Astronomy, space and time Books

Book SynopsisIn Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, new essays by renowned scholars address questions about what the ancient science of the heavens was in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean worlds, and the numerous contexts in which it was pursued. Together, these essays will enable readers not only to understand the technical accomplishments of this ancient science but also to appreciate their historical significance by locating the questions, challenges, and issues inspiring them in their political, medical, philosophical, literary, and religious contexts. Winner of the 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title AwardTrade Review"This is an absolutely wonderful book, well-written and a pleasure to read. It is generally based on the most recent research and very informative without being inaccessible to the layman. That the field of ancient astronomy is under rapid development is evident from the bibliography alone. [...] It is generously supplied with interesting and relevant illustrations and its structure and composition take the reader by the hand so that it can be read easily from cover to cover. The individual chapters can also be read on their own, and the “Historical Glossary” and indices make it an excellent handbook as well. It provides a status quaestionis in a way which is at the same time accessible to the interested layman and contains a brilliant survey and much new to be learnt for the specialist in any parts of the vast topic covered as well." - Ulla Koch, in: BMCR 2021.04.23 "This is an excellent and eminently useful volume, surveying and advancing the state of the field in a very welcome, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary format. Corners of this field seem to have been developing rather quickly in the last decade or two, and scholars will be grateful to the editors and authors for the timely appearance and impressive scope of this large book." - Daryn Lehoux, in: The Classical Review 71.2 442–444Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments List of Illustrations and Tables List of Abbreviations 0 Prolegomena to the Study of Hellenistic Astronomy  Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg Part A Technical Requirements 1 The Celestial Sphere  Clemency Montelle 2 Methods of Reckoning Time  Robert Hannah Chapter 3 Quantitative Tools 3.1 Techniques of Measurement and Computation  Mathieu Ossendrijver 3.2 Planar and Spherical Trigonometry  Glen Van Brummelen Chapter 4 Theory of the Sun, Moon, and Planets 4.1 Fundamentals of Planetary Theory  Nathan Sidoli 4.2 Hypothesis in Greco-Roman Astronomy  Alan C. Bowen 4.3 Some Early Hypotheses in Greco-Roman Astronomy  Alan C. Bowen 4.4 The Ptolemaic Planetary Hypotheses  James C. Evans 4.5 The Hellenistic Theory of Eclipses  Clemency Montelle 4.6 Hellenistic Babylonian Planetary Theory  Mathieu Ossendrijver 4.7 The Babylonian Contribution to Greco-Roman Astronomy  Francesca Rochberg 4.8 Hellenistic Egyptian Planetary Theory  Micah T. Ross Part B Observations, Instruments, and Issues Chapter 5 Observational Foundations 5.1 The Observational Foundations of Babylonian Astronomy  Lis Brack-Bernsen 5.2 Experience and Observation in Hellenistic Astronomy  Richard L. Kremer Chapter 6 Astronomical Instruments 6.1 Hellenistic Surveying Instruments  Tracey E. Rihll 6.2 Hellenistic Maps and Lists of Places  Klaus Geus 6.3 Star-Lists from the Babylonians to Ptolemy  Gerd Graßhoff 6.4 Ptolemy’s Instruments  Dennis W. Duke Chapter 7 Thematic Questions 7.1 Issues in Hellenistic Egyptian Astronomical Writings  Anthony Spalinger 7.2 The Texts and Aims of Babylonian Astronomy  Hermann Hunger 7.3 Issues in Greco-Roman Astronomy of the Hellenistic Period  Alan C. Bowen Part C Contexts 8 The Professional ἀϲτρολόγοϲ  Wolfgang Hübner Chapter 9 Hellenistic Astronomy in Public Service 9.1 The Sundial and the Calendar  Robert Hannah 9.2 The Antikythera Mechanism  James C. Evans 9.3 Hellenistic Astronomy in Medicine  Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum Chapter 10 Hellenistic Astronomy in Literature 10.1 Aratus and the Popularization of Hellenistic Astronomy  Stamatina Mastorakou 10.2 The Authority of the Roman Heavens  Alfred Schmid Chapter 11 Hellenistic Astronomy in the Training and Work of Priests 11.1 Hellenistic Astronomy and the Egyptian Priest  Alexandra von Lieven 11.2 Hellenistic Astronomy and the Babylonian Scribal Families  Mathieu Ossendrijver Chapter 12 Astral Divination and Natal Astrology 12.1 The Hellenistic Horoscope  Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum 12.2 Hellenistic Babylonian Astral Divination and Nativities  Francesca Rochberg 12.3 Hellenistic Horoscopes in Greek and Latin: Contexts and Uses  Stephan Heilen 12.4 Demotic Horoscopes  Micah T. Ross Chapter 13 Theological Contexts 13.1 Hellenistic Astronomy in Early Judaic Writings  James C. VanderKam 13.2 Astral Divination in the Dead Sea Scrolls  Helen R. Jacobus 13.3 Hellenistic Astronomy in Early Christianities  Nicola Denzey Lewis 13.4 Cosmology in Mandaean Texts  Siam Bhayro 13.5 Astral Discourse in the Philosophical Hermetica (Corpus Hermeticum)  Christian Wildberg Chapter 14 Hellenistic Astronomy in the Philosophical Schools 14.1 Astronomy and Divination in Stoic Philosophy  Giuseppe Cambiano 14.2 Plotinus on the Motion of the Stars  James Wilberding Historical Glossary of Important Terms in Hellenistic Astronomy Bibliography Index of Passages Index of Names Index of Subjects

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Book SynopsisThis is the first investigation of one of the main interests of astronomy in Islamic civilization, namely, timekeeping by the sun and stars and the regulation of the astronomically-defined times of Muslim prayer. The study is based on over 500 medieval astronomical manuscripts first identified by the author, now preserved in libraries all over the world and originally from the entire Islamic world from the Maghrib to Central Asia and the Yemen.

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Book SynopsisAstronomical and astrological knowledge circulated in many ways in the ancient world: in the form of written texts and through oral communication; by the conscious assimilation of sought-after knowledge and the unconscious absorption of ideas to which scholars were exposed. The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World explores the ways in which astronomical knowledge circulated between different communities of scholars over time and space, and what was done with that knowledge when it was received. Examples are discussed from Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Greco-Roman world, India, and China.Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables Introduction 1 The Brown School of the History of Science: Historiography and the Astral Sciences Francesca Rochberg 2 Astral Knowledge in an International Age: Transmission of the Cuneiform Tradition, ca. 1500–1000b.c. Matthew T. Rutz 3 Traditions of Mesopotamian Celestial-Divinatory Schemes and the 4th Tablet of Šumma Sin ina Tāmartišu Zackary Wainer 4 The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge between Babylon and Uruk John M. Steele 5 The Micro-Zodiac in Babylon and Uruk: Seleucid Zodiacal Astrology M. Willis Monroe 6 Virtual Moons over Babylonia: The Calendar Text System, Its Micro-Zodiac of 13, and the Making of Medical Zodiology John Z. Wee 7 On the Concomitancy of the Seemingly Incommensurable, or Why Egyptian Astral Tradition Needs to be Analyzed within Its Cultural Context Joachim Friedrich Quack 8 Some Astrologers and Their Handbooks in Demotic Egyptian Andreas Winkler 9 The Anaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria Clemency Montelle 10 Interpolated Observations and Historical Observational Records in Ptolemy’s Astronomy Alexander Jones 11 Mesopotamian Lunar Omens in Justinian’s Constantinople Zoë Misiewicz 12 A Parallel Universe: The Transmission of Astronomical Terminology in Early Chinese Almanacs Ethan Harkness 13 Mercury and the Case for Plural Planetary Traditions in Early Imperial China Daniel Patrick Morgan 14 Calendrical Systems in Early Imperial China: Reform, Evaluation and Tradition Yuzhen Guan 15 The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac during the Tang and Song Dynasties: A Set of Signs Which Lost Their Meanings within Chinese Horoscopic Astrology Shenmi Song 16 On the Dunhuang Manuscript p.4071: A Case Study on the Sinicization of Western Horoscope in Late 10th Century China Weixing Niu 17 Were Planetary Models of Ancient India Strongly Influenced by Greek Astronomy? Dennis Duke Index of Modern Authors Index of Subjects Index of Sources

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2021 Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for Historical Astronomy In Decoding the Stars, Ileana Chinnici offers an account of the life of the Jesuit scientist Angelo Secchi (1818-1878). In addition to providing an invaluable account of Secchi’s life and work—something that has been sorely lacking in the English-language scholarship—this biography will be especially stimulating for those interested in the evolution of astrophysics as a discipline from the nineteenth century onward. Despite his eclecticism, reminiscent of the natural philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Secchi was in many ways a very modern scientist: open to innovation and cooperation, and a promoter of popularization and citizen science. Secchi also appears fully inserted in the cultural context of his time: he participated in philosophical and scientific debates, spread new theories and ideas, but also suffered the consequences of political events that marked those years and impacted on his life and activities.Trade Review“Excellent biography […] Historians of science, whatever their national origin, should become familiar with the achievements of Father Secchi.” Naomi Pasachoff, Williams College. In: Metascience, Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 2020), pp. 77–80 (2020). “[This] will undoubtedly be the standard work on this remarkable Jesuit astronomer.” Wayne Orchiston, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, and Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland. In: Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, Vol. 23, No. 1 (April 2020), pp. 227–228. “This excellent book not only presents Secchi’s scientific contributions and his personality but also situates him in the fascinating mix of science, politics and society of the Italian late nineteenth century.” Augustín Udías, Universidad Complutense, Madrid. In: Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 52, No. 1 (2021), pp. 111–112. “Chinnici’s excellent biography gives us a thorough and strongly felt portrait of Secchi’s personality and work, especially, through his letters and writings. This is an important work for the history of astronomy and astrophysics in Italy; more generally, it aids the historical exploration of Jesuit contributions to science and the wider relationship between science and religion.” Agustín Udías, S.J., Universidad Complutense, Madrid. In: Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, Vol. 88, fasc. 176 (2019-II), pp. 611–613.Table of ContentsForeword  Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J. Foreword  Nichi D’Amico Preface  Ileana Chinnici Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction: A Century in Ferment 1 Secchi’s Early Life and Education: From Childhood to the Priesthood 2 The Experience of Exile: A Tragic Opportunity 3 Establishing the New Collegio Romano Observatory: An Observatory for “Physical Astronomy” 4 Advisor to the Papal States: Science in the Service of the Public 5 A Rising International Career: Travels, Achievements, and Recognition 6 Contributions to Astrophysics 7 A Crucial Political Change: New Risks and Missed Opportunities 8 A Society for a New Astronomy: Building a Network for Spectroscopic Research 9 A Controversial Personality: Secchi and the Scientific Debates of His Time 10 Secchi’s Final Years: Illness and Uncertainty Conclusion: Secchi’s Scientific Legacy Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn On Both Sides of the Strait of Gibraltar Julio Samsó studies the history of medieval astronomy in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), the Maghrib and the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. He proves that the Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, Castilian and Catalan sources belong to the same tradition whose origin can be dated in the 11th century due to the changes in Ptolemy’s astronomical theory introduced by the Toledan astronomer Ibn al-Zarqālluh/Azarquiel. The book also analyses the role of al-Andalus and the Iberian Peninsula in the transmission of Islamic astronomy to Europe and justifies the fact that Eastern Islamic works published after ca. 950 CE were not accessible to medieval European scholars because they had not reached al-Andalus.Trade Review“This massive volume is a remarkable achievement […] this book is an astounding synthesis comprising pretty much everything there is to know about the subject […] this book will be the first stop for many research projects in the field for the foreseeable future.” Robert G. Morrison, in the Journal for the History of Astronomy 52/4 (2021) “This most impressive volume can be considered the summit of the extensive research undertaken by the author since 1960 on the development of astronomy in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghrib during the Middle Ages […] The book is mainly addressed to historians of astronomy but it is written in such a clear and ordered way that all kind of historians, philologists, astronomers, mathematicians, scholars interested in scientific instruments and readers curious about the development of science in the Middle Ages, far from prejudices related to it being just "ten dark centuries", will enjoy the reading.” Azucena Hernández Pérez, in Sehepunkte (2021)Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures 1 Historical Outline  A Brief Chronological Survey  1.0 Foreword  1.1 Al-Andalus (711–1085)  1.2 The Maghrib (700–1050)  1.3 Almoravids (ca. 1050–ca. 1147) and Almohads (ca. 1147–1276)  1.4 Al-Maghrib and al-Andalus between the Thirteenth and the Fifteenth Centuries  1.5 Astronomy in the Christian Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula  1.6 A Brief Conclusion 2 Mīqāt: Timekeeping and Qibla  2.0 Introduction  2.1 Calendars and Years  2.2 Eras  2.3 The Beginning of the Lunar Month  2.4 The Hour  2.5 The qibla 3 Astrology  3.0 Introduction  3.1 Patronage and the Practice of Astrology  3.2 Thematic Surveys 4 Astronomical Instruments  4.0 Introduction  4.1 Spherical Instruments  4.2 The Astrolabe  4.3 Universal Astrolabes  4.4 Quadrants  4.5 Equatoria  4.6 Jābir ibn Aflaḥ’s Observational Instrument 5 Hayʾa (Cosmology)  5.1 Introduction: on the Meaning of Hayʾa in Western Islam  5.2 The Treatises on hayʾa by Dūnash ibn Tamīm, Qāsim ibn Muṭarrif and an Anonymous Eleventh-Century Toledan Astronomer  5.3 Jābir ibn Aflaḥ’s Mathematical Criticism of the Almagest  5.4 The Twelfth-Century Andalusī Revolt against Ptolemy  5.5 Hayʾa in Castile during the Reign of Alfonso X (1252–1284)  5.6 Other hayʾa Sources between the Twelfth and the Fifteenth Centuries  5.7 Conclusions 6 Astronomical Theory  6.1 Introduction  6.2 The Motion of Accession and Recession of the Equinoctial Points (al-iqbāl wa l-idbār, Trepidation Theory)  6.3 Ibn al-Zarqālluh’s Solar Model  6.4 The Lunar Model  6.5 Conclusions 7 Astronomical Tables (zījes)  7.1 Introduction: the Eastern Input in al-Andalus  7.2 A General Survey of Andalusī and Maghribī zījes  7.3 Maghribī zījes: the School of Ibn Isḥāq  7.4 Other Maghribī zījes  7.5 The Introduction of Eastern zījes in the Maghrib  7.6 Zījes in the Christian Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula  7.7 Almanacs and Ephemerides  7.8 Conclusions Bibliography Index of Parameters and Numerical Values Index of Names and Subjects

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Book SynopsisThis book provides the first comprehensive historical account of the evolution of scientific traditions in astronomy, astrophysics, and the space sciences within the Max Planck Society. Structured with in-depth archival research, interviews with protagonists, unpublished photographs, and an extensive bibliography, it follows a unique history: from the post-war relaunch of physical sciences in West Germany, to the spectacular developments and successes of cosmic sciences in the second half of the 20th century, up to the emergence of multi-messenger astronomy. It reveals how the Society acquired national and international acclaim in becoming one of the world’s most productive research organizations in these fields.Table of ContentsContents Foreword by Reinhard Genzel Foreword by Jürgen Renn Acknowledgments Oral History Interviews List of Illustrations and Figures Acronyms and Abbreviations Introduction 1 Nuclear Age (1945–1957): Reconstruction under Regional Fragmentation  1 Postwar Scientific Traditions in Göttingen  2 Postwar Research Traditions in Southwest Germany  3 The Orphan Scenario: Regener, Kiepenheuer, and Dieminger  4 Regional Alliances and Rivalries 2 Space Age (1957–1980s): A Unique Opportunity for Expansion  1 ‘Sputnik Shocks’  2 Reorientation of the Max Planck Society in the Early Space Age: Complementarity and Uncoordinated Competition 3 Astronomical Revolution in the MPG (1960s–1980s): Completing the Wavelength Spectrum  1 Ground-Based Astronomy  2 High-Energy Space-Based Astronomy  3 Reconfiguration of the Astrophysical Sciences and Institutes 4 Internationalization (1970s Onwards): Infrastructural Disappointments and the New International Division of Labor  1 From National Infrastructures to International Collaborations  2 Historical Change and Resilience in Times of Hardship at the End of the Century  3 Into the 21st Century: A New Role for the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics 5 Global Leadership in Emerging Fields: Toward Astro-Particle Physics, Relativistic Astrophysics, and Multi-Messenger Astronomy  1 Three Case Studies  2 The Solar Neutrino Puzzle: Heidelberg between Cosmochemistry and Astroparticle Physics  3 The Quest for Gravitational Waves  4 From Cosmic Rays to Ground-Based Gamma Ray Astronomy Appendix: The History of Cosmic Research in the Max Planck Society through Its Finances  1 A Complementary Analysis  2 Financial Periodization of the Cosmic Sciences in the Max Planck Society  3 Shifting Balances of ‘Nuclear,’ ‘Cosmic,’ and ‘Earth-System’ Research  4 Financial Lock-Ins and the Complementarity of Theoretical and Experimental Research  5 Astronomical Institutes, Their Infrastructures, and the End of an Era for the MPG Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the evolution of space and time from the apeiron —the spaceless, timeless chaos of primordial nature. Rosen examines Western culture’s effort to deny apeiron, and the critical need now to lift the repression on apeiron for the sake of human individuation.Trade Review"an intellectually courageous attempt … this book is highly original and thought-provoking… highly recommended to those who struggle to understand their way of understanding." - in: Systems Research and Behavioral Science 22 (2005) "In this challenging, integrative work, Steven Rosen explores the roots of the crisis of postmodernity: the widespread ‘fragmentation of human culture’ … By juxtaposing and integrating images and ideas that reorient dualistic assumptions, Rosen creates a sense of overlapping transparencies that invite the reader to see through many perspectives simultaneously … he points us toward a new science of experiential reflection that questions the limits of the conceptual so that we may “think our own thinking”" - in: The Journal of Mind and Behavior, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Autumn 2004) "This groundbreaking book brings to fruition Rosen's reflexive theory of time and space. With recent physics breaking linear time symmetry, this unique integration of physics and philosophy is indeed timely." – Eugene T. Gendlin, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, University of Chicago "Rosen's ideas are precisely stated, and he draws upon an impressive range of sources, both ancient and modern. The author shows the inadequacy of conventional thinking about space and time and argues persuasively for an intriguing new alternative. This important book may have radical implications for the conduct of science in the 21st century." – Brian Josephson, Professor of Physics, Cambridge University, and Nobel LaureateTable of ContentsList of Figures Jon MILLS: Foreword Preface Part One - Solve : The Flight from Apeiron ONE The Rise and Fall of Classical Space TWO The Crisis of Discontinuity in the Broader Culture Part Two - Coagula: The Return to Apeiron THREE Philosophical Precursors FOUR Apeiron and Being FIVE Topology Epilogue Works Cited About the Author Index

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Book SynopsisHow is it possible to imagine what is unknown and therefore unimaginable? How can the unimaginable be represented? On what materials do such representations rely? These questions lie at the heart of this book. Copernican theory redefined the role and importance of the imagination even as it implied the moment of its crisis. Based on this claim, Ladina Bezzola Lambert analyzes seventeenth-century astronomical texts – particularly descriptions of the moon and treatises written in support of the theory of the plurality of worlds – to show how early modern astronomers questioned the role of the imagination as a tool to visualize the unknown, but also how, pressed by the need to support their theories with convincing descriptions of other potential worlds, they sought to overcome the limitations of the imagination with a sophisticated rhetoric and techniques more commonly associated with poetic writing. The limitations of the imagination are at once a problem that all of the texts discussed struggle with and their recurrent theme. In the first and last chapter, the focus shifts to a more explicitly literary context: Ariosto’s Orlando furioso and the work of Italo Calvino. The change of focus from science to literature and from the narratives of the past to contemporary ones serves to emphasize that the issues relating to the imagination, its limitations and creative means, are basically the same both in science and literature and that they are still relevant today.Trade Review"Lambert’s impressive book is certain to greatly influence later studies of early modern science. Her methodology and careful attention to rhetorical figures contribute to a more complete understanding of this important period in science history." - in: Revue d’Histoire des Sciences, No. 25, Vol. 12 (2005) "…rich in detail and […] very useful…" - in: The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 38, No. 1 (March 2005), pp. 105-6Table of ContentsIllustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1 How Metaphors Matter: Astolfo’s Lunar Journey in the Orlando furioso 2 Images Proposed in Jest: Galileo’s Sidereus nuncius and the Dialogue 3 The Stuff that Dreams are Made of: Kepler’s Somnium 4 Worlds of Words: Cyrano de Bergerac’s Lune and Soleil 5 Metaphors as Systems of Thought: Fontenelle, Cyrano, Wilkins and Huygens 6 Representing the Unimaginability of the Imaginable: Italo Calvino’s Castello dei destini incrociati and Le città invisibili Bibliography

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