Celestial Globes Armillary Spheres
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Scienza E Cultura Universitalia
SCIENZA E CULTURA UNIVERSITALIA Costantino Sigismondi (ed.) ORBE NOVUS Astronomia e Studi Gerbertiani 1 Universitalia SIGISMONDI, Costantino (a cura di) Orbe Novus / Costantino Sigismondi Roma : Universitalia, 2010 158 p. ; 24 cm. – ( Scienza e Cultura ) ISBN … 1. Storia della Scienza. Storia della Chiesa. I. Sigismondi, Costantino. 509 – SCIENZE PURE, TRATTAMENTO STORICO 270 – STORIA DELLA CHIESA In copertina: Imago Gerberti dal medagliere capitolino e scritta ORBE NOVVS nell'epitaffio tombale di Silvestro II a S. Giovanni in Laterano (entrambe le foto sono di Daniela Velestino). Collana diretta da Rosalma Salina Borello e Luca Nicotra Prima edizione: maggio 2010 Universitalia INTRODUZIONE Introduzione Costantino Sigismondi L’edizione del convegno gerbertiano del 2009, in pieno anno internazionale dell’astronomia, si è tenuta nella Basilica di S. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri il 12 maggio, e a Seoul presso l’università Sejong l’11 giugno 2009. La scelta della Basilica è dovuta alla presenza della grande meridiana voluta dal papa Clemente XI Albani nel 1700, che ancora funziona e consente di fare misure di valore astrometrico. Il titolo di questi atti, ORBE NOVUS, è preso, come i precedenti, dall’epitaffio tombale di Silvestro II in Laterano, e vuole suggerire il legame con il “De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium” di Copernico, sebbene il contesto in cui queste parole sono tratte vuole inquadrare Gerberto nel suo ministero petrino come il nuovo pastore per tutto il mondo: UT FIERET PASTOR TOTO ORBE NOVVS. Elizabeth Cavicchi del Massachussets Institute of Technology, ha riflettuto sulle esperienze di ottica geometrica fatte da Gerberto con i tubi, nel contesto contemporaneo dello sviluppo dell’ottica nel mondo arabo con cui Gerberto era stato in contatto. -
Enthymema XXIII 2019 the Technê of Aratus' Leptê Acrostich
Enthymema XXIII 2019 The Technê of Aratus’ Leptê Acrostich Jan Kwapisz University of Warsaw Abstract – This paper sets out to re-approach the famous leptê acrostich in Aratus’ Phaenomena (783-87) by confronting it with other early Greek acrostichs and the discourse of technê and sophia, which has been shown to play an important role in a gamut of Greek literary texts, including texts very much relevant for the study of Aratus’ acrostich. In particular, there is a tantalizing connection between the acrostich in Aratus’ poem that poeticized Eudoxus’ astronomical work and the so- called Ars Eudoxi, a (pseudo-)Eudoxian acrostich sphragis from a second-century BC papyrus. Keywords – Aratus; Eudoxus; Ars Eudoxi; Acrostichs; Hellenistic Poetry; Technê; Sophia. Kwapisz, Jan. “The Technê of Aratus’ Leptê Acrostich.” Enthymema, no. XXIII, 2019, pp. 374-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.13130/2037-2426/11934 https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/enthymema Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License ISSN 2037-2426 The Technê of Aratus’ Leptê Acrostich* Jan Kwapisz University of Warsaw To the memory of Cristiano Castelletti (1971-2017) Λεπτὴ μὲν καθαρή τε περὶ τρίτον ἦμαρ ἐοῦσα εὔδιός κ’ εἴη, λεπτὴ δὲ καὶ εὖ μάλ’ ἐρευθὴς πνευματίη· παχίων δὲ καὶ ἀμβλείῃσι κεραίαις 785 τέτρατον ἐκ τριτάτοιο φόως ἀμενηνὸν ἔχουσα ἠὲ νότου ἀμβλύνετ’ ἢ ὕδατος ἐγγὺς ἐόντος. (Arat. 783-87) If [the Moon is] slender and clear about the third day, she will bode fair weather; if slender and very red, wind; if the crescent is thickish, with blunted horns, having a feeble fourth-day light after the third day, either it is blurred by a southerly or because rain is in the offing. -
The Ptolemaic System Claudius Ptolemy
Putting it All Together: The Ptolemaic System Claudius Ptolemy (c. 90 - c. 168 CE) • Librarian at Alexandria • “The Great Treatise” & “The Almagest” (to the 12th Century) The Ptolemaic System: Objectives Wanted: A Model to explain the observed apparent motions of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and the Celestial Sphere. The Model should explain related phenomena such as the lunar phases, eclipses, and planetary brightness variation. The Model should be capable of accurately predicting these phenomena. (When? Where? Details?) The Model is geostatic, geocentric, and uses only uniform circular motions. (cf., the Aristotelian doctrines and the Aristarchian heresy.) The Ptolemaic System Observations • The apparent rotation of the Celestial Sphere • The annual motion of the Sun along the ecliptic • The monthly motion of the Moon The lunar phases and the synodic month Lunar and Solar Eclipses • The motions of the planets on the celestial sphere Direct and retrograde motions Planetary brightness variations Periodicities: The synodic periods Assumptions • A Geostatic cosmology (The Earth does not move.) • Uniform Circular motions (It is a “perfect” universe.) Approaches • The offsets and epicycles introduced by Hipparchus The Ptolemaic System For Inferior Planets (Mercury Venus) Deferent Period is 1 Year; Epicyclic period is the Synodic Period For Superior Planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) Deferent Period is the Synodic period; Epicyclic Period is 1 year The Ptolemaic System (“To Scale”) Note: Indicated motions are with respect to the Celestial Sphere AGAIN: Problems with the Ptolemaic System Recollect the assumptions • The Earth doesn’t move (“geostatic”) • The Earth is at the center of the universe (“geocentric”) • All motions are circular (... or combinations thereof) • All motions are uniform (.. -
Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sufi and His Book of the Fixed Stars: a Journey of Re-Discovery
ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Hafez, Ihsan (2010) Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and his book of the fixed stars: a journey of re-discovery. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/28854/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/28854/ 5.1 Extant Manuscripts of al-Ṣūfī’s Book Al-Ṣūfī’s ‘Book of the Fixed Stars’ dating from around A.D. 964, is one of the most important medieval Arabic treatises on astronomy. This major work contains an extensive star catalogue, which lists star co-ordinates and magnitude estimates, as well as detailed star charts. Other topics include descriptions of nebulae and Arabic folk astronomy. As I mentioned before, al-Ṣūfī’s work was first translated into Persian by al-Ṭūsī. It was also translated into Spanish in the 13th century during the reign of King Alfonso X. The introductory chapter of al-Ṣūfī’s work was first translated into French by J.J.A. Caussin de Parceval in 1831. However in 1874 it was entirely translated into French again by Hans Karl Frederik Schjellerup, whose work became the main reference used by most modern astronomical historians. In 1956 al-Ṣūfī’s Book of the fixed stars was printed in its original Arabic language in Hyderabad (India) by Dārat al-Ma‘aref al-‘Uthmānīa. -
The Geography of Ptolemy Elucidated
The Grography of Ptolemy The geography of Ptolemy elucidated Thomas Glazebrook Rylands 1893 • A brief outline of the rise and progress of geographical inquiry prior to the time of Ptolemy. §1.—Introductory. IN tracing the early progress of Geography it is necessary to remember that, like all other sciences, it arose from “ small beginnings.” When men began to move from place to place they naturally desired to tell the tale of their wanderings, both for their own satisfaction and for the information of others. Such accounts have now perished, but their results remain in the earliest records extant ; hence, it is impossible to begin an investigation into the history of Geography at the true fountain-head, though it is in some instances possible to guess the nature of the source from the character of the resultant stream. A further difficulty lies in the question as to where the science of Geography begins. A Greek would probably have answered when some discoverer first invented a method for map- ping out the distance between certain places, which distance conversely could be ascertained directly from the map. In accordance with modern method, the science of Geography might be said to begin when the subject ceased to be dealt with mythically or dogmatically ; when facts were collected and reduced to laws, while these laws again, or their prior facts, were connected with other laws—in the case of Geography with those of Mathematics and Astro- nomy. Perhaps it would be better to follow the latter principle of division, and consequently the history of Geography may be divided into two main stages—“ Pre-Scientific” and Scientific Geography—though strictly speaking, the name of Geography should be applied to the latter alone. -
The Magic of the Atwood Sphere
The magic of the Atwood Sphere Exactly a century ago, on June Dr. Jean-Michel Faidit 5, 1913, a “celestial sphere demon- Astronomical Society of France stration” by Professor Wallace W. Montpellier, France Atwood thrilled the populace of [email protected] Chicago. This machine, built to ac- commodate a dozen spectators, took up a concept popular in the eigh- teenth century: that of turning stel- lariums. The impact was consider- able. It sparked the genesis of modern planetariums, leading 10 years lat- er to an invention by Bauersfeld, engineer of the Zeiss Company, the Deutsche Museum in Munich. Since ancient times, mankind has sought to represent the sky and the stars. Two trends emerged. First, stars and constellations were easy, especially drawn on maps or globes. This was the case, for example, in Egypt with the Zodiac of Dendera or in the Greco-Ro- man world with the statue of Atlas support- ing the sky, like that of the Farnese Atlas at the National Archaeological Museum of Na- ples. But things were more complicated when it came to include the sun, moon, planets, and their apparent motions. Ingenious mecha- nisms were developed early as the Antiky- thera mechanism, found at the bottom of the Aegean Sea in 1900 and currently an exhibi- tion until July at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. During two millennia, the human mind and ingenuity worked constantly develop- ing and combining these two approaches us- ing a variety of media: astrolabes, quadrants, armillary spheres, astronomical clocks, co- pernican orreries and celestial globes, cul- minating with the famous Coronelli globes offered to Louis XIV. -
Thinking Outside the Sphere Views of the Stars from Aristotle to Herschel Thinking Outside the Sphere
Thinking Outside the Sphere Views of the Stars from Aristotle to Herschel Thinking Outside the Sphere A Constellation of Rare Books from the History of Science Collection The exhibition was made possible by generous support from Mr. & Mrs. James B. Hebenstreit and Mrs. Lathrop M. Gates. CATALOG OF THE EXHIBITION Linda Hall Library Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology Cynthia J. Rogers, Curator 5109 Cherry Street Kansas City MO 64110 1 Thinking Outside the Sphere is held in copyright by the Linda Hall Library, 2010, and any reproduction of text or images requires permission. The Linda Hall Library is an independently funded library devoted to science, engineering and technology which is used extensively by The exhibition opened at the Linda Hall Library April 22 and closed companies, academic institutions and individuals throughout the world. September 18, 2010. The Library was established by the wills of Herbert and Linda Hall and opened in 1946. It is located on a 14 acre arboretum in Kansas City, Missouri, the site of the former home of Herbert and Linda Hall. Sources of images on preliminary pages: Page 1, cover left: Peter Apian. Cosmographia, 1550. We invite you to visit the Library or our website at www.lindahlll.org. Page 1, right: Camille Flammarion. L'atmosphère météorologie populaire, 1888. Page 3, Table of contents: Leonhard Euler. Theoria motuum planetarum et cometarum, 1744. 2 Table of Contents Introduction Section1 The Ancient Universe Section2 The Enduring Earth-Centered System Section3 The Sun Takes -
Our Place in the Universe Sun Kwok
Our Place in the Universe Sun Kwok Our Place in the Universe Understanding Fundamental Astronomy from Ancient Discoveries Second Edition Sun Kwok Faculty of Science The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, China This book is a second edition of the book “Our Place in the Universe” previously published by the author as a Kindle book under amazon.com. ISBN 978-3-319-54171-6 ISBN 978-3-319-54172-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-54172-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017937904 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. -
OR GREAT BOOK. Figure 10 Explains the Cosmographic System of The
36 THE "ALMAGEST" OR GREAT BOOK. Figure 10 explains the cosmographic system of the same astronomer. In the centre we see the Earth, externally surrounded by fire [which is precisely opposite to the truth, according to the fundamental principles of modern geology; but the reader will understand that we are not attempting here to expose the errors of Ptolemaus; we confine ourselves to a description of his system]. Above the Earth spreads the first crystalline heaven, which carries and conveys the Moon. In the second and third crystal heavens the planets Mercury and Venus respectively describe their epicycles. The fourth heaven belongs to the Sun ; wherein it traverses the circle known as the ecliptic. The three last celestial spheres include Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Beyond these planets shines the heaven of the fixed stars. It rotates upon itself from east to west, with an inconceivable rapidity and an incalculable force of impulsion, for it is this which sets in motion all the fabulous machine. Ptolemaus places on the extreme confines of his vast Whole the eternal abode of the blessed. Thrice happy they in having no further cause to concern themselves %I c r ~NT about so terrible a system ; a system far from transparent, notwithstand ing all its crystal! S The treatise in which the Greek SU N X astronomer summed up his labours r _N_U remained for generations in high ( favour with the learned, and especi r F; r ally with the Arabs, whose privilegp and renown it is to have preserved intact the precious deposit of the sciences, when the Europe of the N - twelfth and thirteenth centuries was plunged in the night-shadows of the profoundest ignorance. -
10 · Greek Cartography in the Early Roman World
10 · Greek Cartography in the Early Roman World PREPARED BY THE EDITORS FROM MATERIALS SUPPLIED BY GERMAINE AUJAe The Roman republic offers a good case for continuing to treat the Greek contribution to mapping as a separate CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THEORETICAL strand in the history ofclassical cartography. While there CARTOGRAPHY: POLYBIUS, CRATES, was a considerable blending-and interdependence-of AND HIPPARCHUS Greek and Roman concepts and skills, the fundamental distinction between the often theoretical nature of the Greek contribution and the increasingly practical uses The extent to which a new generation of scholars in the for maps devised by the Romans forms a familiar but second century B.C. was familiar with the texts, maps, satisfactory division for their respective cartographic in and globes of the Hellenistic period is a clear pointer to fluences. Certainly the political expansion of Rome, an uninterrupted continuity of cartographic knowledge. whose domination was rapidly extending over the Med Such knowledge, relating to both terrestrial and celestial iterranean, did not lead to an eclipse of Greek influence. mapping, had been transmitted through a succession of It is true that after the death of Ptolemy III Euergetes in well-defined master-pupil relationships, and the pres 221 B.C. a decline in the cultural supremacy of Alex ervation of texts and three-dimensional models had been andria set in. Intellectual life moved to more energetic aided by the growth of libraries. Yet this evidence should centers such as Pergamum, Rhodes, and above all Rome, not be interpreted to suggest that the Greek contribution but this promoted the diffusion and development of to cartography in the early Roman world was merely a Greek knowledge about maps rather than its extinction. -
Presentation Slides
Forgotten History Al-Sufi's Book Of Fixed Stars Khalid Baheyeldin January 2018 Who Is This Guy? ● Khalid (ª ... edº not ª ... eeeeedº) ● Pharmacist by education ● Open Source Software Development and Consulting by experience (32 years) ● One of the developers of Drupal, a Web Content Management System ● NASA ● RASC Condensed History ● Egyptians (3100 B.C.E - 323 B.C.E) – Rise of stars every 10 days (Decans) ● Babylonians, Assyrians (1st millenium B.C.E) ● Alexander the Great 323 B.C.E ● Library of Alexandria, by Ptolemy (his general) – Library, University, and Research Institute ● Roman Occupation of Egypt 30 B.C.E Hipparchus ● Hipparchus of Nicaea ~ 130 B.C.E. – Precession (1 degree per century) – Magnitude Scale – Star Catalog, lost but incorporated in Almagest Claudius Ptolmey ● Lived in Alexandria ~ 150 C.E. ● Authored Almagest, Tetrabiblos (Astrology), translated to Arabic (800s), then from Arabic to Latin in (1100s) ● 48 Constellation visible from mid northern latitudes (Alexandria ~ 31 N) – Grouped by `North of ecliptic', zodiacal, and `South of Ecliptic' ● 1025 stars, 5 nebulous, 6 reddish ● Star catalog and magnitude scale of Hipparchus Where In The World? Arab Folk Astronomy ● Pre-Islamic (before 622 C.E.) ● Wide area – Southern Iraq, Syria, all of Arabia ● Preserved in poetry, and handed down in stories and proverbs ● Not the regular signs of the zodiac ● 28 stations of the moon, one per day ● Various asterisms Anwaa Tradition ● Rising and setting of certain stars (e.g. Sirius, Canopus, Pleiades, ...etc) ● Timing of important -
Historical Astronomy
Historical Astronomy (Neolithic record of Moon Phases) Introduction Arguably the history of astronomy IS the history of science. Many cultures carried out astronomical observations. However, very few formed mathematical or physical models based on their observations. It is those that did that we will focus on here, primarily the Babylonians and Greeks. Other Examples At the same time, that focus should not cause us to forget the impressive accomplishments of other cultures. Other Examples ∼ 2300 year old Chankillo Big Horn Medicine Wheel, Observatory, near Lima, Wyoming Peru Other Examples Chinese Star Map - Chinese records go back over 4000 Stonehenge, England years Babylonian Astronomy The story we will follow in more detail begins with the Babylonians / Mesopotamians / Sumerians, the cultures that inhabited the “fertile crescent.” Babylonian Astronomy Their observations and mathematics was instrumental to the development of Greek astronomy and continues to influence science today. They were the first to provide a mathematical description of astronomical events, recognize that astronomical events were periodic, and to devise a theory of the planets. Babylonian Astronomy Some accomplishments: • The accurate prediction of solar and lunar eclipses. • They developed mathematical models to predict the motions of the planets. • Accurate star charts. • Recognized the changing apparent speed of the Sun’s motion. • Developed models to account for the changing speed of the Sun and Moon. • Gave us the idea of 360◦ in a circle, 600 in a degree, 6000 in a minute. Alas, only very fragmentary records of their work survives. Early Greek The conquests of Alexander the Great are oen credited with bringing knowl- edge of the Babylonians science and mathematics to the Greeks.