A History of Astronomy

By Anton Pannekoek

Book Overview

"A carefully reasoned history of astronomy ... clearly the work of a man who loved his subject." -- The Times (London) Literary Supplement. Few histories of astronomy offer the special human dimension of this book. For Professor Pannekoek (University of Amsterdam), the history of astronomy consists of the growth of man's concept of his world. The study of the cosmos became an essential part of the history of human culture, an adventure of the mind. In this well-balanced account of that adventure, the author is at pains to relate the development of astronomy to the social and cultural background in which it is nurtured. Thus, the effect of changes in political conditions, the influence of geography, and the growth of industry and of communications methods are clearly and incisively described. Dr. Pannekoek begins with an unusually detailed account of astronomy in ancient times, including Babylonian sky-lore, Assyrian astrology, the Ptolemaic worldview, Hellenistic astronomy, the epicycle theory, and Arabian astronomy. The growth of astronomy after Copernicus constitutes the second part of the book, acquainting the reader with the epoch-making work of Kepler and Newton and the astonishing developments of celestial mechanics during the eighteenth century. Part III begins with Herschel, the gifted amateur whose observations opened up new horizons, and ends with Eddington's pioneering studies of the internal constitutions of stars. Comprehensive, well-written and full of small, revealing details that attest to the scope and depth of the author's learning, this splendid survey belongs in the library of every astronomer -- or anyone interested in the grand mystery of the cosmos and man's attempts to penetrate it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000OELDBW
• ISBN13: 9780486659947
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful survey of astronomy through the ages

Although published in 1961, this book provides a lucid, engaging, and comprehensive review of the history and practice of astronomy from the pre-Babylonian era to the early 20th century. While lacking in depth due to the survey nature of the work, the information presented is relevant, insightful, and interesting. The flavor of the different eras when astronomy was practiced is certainly tasted as well as insights into the people who viewed the skies above. A great book for a survey of the history of astronomy. A useful project would be to append the book with the astronomical knowledge gleaned in the past century, which would show just how rapidly our knowledge of the universe has been expanding in the recent past.

Terrific

The only reason I don't give this five stars is that some of the historical ideas in here have a sort of outdated feel. still it's beatifully written, and the professor who wrote it obviously really came alive while talking about astronomy. Look at some selections from the table of contents, and see if it whets your appetite. Old Babylonian Sky Lore... Assyrian Astrology... Chaldaean Tables (of the stars)... Gree Poets and Philosophers... Arabian Astronomy... Copernicus... Kepler... Newton...If this is the kind of thing that floats your proverbial boat, you could do a lot worse than this book. It really is very beautifully written, too -- if you happen to be familiar with, and enjoy, Olaf Stapledon's writing style, you'll find this to be very pleasing. You might want to keep a dictionary of astronomical terms handy, if you are someone who loves the drama of the historical clash of Science versus Dogma, but aren't necessarily that familiar with words like "azimuth", "declination", etc. Also, if you like this, you may want to seek out the jourrnal "Isis", which specializes in the study of the history of science.