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The author, a well-known astronomer himself, describes the evolution of astronomical ideas, touching only lightly on most of the instrumental developments. Richly illustrated, the book starts with the astronomical ideas of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian philosophers, moves on to the Greek period and then on to the golden age of astronomy, that of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Finally, Pecker concludes with modern theories of cosmology. Written with astronomy undergraduates in mind, this is a fascinating survey of astronomical thinking.
Edith Alicia M ller (1918-1995) was the IAU General Secretary from
1976 to 1979, the first woman to have this responsibility. Many
friends, students and colleagues, and others who have met Edith at
different occasions, give in this book their memories of her. Her
fundamental work in solar physics concerned the chemical
composition of the Sun, the time variation of its infra-red
spectrum, and its thermal structure. Her interests were, however,
far broader than that. She was heavily involved in international
work for the teaching of astronomy and for the exchange program of
young astronomers.
This is the latest effort in a sequence of presentations begun in
1949 with a series of lectures on long-focus photographic
astrometry given by the author as Fulbright professor in Paris at
the invitation by the late H. Mineur, at that time Director of the
Institut d' Astrophysique. These earlier lectures were published as
a series of review articles in Popular Astronomy (1951) and
appeared both as Contributions de l'Institut d'Astrophysique, Serie
A, No. 81 and as reprint No. 75 of Sproul Observatory. A more
elaborate presenta tion was given in 1963 in Stars and Stellar
Systems, which was followed by Principles of Astrometry (1967, W.
H. Freeman & Co.). During the second half of 1974, again under
Fulbright auspices, at the invitation of Pik Sin The, I lectured at
the Astronomical Institute in Amster dam, followed by a short
course in May-June 1978 at the invitation of E. P. J. van den
Heuvel. I gave a more extensive course at the Institut d' As
trophysique at the invitation of J. C. Pecker of the College de
France and of J. Audouze, Director of the LA.P. Both in Amsterdam
and in Paris I had presented occasional astrometric topics at
various times. The opportunity to lecture in France and in Holland
has facilitated, influenced and improved the organization and
contents of the presentations on the subject of long-focus
photographic astrometry."
What are the current ideas describing the large-scale structure of
the Universe? How do they relate to the observed facts? This book
looks at both the strengths and weaknesses of the current big-bang
model in explaining certain puzzling data. It arises from an
international conference that brought together many of the world's
leading players in cosmology. In addition to presenting individual
talks, the proceedings of the resulting discussions are also
recorded. Giving a comprehensive coverage of the expanding field of
cosmology, this text will be valuable for graduate students and
researchers in cosmology and theoretical astrophysics.
Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit, The sky is, up above the roof, Si
bleu, si calme So blue, so calm Un arbre, par-dessus Je toit, A
tree there, up above the roof, Berce sa palme. Waves leaves of
palm. La cloche, dans le ciel qu'on voit, A church bell, in the sky
I see, Doucement tinte. Softly tolls. Un oiseau, sur l'arbre qu'on
voit, A bird, upon the tree I see, Chante sa plainte. Sadly calls.
PAUL VERLAINE Like Verlaine, we are in prison. The prison is our
Earth, "which is so pretty"; our atmosphere and its clouds, its
"marvellous clouds." (You would think that Verlaine, Prevert and
Baudelaire had been comparing notes ) The sky is up above the
roof... A tree there, up above the roof... Stars in the sky, like
birds ... their rays, like bells (and here we are with Apollinaire
) What we see opens the way to what we guess at; what we observe
Ieads us towards the unobservable. A poem releases images, and the
invisible grows big with reality. Astronomcrs are a little like
poets (indirectly from the Greek 7tostco, make): they make the
universe by interpreting messages, extrapolating spectra, and
inventing 'models' of the cosmos or of stars - fictional
constructions whose observable part constitutes only a small
fraction of the whole, and which only the inductive logic of the
theoretician allows us to consider as representing unique physical
reality.
Edith Alicia Muller (1918-1995) was the IAU General Secretary from
1976 to 1979, the first woman to have this responsibility. Many
friends, students and colleagues, and others who have met Edith at
different occasions, give in this book their memories of her. Her
fundamental work in solar physics concerned the chemical
composition of the Sun, the time variation of its infra-red
spectrum, and its thermal structure. Her interests were, however,
far broader than that. She was heavily involved in international
work for the teaching of astronomy and for the exchange program of
young astronomers.
Socrates knew all that was known by his contemporaries. But already
in the Middle Ages it was becoming difficult for a single man to
have a truly encyclopedic view of all human knowledge. It is true
that Pico della Mirandola, Pius II, Leonardo da Vinci, and several
other great minds were thoroughly in possession of considerable
know ledge, and knew all that one could know, except no doubt for
some techniques. The encyclopedists of the 18th century had to be
content with an admirable survey: they could not go into details,
and their work is a collective one, the specialized science of each
collaborator compensating for the insufficiencies of the others. We
know very well that our science of today is a science of
specialists. Not only is it impossible for anyone person to
assimilate the totality of human knowledge, it is impossible even
to know ones own discipline perfectly thoroughly. Each year the
presses of science pro duce a frightening quantity of printed
paper. Even in very limited fields, new journals are created every
day, devoted to extremely specialized, often very narrowly defined
subjects. It is indeed evident that in a field whose scope extends
well beyond astronomical or astrophysical research, it is
materially impossible to be informed of everything, even with the
richest of libraries at hand.
This is the latest effort in a sequence of presentations begun in
1949 with a series of lectures on long-focus photographic
astrometry given by the author as Fulbright professor in Paris at
the invitation by the late H. Mineur, at that time Director of the
Institut d' Astrophysique. These earlier lectures were published as
a series of review articles in Popular Astronomy (1951) and
appeared both as Contributions de l'Institut d'Astrophysique, Serie
A, No. 81 and as reprint No. 75 of Sproul Observatory. A more
elaborate presenta tion was given in 1963 in Stars and Stellar
Systems, which was followed by Principles of Astrometry (1967, W.
H. Freeman & Co.). During the second half of 1974, again under
Fulbright auspices, at the invitation of Pik Sin The, I lectured at
the Astronomical Institute in Amster dam, followed by a short
course in May-June 1978 at the invitation of E. P. J. van den
Heuvel. I gave a more extensive course at the Institut d' As
trophysique at the invitation of J. C. Pecker of the College de
France and of J. Audouze, Director of the LA.P. Both in Amsterdam
and in Paris I had presented occasional astrometric topics at
various times. The opportunity to lecture in France and in Holland
has facilitated, influenced and improved the organization and
contents of the presentations on the subject of long-focus
photographic astrometry."
The author, a well-known astronomer himself, describes the
evolution of astronomical ideas, touching only lightly on most of
the instrumental developments. Richly illustrated, the book starts
with the astronomical ideas of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian
philosophers, moves on to the Greek period and then on to the
golden age of astronomy, that of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and
Newton. Finally, Pecker concludes with modern theories of
cosmology. Written with astronomy undergraduates in mind, this is a
fascinating survey of astronomical thinking.
What are the current ideas describing the large-scale structure of
the Universe? How do they relate to the observed facts? This book
looks at both the strengths and weaknesses of the current big-bang
model in explaining certain puzzling data. It arises from an
international conference that brought together many of the world's
leading players in cosmology. In addition to presenting individual
talks, the proceedings of the resulting discussions are also
recorded. Giving a comprehensive coverage of the expanding field of
cosmology, this text will be valuable for graduate students and
researchers in cosmology and theoretical astrophysics.
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