The Story of Astronomy

by Motz, Lloyd; Weaver, Jefferson Hane

• ISBN13: 9780738205861
• ISBN10: 0738205869
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-02
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Trace the development of astronomy from early Greek stargazers to the ambitious pioneers: Brahe, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton - who braved persecution and ridicule to fight for a science that relied not on ancient authorities and scriptures, but on logic, math, and careful observation. As Motz and Weaver show, the fruits of this noble pursuit - the elegant, simple natural laws - opened our eyes to the elusive rotations of the heavenly bodies, and gave rise to classical physics, and, finally, the vigorous, thriving science of astronomy today. These engaging authors go on to depict the brilliant revolution in astronomy that shattered classical physics and transformed our concepts of time, space, and matter. Beginning with Einstein's theory of relativity, Motz and Weaver celebrate and savor the twentieth century's greatest advances in physics, chemistry, and mathematics, each of which have dramatically reshaped modern astronomy.

Author Biography

Jefferson Hane Weaver co-authored (with Lloyd Motz) the highly popular book Conquering Mathematics. He received his M.A., his M.Phil., and his Ph.D. at the Columbia Graduate School of the Arts and Sciences. He lives in Fort Lauderdale with his wife, Shelley, and his four children.

Table of Contents

The Origins of Astronomy	p. 1
The Ancient Cosmologies	p. 13
The Greek Philosophers and the Early Greek Astronomers	p. 21
From Aristarchus to Ptolemy: The Birth of Accurate Observational Astronomy	p. 39
The Revival of European Astronomy	p. 57
Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler	p. 69
Galileo, the Astronomical Telescope, and the Beginning of Modern Astronomy	p. 89
The Newtonian Era	p. 107
The Rise of Modern Astronomy	p. 129
Post-Newtonian Astronomy	p. 143
The Beginning of the New Age of Astronomy: Beyond the Solar System	p. 159
Astronomy as a Branch of Physics	p. 185
The New Physics and Its Impact on Astronomy	p. 205
Relativity and Astronomy	p. 233
The Origin and Development of Astrophysics	p. 257
Stellar Evolution and the Beginning of Galactic Astronomy	p. 279
Beyond the Stars: The Galaxies	p. 309
Cosmology	p. 331
Epilogue	p. 353
Bibliography	p. 361
Index	p. 363
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