"The Heavens on Earth" explores the place of the observatory in
nineteenth-century science and culture. Astronomy was a core
pursuit for observatories, but usually not the only one. It
belonged to a larger group of "observatory sciences" that also
included geodesy, meteorology, geomagnetism, and even parts of
physics and statistics. These pursuits coexisted in the
nineteenth-century observatory; this collection surveys them as a
coherent whole. Broadening the focus beyond the solitary astronomer
at his telescope, it illuminates the observatory's importance to
technological, military, political, and colonial undertakings, as
well as in advancing and popularizing the mathematical, physical,
and cosmological sciences.
The contributors examine "observatory techniques" developed and
used not only in connection with observatories but also by
instrument makers in their workshops, navy officers on ships, civil
engineers in the field, and many others. These techniques included
the calibration and coordination of precision instruments for
making observations and taking measurements; methods of data
acquisition and tabulation; and the production of maps, drawings,
and photographs, as well as numerical, textual, and visual
representations of the heavens and the earth. They also encompassed
the social management of personnel within observatories, the
coordination of international scientific collaborations, and
interactions with dignitaries and the public. The state observatory
occupied a particularly privileged place in the life of the city.
With their imposing architecture and ancient traditions, state
observatories served representative purposes for their patrons,
whether as symbols of a monarch's enlightened power, a nation's
industrial and scientific excellence, or republican progressive
values. Focusing on observatory techniques in settings from Berlin,
London, Paris, and Rome to Australia, Russia, Thailand, and the
United States, "The Heavens on Earth" is a major contribution to
the history of science.
"Contributors" David Aubin, Charlotte Bigg, Guy Boistel, Theresa
Levitt, Massimo Mazzotti, Ole Molvig, Simon Schaffer, Martina
Schiavon, H. Otto Sibum, Richard Staley, John Tresch, Simon
Werrett, Sven Widmalm
General
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