Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231175987
Steven Vanden Broecke
{"title":"A new edition and translation of Pico’s Disputationes","authors":"Steven Vanden Broecke","doi":"10.1177/00218286231175987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231175987","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"368 - 369"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49383422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231176152
Julien Gressot
{"title":"Actors, networks and scientific instruments at the Bureau des longitudes","authors":"Julien Gressot","doi":"10.1177/00218286231176152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231176152","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"369 - 370"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41382562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231184672
G. Kutrovátz
The paper examines how the scarcely discussed problem of force obstruction contributed to shaping Kepler’s concept of force, that is, the question whether corporeal forces are blocked when an intermediate body is interposed between the force source and the target body. We explore the role played by this problem in Kepler’s works, focusing on his Optics, Foundations of Astrology, Astronomia Nova and Epitome. While the problem is instrumental in abandoning an initially physicalistic framework for astrology, Kepler attempts at different solutions when discussing the forces responsible for planetary motion. These forces are first modelled upon light, and then magnetism (and gravity). However, after considering several ways to get rid of the problem, he is eventually unable to decide why observable effects of obstruction are usually absent. So he accepts this absence at face value, similarly to Newton in his most relevant passages, allowing for a new ontological category that is physical on the one hand, but non-material on the other.
{"title":"Kepler’s struggle with the problem of force obstruction","authors":"G. Kutrovátz","doi":"10.1177/00218286231184672","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231184672","url":null,"abstract":"The paper examines how the scarcely discussed problem of force obstruction contributed to shaping Kepler’s concept of force, that is, the question whether corporeal forces are blocked when an intermediate body is interposed between the force source and the target body. We explore the role played by this problem in Kepler’s works, focusing on his Optics, Foundations of Astrology, Astronomia Nova and Epitome. While the problem is instrumental in abandoning an initially physicalistic framework for astrology, Kepler attempts at different solutions when discussing the forces responsible for planetary motion. These forces are first modelled upon light, and then magnetism (and gravity). However, after considering several ways to get rid of the problem, he is eventually unable to decide why observable effects of obstruction are usually absent. So he accepts this absence at face value, similarly to Newton in his most relevant passages, allowing for a new ontological category that is physical on the one hand, but non-material on the other.","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"316 - 332"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45590076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231171855
G. Choi, Byeong-Hee Mihn, Ki-Won Lee
The Shixian calendar is the general name for Chinese calendars implemented in China’s Qing dynasty (1636–1912) and Korea’s Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). This calendar made under the influence of Western sciences was revised several times. Referring to the Yuzhi lixiang kaocheng, compiled by Mei Juecheng et al. in 1724, we analyze calendrical methods employed in the Shixian calendar for calculating sunrise and sunset times in terms of astronomy and mathematics. In astronomy, the Polaris was used to measure the latitude, and the Sun’s diurnal parallax was considered to increase accuracy. In mathematics, Western mathematics, such as trigonometric functions and properties of similar spherical triangles, were used to calculate sunrise and sunset times. In addition, ready reckoner tables were used to obtain the trigonometric values. The reproduced sunrise and sunset times are compared the results recorded in Shixian annual almanacs published in China and Korea to obtain the rules regarding dates on which these recording were made in the almanacs. We find that sunrise and sunset times were changed before and after around 1726 and in 1728 in the Shixian almanacs of China and Korea, respectively. Furthermore, we verify the values of the latitude and obliquity of the ecliptic used for calculating the sunrise and sunset times in the almanacs in each dynasty. This study will help understand the Shixian calendar and its annual almanacs in China and Korea.
{"title":"Investigating calendrical methods of calculating sunrise and sunset times in the Shixian calendar","authors":"G. Choi, Byeong-Hee Mihn, Ki-Won Lee","doi":"10.1177/00218286231171855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231171855","url":null,"abstract":"The Shixian calendar is the general name for Chinese calendars implemented in China’s Qing dynasty (1636–1912) and Korea’s Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). This calendar made under the influence of Western sciences was revised several times. Referring to the Yuzhi lixiang kaocheng, compiled by Mei Juecheng et al. in 1724, we analyze calendrical methods employed in the Shixian calendar for calculating sunrise and sunset times in terms of astronomy and mathematics. In astronomy, the Polaris was used to measure the latitude, and the Sun’s diurnal parallax was considered to increase accuracy. In mathematics, Western mathematics, such as trigonometric functions and properties of similar spherical triangles, were used to calculate sunrise and sunset times. In addition, ready reckoner tables were used to obtain the trigonometric values. The reproduced sunrise and sunset times are compared the results recorded in Shixian annual almanacs published in China and Korea to obtain the rules regarding dates on which these recording were made in the almanacs. We find that sunrise and sunset times were changed before and after around 1726 and in 1728 in the Shixian almanacs of China and Korea, respectively. Furthermore, we verify the values of the latitude and obliquity of the ecliptic used for calculating the sunrise and sunset times in the almanacs in each dynasty. This study will help understand the Shixian calendar and its annual almanacs in China and Korea.","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"251 - 272"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44078119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231193712
Raz Chen-Morris
The “New Star” of 1572 and later the comet of 1577 undermined the hegemonic notions concerning the immutability of the heavens and of the solidity of the celestial orbs and signaled a critical moment in the dissolution of the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic worldview. These dramatic events, associated with the herculean figure of Tycho Brahe, were extensively discussed in scholarly literature and received their due place in general surveys and textbooks concerned with the Scientific Revolution. The heroic episode of the 1570s overshadowed another “New Star” that appeared less than 30 years later and was thus much disregarded in the history of science. The collection of essays, here under review, is the culmination of an ongoing historiographical effort by Patrick Boner and several other historians of science to amend this picture and underscore the significance of the controversy over the appearance of a “New Star” in 1604, and especially the importance of Kepler’s treatise concerning this celestial event. The three decades that had elapsed since Tycho Brahe and Michael Maestlin observed the bright new light in the sky over northern Europe gave much time for mathematicians, star-gazers, and natural philosophers to assess the radical conclusions of Brahe. The appearance of another “New Star” in 1604 provided a suitable opportunity to review the implications of the new view of the heavens as mutable. In the discussions and controversies that followed the appearance of this new celestial body, Kepler stood out in understanding that novelties in heaven demand new modes of knowledge. It was an occasion to redraw the demarcating lines separating well-established astronomical inquiries and superstitious speculations. Further, it provided him with a fortunate opportunity to promote the heliocentric cause on both mathematical and philosophical grounds. The main difficulty Kepler faced regarding the appearance of a new celestial body was the clash between his belief that the same principles of generation and decay govern the realm above the moon just as they govern the world below it and the notion associated with this belief in the infinity of the world. If stars are born and die, then one may assume a plurality of worlds; according to the radical cosmologies of Epicurus and Giordano Bruno, such a plurality requires an infinite and homogenous space to contain it. Kepler abhorred the notion of an infinite universe that undermined his conviction in a well-ordered world with an identifiable center to determine questions of distance and direction. 1193712 JHA0010.1177/00218286231193712Journal for the History of AstronomyBook Reviews book-review2023
{"title":"New stars, old cosmologies in early modern Europe","authors":"Raz Chen-Morris","doi":"10.1177/00218286231193712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231193712","url":null,"abstract":"The “New Star” of 1572 and later the comet of 1577 undermined the hegemonic notions concerning the immutability of the heavens and of the solidity of the celestial orbs and signaled a critical moment in the dissolution of the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic worldview. These dramatic events, associated with the herculean figure of Tycho Brahe, were extensively discussed in scholarly literature and received their due place in general surveys and textbooks concerned with the Scientific Revolution. The heroic episode of the 1570s overshadowed another “New Star” that appeared less than 30 years later and was thus much disregarded in the history of science. The collection of essays, here under review, is the culmination of an ongoing historiographical effort by Patrick Boner and several other historians of science to amend this picture and underscore the significance of the controversy over the appearance of a “New Star” in 1604, and especially the importance of Kepler’s treatise concerning this celestial event. The three decades that had elapsed since Tycho Brahe and Michael Maestlin observed the bright new light in the sky over northern Europe gave much time for mathematicians, star-gazers, and natural philosophers to assess the radical conclusions of Brahe. The appearance of another “New Star” in 1604 provided a suitable opportunity to review the implications of the new view of the heavens as mutable. In the discussions and controversies that followed the appearance of this new celestial body, Kepler stood out in understanding that novelties in heaven demand new modes of knowledge. It was an occasion to redraw the demarcating lines separating well-established astronomical inquiries and superstitious speculations. Further, it provided him with a fortunate opportunity to promote the heliocentric cause on both mathematical and philosophical grounds. The main difficulty Kepler faced regarding the appearance of a new celestial body was the clash between his belief that the same principles of generation and decay govern the realm above the moon just as they govern the world below it and the notion associated with this belief in the infinity of the world. If stars are born and die, then one may assume a plurality of worlds; according to the radical cosmologies of Epicurus and Giordano Bruno, such a plurality requires an infinite and homogenous space to contain it. Kepler abhorred the notion of an infinite universe that undermined his conviction in a well-ordered world with an identifiable center to determine questions of distance and direction. 1193712 JHA0010.1177/00218286231193712Journal for the History of AstronomyBook Reviews book-review2023","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"360 - 362"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46335625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231175992
Kathleen M. Crowther
{"title":"Printing the book everybody read","authors":"Kathleen M. Crowther","doi":"10.1177/00218286231175992","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231175992","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"371 - 372"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42302849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231184193
J. Malherbe
Broad-band observations of the solar photosphere began in Meudon in 1875 under the auspices of Jules Janssen. For his part, Henri Deslandres initiated imaging spectroscopy in 1892 at Paris observatory. He invented, concurrently with George Hale in Kenwood (USA), but quite independently, the spectroheliograph designed for monochromatic imagery of the solar atmosphere. Deslandres developed two kinds of spectrographs: the ‘spectrohéliographe des formes’, that is, the narrow bandpass instrument to reveal chromospheric structures; and the ‘spectrohéliographe des vitesses’, that is, the section spectroheliograph to record line profiles of cross sections of the Sun. This second apparatus was intended to measure the Dopplershifts of dynamic features. Deslandres moved to Meudon in 1898 to build the large quadruple spectroheliograph. The service of Hα and CaII K systematic observations was organized by Lucien d’Azambuja and continues today. The digital technology was introduced in 2002. The collection is one of the longest available: it contains sporadic images from 1893 to 1907 (during the development phase) and systematic observations along 10 solar cycles since 1908. This paper summarizes 130 years of observations, instrumental research and technical advances.
1875年,在朱尔斯·杨森的主持下,在默顿开始了对太阳光球层的宽带观测。亨利·德斯兰德雷斯于1892年在巴黎天文台开创了成像光谱学。他与乔治·黑尔(George Hale)在肯伍德(美国)同时但相当独立地发明了为太阳大气的单色图像设计的分光光度计。Deslandres开发了两种光谱仪:“spectrohéliographe des formes”,即显示色球结构的窄带仪器;以及“viteshéliographe des vitesses”,即记录太阳横截面线形的截面分光镜。第二个装置旨在测量动态特征的Dopplershift。1898年,Deslandres搬到了Meudon,建造了大型的四重日谱仪。Hα和CaII K系统观测服务由Lucien d’Azambuja组织,至今仍在继续。数字技术于2002年引入。该藏品是可用时间最长的藏品之一:它包含1893年至1907年(在开发阶段)的零星图像和1908年以来10个太阳周期的系统观测。本文总结了130 多年的观测、仪器研究和技术进步。
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Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231191201
Hamid Bohloul
{"title":"Toward a standardization of Hayʾa works","authors":"Hamid Bohloul","doi":"10.1177/00218286231191201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231191201","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"363 - 366"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41451300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231188734
C. Nothaft
MS Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, 5311, fol. 137r, contains an unusual record of astronomical observations, among which are measurements of solar and stellar altitudes carried out with large quadrants in Bologna, Montpellier, and Genoa between 1305 and 1312. An analysis of this observational data reveals a high level of precision and accuracy, as the astronomer responsible achieved a mean error of only 0;2° during an extended run of measurements of solar noon altitudes made between December 1305 and March 1306. Other passages on the same manuscript page mention Johannes de Luna, a German astrologer-astronomer active in Bologna between c.1299 and 1312. References to his name in 14th-century manuscripts shed light on his involvement in contemporary attempts to correct the Toledan Tables and revise their model of precession on an observational basis.
MS Vienna, Österreichische国家图书馆,5311,foll。137r包含了一份不寻常的天文观测记录,其中包括1305年至1312年间在博洛尼亚、蒙彼利埃和热那亚用大象限测量的太阳和恒星高度。对这些观测数据的分析显示出高度的精度和准确性,因为负责的天文学家在1305年12月至1306年3月期间对太阳正午高度进行了长时间的测量,平均误差仅为0.2°。同一手稿页上的其他段落提到了约翰内斯·德·卢纳(Johannes de Luna),他是1299年至1312年间活跃在博洛尼亚的德国占星家兼天文学家。在14世纪的手稿中,提到了他的名字,这说明他参与了当时纠正托勒丹表的尝试,并在观测的基础上修改了他们的岁差模型。
{"title":"Astronomical observations in Bologna, Montpellier, and Genoa in the early 14th century: Iohannes de Luna Theutonicus revisited","authors":"C. Nothaft","doi":"10.1177/00218286231188734","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231188734","url":null,"abstract":"MS Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, 5311, fol. 137r, contains an unusual record of astronomical observations, among which are measurements of solar and stellar altitudes carried out with large quadrants in Bologna, Montpellier, and Genoa between 1305 and 1312. An analysis of this observational data reveals a high level of precision and accuracy, as the astronomer responsible achieved a mean error of only 0;2° during an extended run of measurements of solar noon altitudes made between December 1305 and March 1306. Other passages on the same manuscript page mention Johannes de Luna, a German astrologer-astronomer active in Bologna between c.1299 and 1312. References to his name in 14th-century manuscripts shed light on his involvement in contemporary attempts to correct the Toledan Tables and revise their model of precession on an observational basis.","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"333 - 352"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41528406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/00218286231191419
G. Strano
{"title":"Time-keeping devices and astronomy","authors":"G. Strano","doi":"10.1177/00218286231191419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231191419","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":56280,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the History of Astronomy","volume":"54 1","pages":"366 - 367"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49418526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}