1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910959589203321

Autore

Van Helden Albert

Titolo

Measuring the Universe : Cosmic Dimensions from Aristarchus to Halley / / Albert Van Helden

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago : , : University of Chicago Press, , [2010]

©1986

ISBN

9786613058652

9781283058650

1283058650

9780226848907

0226848906

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (213 p.)

Disciplina

523.1

Soggetti

Astronomy - History

Cosmological distances

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Shared Expectations -- 2. The Beginnings: Aristarchus and Hipparchus -- 3. Ptolemy -- 4. The Ptolemaic System Enshrined -- 5. Copernicus and Tycho -- 6. Young Kepler -- 7. Galileo and the Telescope -- 8. Kepler's Synthesis -- 9. Gassendi, Hortensius, and the Transit of Mercury of 1631 -- 10. From Horrocks to Riccioli -- 11. The Micrometer from Huygens to Flamsteed -- 12. Cassini, Flamsteed, and the New Measure -- 13. The New Consensus and Halley's Legacy -- 14. Conclusion: Measurement, Theory, and Speculation -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Measuring the Universe is the first history of the evolution of cosmic dimensions, from the work of Eratosthenes and Aristarchus in the third century B.C. to the efforts of Edmond Halley (1656-1742). "Van Helden's authoritative treatment is concise and informative; he refers to numerous sources of information, draws on the discoveries of modern scholarship, and presents the first book-length treatment of this exceedingly important branch of science."-Edward Harrison, American



Journal of Physics "Van Helden writes well, with a flair for clear explanation. I warmly recommend this book."-Colin A. Ronan, Journal of the British Astronomical Association