen van de Wiskunde en de Natuurwetenschappen (http://www.phys.uu.nl/~wwwgrnsl/) ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... Festival of the Transit of Venus -------------------------------- The Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University invites you to join us for a Festival of the Transit of Venus 8 June 2004 5:00 am - 7:30 am Science Center, Harvard University 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA Observe this rare Astronomical Spectacle! Celebrate its History! Enjoy live Transit of Venus Music! No one alive has seen a Transit of Venus, but on June 8th you will have this rare opportunity! Transits of Venus are rare astronomical alignments in which the planet Venus crosses the face of the Sun as seen from Earth. They occur in pairs (8 years apart) separated at intervals of 105.5 or 121.5 years. In 1639 Jeremiah Horrocks and his friend William Crabtree were the first and only witnesses of a transit of Venus. Before the next transits in 1761 and 1769, astronomical expeditions were sent around the globe in order to observe the event from far flung places and share their results. Their goal was nothing less than determining the dimensions of the solar system, one of the great unsolved problems of astronomy of the time. The transits of Venus also caused a great stir among the public. Crowds watched them through smoked glasses in city streets and sang drinking songs about them in taverns. The next pair of transits--in 1874 and 1882--also caused great excitement. In 1761 the only observers in North America were Harvard's own John Winthrop, the Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and his two students. Because the event could not be seen from Cambridge, they sailed to St. John's, Newfoundland, taking college apparatus behind enemy lines during the French and Indian War in the name of international collaboration in science. After a failed attempt to put together an expedition to Lake Superior in 1769, John Winthrop observed the next transit of Venus from Harvard Yard in Cambridge. He used new instruments acquired in London with the help of Benjamin Franklin and had to overcome obstacles arising from the rebellious political acts of Samuel Adams and others with whom he sympathized. The Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments has all the instruments used by Winthrop in 1769, and some from 1761 as well. Now its your turn! Come relive the excitement of the 1760s and make history on June 8, 2004. Join us between 5:00 am and 7:30 am for these activities: Astronomy! 5:09 am--sunrise with Transit of Venus in progress Observe Venus on the Sun with modern telescopes and safe solar filters Re-enact John Winthrop's observations in 1769 with his instruments! View observations of the transit in Africa, Europe, and around the globe via live webcasts 7:06 am--Venus contacts the inner edge of the sun's disk 7:26 am--Venus leaves Sun History! Visit the CHSI museum galleries to see apparatus selected by Benjamin Franklin for Winthrop's observations. Learn about pre-Revolutionary politics and its impact on Harvard's expeditions to observe the Transit in 1761 and 1769, with curator Sara Schechner. Transit of Venus Music! Live performances of John Philip Sousa's "Transit of Venus March" by the Harvard Band and "The Venus Waltz" for banjo by John Huth, chairman of the Physics Department Food! Continental breakfast For further information, please contact Sara Schechner at schechn@fas.harvard.edu or 617-495-2779. [Source: Sara Schechner to HASTRO-L and Rete discussion groups, 21 May 2004] ........................................................................... Item 5 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... "Chasing Venus" exhibition and lecture series at the Smithsonian ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Smithsonian Institution Libraries is pleased to announce the opening of its current exhibition, "Chasing Venus: Observing the Transits of Venus, 1631-2004", at the Libraries' Exhibition Gallery located in the National Museum of American History, 14th & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington D.C. "Chasing Venus" will tell the story of the transits of Venus using the marvelous illustrations in the rich collection of rare books from the Smithsonian Libraries, supplemented by appropriate artifacts from the National Museum of American History and the United States Naval Observatory. A series of five (5) noontime public lectures is scheduled to commence on April 8. Ronald Brashear Curator, "Chasing Venus: Observing the Transits of Venus, 1631-2004" Head, Special Collections and Dibner Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries Chasing Venus Lecture Series Lectures start at 12:00 noon -- FREE and open to the public Leonard Carmichael Auditorium National Museum of American History, Behring Center Presented in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution Libraries exhibition "Chasing Venus: Observing the Transits of Venus, 1631-2004" March 24, 2004 - April 3, 2005 For more information go to: www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/chasing-venus Lecture Series funding provided by NASA Office of Space Science Thursday, April 8, 2004 "The First Observation of a Transit of Venus: Jeremiah Horrocks and the New Astronomy" Wilbur Applebaum, Professor Emeritus, Humanities Dept., Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois Thursday, April 22, 2004 "Endeavour's Wake: Captain Cook and the Transit of Venus" Richard Fisher, Director, Sun-Earth Connection Division, NASA Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Thursday, May 6, 2004 "Transits of Venus and the American Expeditions of 1874 and 1882" Steven J. Dick, NASA Chief Historian, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. Thursday, May 20, 2004 "Transits of Mercury and Venus and the Solution of the Black-Drop Mystery" Jay M. Pasachoff, Director of Hopkins Observatory and Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts Thursday, June 3, 2004 "Public Reaction to the Transit of Venus, 1882" David DeVorkin, Curator of History of Astronomy, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. [Source: Ronald Brashear to HASTRO-L, 1 April 2004] ........................................................................... Item 6 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... The New Astronomy - A Meeting to Honor Woody Sullivan on his 60th Birthday -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proudly announcing "The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding our View of Planet Earth", a meeting to honor Woody Sullivan on his 60th birthday Date: Wednesday 16 - Friday 18 June, 2004. Venue: University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Web Site: http://faculty.washington.edu/bhevly LOC: Bruce Hevly, Karl Hufbauer (Co-Chairs), Bruce Balick and Jim Evans. SOC: Wayne Orchiston (Chair), John Baross, Ron Bracewell, David DeVorkin, Steve Dick, Ken Kellermann, Robert Smith, Richard Strom and Virginia Trimble. Conference Themes: (1) History of non-optical and space astronomy, and how it has changed astronomy overall (with some emphasis on radio astronomy). (2) A cultural look at how our views of planet Earth (and of us) have been changed by the past fifty years of astronomy and space exploration (with some emphasis on astrobiology topics, particularly extraterrestrial life). These two themes have been chosen because they relate to major research projects in Woody's career are important issues, which have not been collectively treated before, and are coherent enough to attract a group to Seattle hopefully will make for an attractive publication. Woody's Vision of 'Woodfest' "In general I'm fascinated with the mutual influences of astronomy and culture on each other. I'd like to see the meeting be different from normal in having a much larger fraction than usual of papers that 'step back' and look at: where we are in astronomy and astrobiology (life in the Universe) and how we got here in the early twenty-first century, with a special emphasis on the past fifty years (but not strictly confined to that period). Current scientific research results are not excluded, but they should always be placed in the above context. Therefore, speakers should attempt much broader and integrative topics than they (perhaps) normally do. Talks should be as broad as speakers are willing to tackle, but of course still grounded in concrete examples and case studies. Here's a chance to try out some speculations, syntheses, assertions, etc.!" Deadline for Offers of Papers: 31 March 2004. Registration Fee: US$80 Conference Dinner: Thursday 17 June (Woody's Birthday). Optional Excursions: Saturday 19 June. Further Details & On-line Registration: http://faculty.washington.edu/bhevly [Provided by Wayne Orchiston, Anglo-Australian Observatory and Australia Telescope National Facility] ........................................................................... Item 7 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... "The Scientific Instrument Collections in the University" Conference (SICU) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scientific Instrument Collections in the University An International Conference at Dartmouth College, 24-27 June 2004 Co-sponsored by Dartmouth College and the Scientific Instrument Commission, International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science Funded by the National Science Foundation and the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College Thursday, 24 June 18:30 Keynote address Paolo Brenni, Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Florence, and President, SIC "Sleeping beauties: Historical collections of scientific instruments at European universities" Friday, 25 June 9:00 Session 1: The political economy of university collections (workshop) Topics to include: - recognizing the value of university collections, defining collection mandates - promoting collections at departmental, university, and wider levels - relationships with other university collections, i.e., museums, libraries, archives - uses for collections and the fostering of traditional and new clienteles 10:45 Session 2a: University collections and university histories (papers) * Julian Holland, University of Sydney, "University Collections of Scientific Instruments: An Australian Perspective" * Mott Linn, Clark University, "Photographic record of Clark's new laboratories in 1892" * Dalibor Voboril and Petr Kveton (NC), Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, "Collections of historical psychological devices in Czech universities" 10:45 Session 2b: Using university collections for research (papers) 14:00 Session 3: Collection management (workshop) Topics to include: - organizing and cataloguing collections - storage, proper handling, conservation, security - environmental safety - creating policies for on-going acquisition and de-accession - dealing with large objects 15:45 Session 4a: Can university collections survive their founders? (papers) * M. Eugene Rudd, University of Nebraska, "The making of a collection: Historic scientific instruments at the University of Nebraska" * Norman Heckenberg, University of Queensland, "Avoiding infant mortality" * Joseph Bellina, St. Mary's College, "Does St. Mary's collection have a future?" * Sebastian Soubiran, University of Strasbourg, "Getting started: Preservation and valorisation of scientific instruments at the University of Strasbourg" 15:45 Session 4b: Curatorial challenges (papers) * Aysen Savan, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, "Cataloguing and classifying: From a gyroscope to a mission statement" * David Brock and Robert Lukens, Chemical Heritage Foundation, "Chemistry's revolutionary tools: Collecting and interpretating post-war chemical instrumentation" * Jim Moss, Horological conservator, "The mercurial relationship between David and Goliath" * Yaakov Zik, University of Haifa, "Instrument: An interaface among theory, symbolic representation and the real world" 20:00 Session 5: Digital projects and exhibitions (workshop) Saturday, 26 June 9:00 Session 6: Teaching with university collections (workshop) 10:45 Session 7a: Introducing hidden collections (papers) * Jose Bertomeu, University of Valencia, "Scientific Instruments at Secondary Schools in Spain, 1845-1939" * Thomas B. Greenslade, Keynon College, "Hidden collections" * Anne McMahon, Santa Clara University, and Dana Freiburger, University of Wisconsin, "The Santa Clara Scientific Instrument Collection" * Jean-Francois Loude (NC), University of Lausanne, "Historic physics instruments at the University of Lausanne" * Frank Winkler and Matthew W. Motley, Middlebury College, "Scientific instruments at Middlebury College" 10:45 Session 7b: Introducing hidden collections (papers) * Richard Paselk, Humboldt State University, "From virtual to reality: The making of the Robert A. Paselk Scientific Instrument Museum" * Bernard Ziomkiewicz, Queen's University, "The physics collection of Queen's University" * Michael Littman (NC), Princeton, "Joseph Henry's artifacts at Princeton" * Andrew Bell, private scholar, "Skeletons in the closet: Optical artifacts from the Dartmouth King Collection" 14:00 Session 8: Whither university astronomical observatories? (workshop) Sunday, 27 June 9-17 Optional excursion to the American Precision Museum, Windsor, Vt, and to the Russell Porter Museum and turret telescopes in Springfield, VT, with lunch at the Hartness House Planned excursions 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. The American Precision Museum 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. The Hartness Turret Telescope 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. Our web address is: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sicu The SICU Organizing Committee (Richard Kremer, Frank Manasek, Dave Pantalony, Sara Schechner) [Source: David Pantalony to Rete discussion group, 21 March 2004; Sara Schechner to HASTRO-L, 3 April 2004] ........................................................................... Item 8 ENHA No. 57, May 23, 2004 ........................................................................... VITRUM - exhibition on ancient glass and science ------------------------------------------------ A large exhibition on ancient glass and science entitled "Vitrum. Il vetro fra arte e scienza nel mondo romano" (http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/vitrum/) had opened on March 27 in Florence at Palazzo Pitti. Several scientific instruments, including Archimede's model of the universe, have been reconstructed. While the catalogue of the exhibition is in Italian (http://www.giunti.it/index.php), a complementary publication is "When Glass Matters. Studies in the History of Science and Art from Graeco-Roman Antiquity to Early Modern Era", edited by Marco Beretta, Florence. Leo S. Olschki (www.olschki.it), explores the same topic on a longer period. [Source: Marco Beretta to Rete discussion group, 16 April 2004] ........................................................................... Acknowledgements ---------------- For information we thank Klaus Staubermann and Wayne Orchiston. ........................................................................... Imprint ------- Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA) Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft Editors: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick and Dr. Hilmar W. Duerbeck 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. Archives: Previous issues of ENHA are to be found at http://www.astrohist.org/aa/enha/ . Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of Astronomy: URL: http://www.astrohist.org/ Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany, Tel.: +49(0)6592 2150, Fax: +49(0)6592 985140 Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Vogelsang 35 A, D-14478 Potsdam, Germany, e-mail: wdick@astrohist.org Bank Acct. of the Astronomische Gesellschaft: Acct # 310 330 402, Volksbank Coesfeld-Duelmen (BLZ 401 631 23) Contributions from foreign countries: acct # 162 18-203, Postbank Hamburg, BLZ 200 100 20 Please sign with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************