The Dawn of Astronomy

The Dawn of Astronomy PDF

Author: J. Norman Lockyer

Publisher: Courier Dover Publications

Published: 2006-04-28

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 0486450120

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A pioneer in the fields of astrophysics and astro-archeology, J. Norman Lockyer believed that ancient Egyptian monuments were constructed "in strict relation to the stars." In this celebrated study, he explores the relationship between astronomy and architecture in the age of the pharaohs. Lockyer addresses one of the many points already extensively investigated by Egyptologists: the chronology of the kings of Egypt. All experts are in accord regarding the identity of the first monarch, but they cannot agree upon the dates of his reign within a thousand years. The author contends that by applying a knowledge of astronomy to the actual site orientation of the region's pyramids and temples, accurate dating can be achieved. In order to accomplish this, Lockyer had to determine the level of the ancient Egyptian ideas of astronomy. Some of his inferences have been invalidated by subsequent scholarship, but many of his other conclusions stand firm and continue to provide sensational leads into contemporary understanding of archaic astronomy.

First Light

First Light PDF

Author: Emma Chapman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-11-26

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1472962907

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Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the Universe's history, from recording the afterglow of the Big Bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. There's a lot for astronomers to be smug about. But when it comes to understanding how the Universe began and grew up we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the Universe. This brief but far-reaching period in the Universe's history, known to astrophysicists as the 'Epoch of Reionisation', represents the start of the cosmos as we experience it today. The time when the very first stars burst into life, when darkness gave way to light. After hundreds of millions of years of dark, uneventful expansion, one by the one these stars suddenly came into being. This was the point at which the chaos of the Big Bang first began to yield to the order of galaxies, black holes and stars, kick-starting the pathway to planets, to comets, to moons, and to life itself. Incorporating the very latest research into this branch of astrophysics, this book sheds light on this time of darkness, telling the story of these first stars, hundreds of times the size of the Sun and a million times brighter, lonely giants that lived fast and died young in powerful explosions that seeded the Universe with the heavy elements that we are made of. Emma Chapman tells us how these stars formed, why they were so unusual, and what they can teach us about the Universe today. She also offers a first-hand look at the immense telescopes about to come on line to peer into the past, searching for the echoes and footprints of these stars, to take this period in the Universe's history from the realm of theoretical physics towards the wonder of observational astronomy.

Popular Science

Popular Science PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1898-02

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13:

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Popular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve their technology and their world. The core belief that Popular Science and our readers share: The future is going to be better, and science and technology are the driving forces that will help make it better.

The Emergence of Astrophysics in Asia

The Emergence of Astrophysics in Asia PDF

Author: Tsuko Nakamura

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-11-03

Total Pages: 878

ISBN-13: 3319620827

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This book examines the ways in which attitudes toward astronomy in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand and Uzbekistan have changed with the times. The emergence of astrophysics was a worldwide phenomenon during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and it gradually replaced the older-style positional astronomy, which focused on locating and measuring the movements of the planets, stars, etc.. Here you will find national overviews that are at times followed by case studies of individual notable achievements. Although the emphasis is on the developments that occurred around 1900, later pioneering efforts in Australian, Chinese, Indian and Japanese radio astronomy are also included. As the first book ever published on the early development of astrophysics in Asia, the authors fill a chronological and technological void. Though others have already written about earlier astronomical developments in Asia, and about the recent history of astronomy in various Asian nations, no one has examined the emergence of astrophysics, the so-called ‘new astronomy’ in Asia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Architecture, Astronomy and Sacred Landscape in Ancient Egypt

Architecture, Astronomy and Sacred Landscape in Ancient Egypt PDF

Author: Giulio Magli

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-07-22

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1107245028

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This book examines the interplay between astronomy and dynastic power in the course of ancient Egyptian history, focusing on the fundamental role of astronomy in the creation of the pyramids and the monumental temple and burial complexes. Bringing to bear the analytical tools of archaeoastronomy, a set of techniques and methods that enable modern scholars to better understand the thought, religion and science of early civilizations, Giulio Magli provides in-depth analyses of the pyramid complexes at Giza, Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur, as well as of the Early Dynastic necropolis at Abydos and the magnificent new Kingdom Theban temples. Using a variety of data retrieved from study of the sky and measurements of the buildings, he reconstructs the visual, symbolic and spiritual world of the ancient Egyptians and thereby establishes an intimate relationship among celestial cycles, topography and architecture. He also shows how they were deployed in the ideology of the pharaoh's power in the course of Egyptian history.

Vesta and Ceres

Vesta and Ceres PDF

Author: Simone Marchi

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-03-31

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1108847730

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The NASA Dawn mission, launched in 2007, aimed to visit two of the most massive protoplanets of the main asteroid belt: Vesta and Ceres. The aim was to further our understanding of the earliest days of the Solar System, and compare the two bodies to better understand their formation and evolution. This book summarises state-of-the-art results from the mission, and discusses the implications for our understanding not only of the asteroid belt but the entire Solar System. It comprises of three parts: Part 1 provides an overview of the main belt asteroids and provides an introduction to the Dawn mission; Part 2 presents key findings from the mission; and Part 3 discusses how these findings provide insights into the formation and evolution of the Solar System. This is a definitive reference for academic researchers and professionals of planetary science, asteroid science and space exploration.

The History of Modern Astronomy in Japan

The History of Modern Astronomy in Japan PDF

Author: Tomokazu Kogure

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-03-29

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 3030570614

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This book considers the history of modern astronomy and astrophysics in Japan by comparing with the development of astrophysics in western countries. Astrophysics essentially arose in three separate fields: astronomical spectroscopy, stellar structure, and survey of celestial objects. This book introduces readers to the state of astronomy back to the Tokugawa era (18th – 19th centuries), when the chief task of astronomers was limited to the calendar making. With the so-called Meiji revolution (1868), the situation drastically changed. The Meiji Government promoted the modernization of Japan by hiring numbers of foreign instructors in political, social, and cultural affairs, including Construction of Observatory and University. Then the foreign studies of Japanese researchers lasted for many years. After the Second World War, Japan experienced great social and economical growth allowing the constructions of large optical, radio, and space instruments. With this background astrophysics progressed and eventually flourished. The book ends by highlighting Japanese contributions to international collaboration up to the early 21st century. Readers of this book will understand how astrophysics has grown into one of the major sciences in Japan, and how the works of individual astronomers are contributing to the global advancement of knowledge of the universe.