Feast of Astro-History at Greenwich
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No. 3 an Independent Miscellany of Astronomy John Hadley's Reflecting
No. 3 An Independent Miscellany of Astronomy 4 February 2019 In 1672, when Isaac Newton read of the enigmatic Monsieur him, that such projects are of little moment till they be put in Cassegrain’s design for a reflecting telescope, he expressed practise.’ Subsequently, the Gregorian design was predom- his opinions in a letter to Henry Oldenburg, Secretary of the inant throughout the eighteenth century, while Newtonian Royal Society. After extensive adverse criticism, the letter telescopes became very popular with the introduction of concludes: ‘You see therefore, that the advantages of this silver-on-glass mirrors in the late 1850s. If Newton could be design are none, but the disadvantages so great and unav- informed that the Cassegrainian design is now incorporated oidable, that I fear it will never be put in practise with good in many instruments, it is probable that he would respond in effect ... I could wish therefore, Mr Cassegrain had tryed a characteristic manner with an acerbic comment. his design before he divulged it. But if, for further satisfaction he please hereafter to try it, I believe the success will inform Bob Marriott _____________________________________________________________________________ John Hadley’s reflecting telescope its thin section parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tele- scope in order to minimise or obviate optical effects, while After the efforts of Gregory, Reive, Newton, Cox, Hooke, and the other end of this brass arm was attached to a sliding Cassegrain from the mid-1660s until around 1704, develop- unit which fitted into wide grooves along the length of a ment of the reflecting telescope remained quiescent until rectangular aperture in the side of the tube. -
Seminarvortrag 17.4.2019 Zu Sonnenflecken
Early telescopic observations of sunspots by Simon Marius and other (1610-1620) Ralph Neuhäuser Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte www.astro.uni-jena.de FSU Jena 400 years telescopic sunspots. Schwabe cycle 10.4 ± 1.2 yr (since 1750) Schwabe cycle and butterfly diagram Sonnenflecken-Relativzahl (Rudolf Wolf 1816-1893): Rz = k x (10 x g + n) Anzahl der Einzelflecken n, Anzahl der Fleckengruppen g, individueller Gütefaktor des jeweiligen Beobachters k Hoyt & Schatten (1998): Sonnenfleckengruppenzahl RG = (12.08 / N) x Si (ki' x Gi) individueller Korrekturfaktor ki' des i-ten Beobachters Gruppenzahl Gi am betreffenden Tag, N ist die Anzahl der Beobachter des entsprechenden Tages. oder Fleckenfläche statt Fleckenanzahl Active day fraction f = (aktive Tage) / (aktive + inaktive Tage) In 17th century, all sources have to be checked ! Clette et al. 2015 - First telescopic observations of sun spots - Observations by Simon Marius 1611 – 1619 - More observations by Saxonius, Tarde, Malapert: Constraining the first telescopic Schwabe cycle (1620) Erste teleskopische Beobachtungen von Flecken (ab 1609): -Vorstufen als Lesestein um 1000 AD (Ibn al-Haytham) - Linsen, Monokel, Brillen im Mittelalter (China, Italien) - Teleskop 1608 (Hans Lipperdey, Holland) - Galileo Galilei: erste Himmelsbeobachtungen (1609) Jupiter-Monde, Sterne in Milchstraße, Venus-Phasen, Sonnenflecken - Kepler Fernrohr (1611) Kopernikanische Wende: Helio-Zentrismus Erste teleskopische Beobachtungen von Flecken (ab 1609): - Galileo Galilei: erste Himmelsbeobachtungen -
Smyth, Dawes, and Lassell
No. 2 An Independent Miscellany of Astronomy 26 October 2018 In Occasional Notes No. 1, my article on John Herschel inc- and I sometimes sense that I might be intruding in his priv- ludes letters written by his daughter Francisca. I also have ate affairs. Nevertheless, these letters were written more in my collections a large number of letters written by William than 150 years ago – a temporal distance sufficient to rem- Rutter Dawes, and letters and documents received by him. ove such impediment. With this in mind, a glimpse into this For the most part these do not concern scientific matters, correspondence is presented here. but instead provide an insight into the social affairs of a The second article in this issue is Part II of Alan Snook’s group of astronomers who remained close friends over a report on his restoration of a fine instrument manufactured period of half a century. When reading these letters I often by Rob and Jim Hysom. have to remind myself that I am holding the paper that Dawes held and wrote upon with the ink from his ink-well, Bob Marriott xxxxxx Smyth, Dawes, and Lassell In the first volume of the Royal Astronomical Soc- iety’s Monthly Notices, published in 1830, William Henry Smyth presented an account of the observ- atory that he had established in Bedford, including a description of his 5.9-inch Tulley refractor. ____________________________________________________________ The object-glass of the telescope is of 8½ feet focal 9 length, with a clear aperture of 5 /10 inches, work- ed by the late Mr. -
Shown Above Are Galileo's Sketches of the Moon, Pleiades, and Moons of Jupiter
2/3/2020 MyOpenMath Assessment Sidereus Nuncius Wikipedia permalink/921426383 Shown above are Galileo's sketches of the Moon, Pleiades, and moons of Jupiter. Sidereus Nuncius (usually Sidereal Messenger, also Starry Messenger or Sidereal Message) is a short astronomical treatise (or pamphlet) published in New Latin by Galileo Galilei on March 13, 1610.[1] It was the first published scientific work based on observations made through a telescope , and it contains the results of Galileo's early observations of the imperfect and mountainous Moon , the hundreds of stars that were unable to be seen in either the Milky Way or certain constellations https://www.myopenmath.com/assessment/showtest.php 2/6 2/3/2020 MyOpenMath Assessment with the naked eye, and the Medicean Stars (later Galilean moons) that appeared to be circling Jupiter .[2] [3] The Latin word nuncius was typically used during this time period to denote messenger; however, it was also (though less frequently) rendered as message. Though the title Sidereus Nuncius is usually translated into English as Sidereal Messenger, many of Galileo's early drafts of the book and later related writings indicate that the intended purpose of the book was "simply to report the news about recent developments in astronomy, not to pass himself off solemnly as an ambassador from heaven."[4] Therefore, the correct English translation of the title is Sidereal Message (or often, Starry Message). Telescope: The first telescopes appeared in the Netherlands in 1608 when Middelburg spectacle- maker Hans Lippershey tried to obtain a patent on one.[6] By 1609 Galileo had heard about it and built his own improved version. -
The Mathematician and the Astronomer Simon Marius (1573 – 1624)
Proceedings of the IX Bulgarian-Serbian Astronomical Conference: Astroinformatics (IX BSACA) Sofia, Bulgaria, July 2-4, 2014, Editors: M. K. Tsvetkov, M. S. Dimitrijević, O. Kounchev, D. Jevremović and K. Tsvetkova Publ. Astron. Soc. “Rudjer Bošković” No 15, 2015, 171-177 THE MATHEMATICIAN AND THE ASTRONOMER SIMON MARIUS (1573 – 1624) KATYA TSVETKOVA1, MILAN S. DIMITRIJEVIĆ2 and MILCHO TSVETKOV1 1Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Acad. Georgi Bonchev Str., Block 8, Sofia 1113, Bulgaria 2 Astronomical Observatory, Volgina 7, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract. We present the work of Simon Marius - a mathematician and astronomer who discovered in 1610 the four largest satellites of Jupiter with a Belgian made telescope at about the same time as Galileo Galilei, but published his discoveries 4 years later. In 2014 the astronomical community commemorates 400 years since the publishing of Simon Marius' book Mundus Iovialis containing his observations done independently by Galilei. Marius‘ records are even closer to the modern figures than Galilei's ones. Simon Marius noticed also, that the orbital plane of the Jupiter satellites is slightly tilted relative to both the Jupiter equatorial plane and the ecliptic, explaining thus the discrepancies in latitude, which Galilei did not mention. Marius also noticed the change in the satellites brightness and calculated respective tables for the period 1608 - 1630. Simon Marius was a calendar maker and a translator of Euclid from Greek – he published Die Ersten Sechs Bücher Elementorum Euclidis (The First Six Books Elementorum Euclidis). Among his observations are the comets of 1596 and 1618, the supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus in 1604 (giving its precise position), observations of Venus, and the sun spots, from whose movement he noticed that the equatorial plane of the sun is tilted relative to the ecliptic and the appearance of sunspots is periodical. -
Sunspot Positions, Areas, and Group Tilt Angles for 1611−1631 from Observations by Christoph Scheiner? R
A&A 595, A104 (2016) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629000 & c ESO 2016 Astrophysics Sunspot positions, areas, and group tilt angles for 1611−1631 from observations by Christoph Scheiner? R. Arlt1, V. Senthamizh Pavai1; 2, C. Schmiel1, and F. Spada1 1 Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany Received 25 May 2016 / Accepted 5 August 2016 ABSTRACT Aims. Digital images of observations printed in the books Rosa Ursina sive solis and Prodromus pro sole mobili by Christoph Scheiner, as well as the drawings from Scheiner’s letters to Marcus Welser, are analysed to obtain information on the positions and sizes of sunspots that appeared before the Maunder minimum. Methods. In most cases, the given orientation of the ecliptic is used to set up the heliographic coordinate system for the drawings. Positions and sizes are measured manually on screen. Very early drawings have no indication of their orientation. A rotational match- ing using common spots of adjacent days is used in some cases, while in other cases, the assumption that images were aligned with a zenith-horizon coordinate system appeared to be the most probable. Results. In total, 8167 sunspots were measured. A distribution of sunspot latitudes versus time (butterfly diagram) is obtained for Scheiner’s observations. The observations of 1611 are very inaccurate, the drawings of 1612 have at least an indication of their orientation, while the remaining part of the spot positions from 1618−1631 have good to very good accuracy. -
Vol. 9 No. 2 Summer, 1980 the STAR of BETHLEHEM RECONSIDERED: a THEOLOGICAL APPROACH Carl J
In This Issue THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM RECONS1DERED: A THEOLOG ICAL APPROACH Carl J. Wenning 2 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM RECONS IDERED: AN HISTORICAL APPROACH .John Mosley and Ernest L. Ma rlin 6 TH E HEAVENS AND A CONSC IOUS EX PER IENCE OF tMORTA LI TY . Georgia Hooks Shurr 11 THE CANALS OF MARS, A RETROSPECTIVE David H. DcVorkin, cesc and Michael Mendillo 12 FEATURES: Letters and Announcements 3 What's New James Brown 9 Focus on Educa tion Jeanne Bis hop 10 Crea tive Corner (How 10 Assemble Space Stillion- Island Onc" by Brian Sullivan) Herb Schwartz' 22 Jane's Comer . • . Jane P. Geohcgan 27 Vol. 9 No. 2 Summer, 1980 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM RECONSIDERED: A THEOLOGICAL APPROACH Carl J. Wenning 1.S. U. Planetarium Illinois State University Normal, IL 61761 Each and every Christmas season the public hears public if we don't take into account other considerations? from the planetarium community how the Star of It is my firm belief that to truly solve the Christmas star Bethlehem mystery has been solved. As a solution the mystery we must call in someone who is both an famous triple conjunction is proffered. The triple astronomer and a theologian. Now I do not purport to be conjunction occurred in what appears to be the an astronomer, much less a theologian. However I am appr~priate ti me frame, fits many factors, and is sufficiently well versed in biblical studies to ~uggest plausible. In fact, a whole plethora of ideas give support several alternatives to the triple conjunction which simply to the triple conjunction as being THE answer. -
Shears Ellard Gore
John Ellard Gore: ‘of immensity and minuteness’1 Jeremy Shears John Ellard Gore FRAS, MRIA (1845−1910) was an Irish amateur astronomer and prolific author of popular astronomy books. His main observational interest was variable stars, of which he discovered several, and he served as the first Director of the BAA Variable Star Section. He was also interested in binary stars, leading him to calculate the orbital elements of many such systems. He demonstrated that the companion of Sirius, thought by many to be a dark body, was in fact self-luminous. In doing so he provided the first indication of the enormous density of what later became known as white dwarfs. Introduction were descended from Sir Paul Gore (1567−1629), who was born in London and went to Ireland in John Ellard Gore (1845−1910; Figure 1) was an 1602 as a commander of a troop of horse. In 1615 Irish amateur astronomer and prolific author of he became MP for Ballyshannon in County Don- popular astronomy books. His main observa- egal10 and in 1622 was created Baronet of tional interest was variable stars. He was an Magherabegg, also in Donegal.11 The Gore fam- original member of the British Astronomical ily seat was Manor Gore in Donegal. John Ellard Association in 1890 and shortly after was ap- Gore’s great grandfather, Arthur Saunders Gore pointed as the first Director of the Associa- (1734−1809), was the Second Earl of Arran and tion’s Variable Star Section (BAA VSS), which the Arran Islands. is the world’s longest established organisation John Ellard Gore had three brothers12 and a for the systematic observation of variable stars. -
Historical Sunspot Records
Living Reviews in Solar Physics (2020) 17:1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41116-020-0023-y REVIEW ARTICLE Historical sunspot records Rainer Arlt1 · José M. Vaquero2 Received: 10 May 2019 / Accepted: 22 January 2020 © The Author(s) 2020 Abstract Sunspot observations are available in fairly good numbers since 1610, after the inven- tion of the telescope. This review is concerned with those sunspot observations of which longer records and drawings in particular are available. Those records bear information beyond the classical sunspot numbers or group sunspot numbers. We begin with a brief summary on naked-eye sunspot observations, in particular those with drawings. They are followed by the records of drawings from 1610 to about 1900. The review is not a compilation of all known historical sunspot information. Some records contributing substantially to the sunspot number time series may there- fore be absent. We also glance at the evolution of the understanding of what sunspots actually are, from 1610 to the 19th century. The final part of the review illuminates the physical quantities that can be derived from historical drawings. Keywords Sunspots · Sunspot drawings · Sunspot positions Contents 1 Introduction ............................................... 2 Pre-telescopic observations ....................................... 2.1 Naked-eye observations: difficulties of interpretation ....................... 2.2 Evaluation of historical naked-eye observations of sunspots .................... 2.3 Observations using a camera obscura ................................ 3 Sunspot positions and areas from historical reports ........................... 3.1 Presence of orientation lines .................................... 3.2 Rotational matching ......................................... 3.3 Measurements rather than drawings ................................. 3.4 Not-to-scale areas .......................................... 4 The period before the Maunder minimum ................................ 4.1 Thomas Harriot (1560–1621) ................................... -
02. Solar System (2001) 9/4/01 12:28 PM Page 2
01. Solar System Cover 9/4/01 12:18 PM Page 1 National Aeronautics and Educational Product Space Administration Educators Grades K–12 LS-2001-08-002-HQ Solar System Lithograph Set for Space Science This set contains the following lithographs: • Our Solar System • Moon • Saturn • Our Star—The Sun • Mars • Uranus • Mercury • Asteroids • Neptune • Venus • Jupiter • Pluto and Charon • Earth • Moons of Jupiter • Comets 01. Solar System Cover 9/4/01 12:18 PM Page 2 NASA’s Central Operation of Resources for Educators Regional Educator Resource Centers offer more educators access (CORE) was established for the national and international distribution of to NASA educational materials. NASA has formed partnerships with universities, NASA-produced educational materials in audiovisual format. Educators can museums, and other educational institutions to serve as regional ERCs in many obtain a catalog and an order form by one of the following methods: States. A complete list of regional ERCs is available through CORE, or electroni- cally via NASA Spacelink at http://spacelink.nasa.gov/ercn NASA CORE Lorain County Joint Vocational School NASA’s Education Home Page serves as a cyber-gateway to informa- 15181 Route 58 South tion regarding educational programs and services offered by NASA for the Oberlin, OH 44074-9799 American education community. This high-level directory of information provides Toll-free Ordering Line: 1-866-776-CORE specific details and points of contact for all of NASA’s educational efforts, Field Toll-free FAX Line: 1-866-775-1460 Center offices, and points of presence within each State. Visit this resource at the E-mail: [email protected] following address: http://education.nasa.gov Home Page: http://core.nasa.gov NASA Spacelink is one of NASA’s electronic resources specifically devel- Educator Resource Center Network (ERCN) oped for the educational community. -
The Journal of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers Rite Strolli11g Astro11omer
The Journal Of The Association Of Lunar And Planetary Observers rite Strolli11g Astro11omer 1111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Volume 25, Numbers 7-8 Published June, 1975 Two photographs of Jupiter with a 12-inch Cassegrain at the New Mexico State University Observa tory. Left: October 23, 1964; 8hrs., 58mins., Universal Time; blue light; CM(I)=251°, CM(II)= 17° . Right: December 12, 1965; 7hrs., 46mins., Universal Time; blue light; CM(I)=182° , CM(II)= 22° . Note the very dark Red Spot, South Temperate Zone ovals, the great variation in the bright ness of the Equatorial Zone, and activity in far northern belts. Are these events part of a pattern of unrecognized major zenological disturbances? See article by Mr. Wynn Wacker on pages 145-150. 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111:: THE STROLLING ASTRONOMER - Box lAZ University Park, New Mexico 88003 - Residence telephone 522-4213 (Area Code 505) - in Las Cruces, New Mexico - Founded In 1947 IN THIS ISSUE OBSERVING OLYMPUS MONS IN 1975, by John E. Westfall -------------------------------------------------------------------------- pg. 129 MARS 1973-74 APPARITION- ALPO REPORT I, by Robert B. Rhoads and Virginia W. Capen ------------------------------ pg. 130 A PROPOSED ASTROGEOGRAPHICAL SECTION, by James Powell ---------------------------------------------------------------------·---------- pg. 138 JUPITER IN 1972: ROTATION PERIODS, by Phillip W. Budine ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -
The 'True Inventor'
The ‘true inventor’ of the telescope. A survey of 400 years of debate Huib J. Zuidervaart There is no nation which has not claimed for itself the remarkable invention of the telescope: indeed, the French, Spanish, English, Italians, and Hollanders have all maintained that they did this. Pierre Borel, De vero telescopii inventore (1656) I. introduction Cultural Nationalism and Historical Constructs Who invented the telescope? From the very moment the telescope emerged as a useful tool for extending man’s vision, this seemingly simple question led to a bewildering array of answers. The epigram above, written in the mid- seventeenth century, clearly illustrates this point. Indeed, over the years the ‘invention’ of the telescope has been attributed to at least a dozen ‘inventors,’ from various countries1. And the priority question has remained problematic for four centuries. Even in September 2008, the month in which the 400th anniversary of the ‘invention’ was celebrated in The Netherlands, a new claim was put forward, when the popular monthly History Today published a rather speculative article, in which the author, Nick Pelling, suggested that the hon- our of the invention should nòt go to the Netherlands, but rather to Catalonia on the Iberian Peninsula.2 Pelling’s claim was picked up by the Manchester 1 Over the years the following candidates have been proposed as the ‘inventor of the telescope’: (1) from the Netherlands: Hans Lipperhey, Jacob Adriaensz Metius, Zacharias Jansen and Cornelis Drebbel, to which in this paper – just for the sake of argument – I will add the name ‘Lowys Lowyssen, geseyt Henricxen brilmakers’; (2) from Italy: Girolamo Fracastoro, Raffael Gualterotti, Giovanni Baptista Della Porta and Galileo Galilei; from (3) England: Roger Bacon, Leonard Digges and William Bourne (4) from Germany Jacobus Velser and Simon Marius; (5) from Spain: Juan Roget, and (6) from the Arabian world: Abul Hasan, also known as Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haith- am.