Astronomer Research Articles

ʾABŪ SAʿĪD AL-SIǦZĪ AND THE “STRUCTURE OF THE ORBS,” THE EARLIEST KNOWN WORK ON HAYʾA

AbstractʾAbū Saʿīd al-Siǧzī was a prominent fourth/tenth century astronomer and mathematician who was one of the first contributors to the new genre of ʿilm al-hayʾa (science of the configuration). However, little is known about the initial steps taken in the formation of the discipline, or its independence from other astronomical writings and practices. In this paper, I will discuss new findings about Siǧzī’s life to determine details of his biography and a more precise time period for his scientific activities. I then describe, for the first time, a composition in theoretical astronomy from the fourth/tenth century, the “Structure of the orbs” (Tarkīb al-aflāk) by Siǧzī to show its place in the formation of the discipline of ʿilm al-hayʾa, comparing Siǧzī’s book to the earlier work of al-Farġānī on the size of the earth and the number of celestial spheres. I conclude that Siǧzī’s Tarkīb al-aflāk is the earliest known example of a book that contains only topics found in later hayʾa and may be the first appearance of the ninth celestial orb that became standard in the later genre.

George Carruthers (1939–2020)

Astronomer and engineer of the first observatory on the Moon. Astronomer and engineer of the first observatory on the Moon.

Gabriel quer ser astrônomo

O artigo objetiva apresentar e discutir o uso da audiodescrição e a necessidade de adaptação de atividades no livro didático de Ciências como também o uso de materiais táteis nesta disciplina, para ampliação do conhecimento e participação em igualdade de condições. Como ponto de partida e inspiração, relato a visita de Gabriel Ferreira, um garoto cego de 11 anos, que quer ser astrônomo, ao Planetário de Santo André, na Escola Parque do Conhecimento Sabina. Destaco também a importância e o papel da audiodescrição e das atividades de mediação na sala de aula como potentes instrumentos para ampliação do conhecimento e participação mais plena de todos os alunos.

E. Margaret Burbidge (1919–2020)

Astronomer and co-discoverer of evidence that elements are made in stars. Astronomer and co-discoverer of evidence that elements are made in stars.

She Caught the Light: Williamina Stevens Fleming: Astronomer by Kathryn Lasky

She Caught the Light: Williamina Stevens Fleming: Astronomer by Kathryn Lasky

Nicholas Campion and Chris Impey, editors, Imagining Other Worlds: Explorations in Astronomy and Culture. Studies in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology 9. With a foreword by Martin Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow, Astronomer Royal.

Nicholas Campion and Chris Impey, editors, Imagining Other Worlds: Explorations in Astronomy and Culture. Studies in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology 9. With a foreword by Martin Rees, Lord Rees of Ludlow, Astronomer Royal. Wales, UK: Sophia Centre Press, 2018. Paperback, 352 pp. ISBN 978-1-907767-11-1. £29.00.

“La Cuestión Social” en el "Tratado de Economía Política" de Julián de Luna y de la Peña

El articulo analiza la contribucion de Julian de Luna y de la Pena al debate sobre el aumento del pauperismo en las primeras etapas de la revolucion liberal, el cual se ha asociado al termino de “cuestion social”. Dicha contribucion se sintetiza en su Tratado de Economia Politica, un documento inedito elaborado en la primera mitad del siglo XIX, que ha llegado a nuestros dias gracias a su conservacion por su nieto, el astronomo y escritor Mario Roso de Luna. En el tratamiento de esta cuestion, Julian de Luna estuvo profundamente influenciado por las aportaciones de Malthus sobre las Poor Laws y sus implicaciones negativas para la generacion de riqueza, y tambien por el pensamiento de Alvaro Florez Estrada en lo que respecta a la propiedad privada de la tierra, aspectos estos que fundamentan el sustrato principal del pensamiento del autor con relacion al proceso de generacion de riqueza.

Maria Mitchell at 200: a pioneering astronomer who fought for women in science

Richard Holmes celebrates Mitchell’s pedagogic fire and salty opinions on the bicentenary of her birth. Richard Holmes celebrates Mitchell’s pedagogic fire and salty opinions on the bicentenary of her birth.

STUDYING TYCHO’S STARS: A VIEW OF THE HEAVENS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TYCHO BRAHE

During his life time, the famed 16th century astronomer Tycho Brahe made a convincing case for what came to be known as the Tychonic System. It was a picture of the heavens as he saw it from his observational complex Uraniborg. Yet despite the scientific prowess that marked everything Brahe did, the design of his system was powerfully influenced by a beliefs that had been in place since Ancient Greece.

Career of the Month: Astronomer

Career of the Month: Astronomer

The journeys of a film phenomenologist: An interview with Vivian Sobchack on being and becoming

In this interview Vivian Sobchack, a leading film phenomenologist worldwide and Professor Emerita at UCLA, looks back at her career as a film and media scholar. She relates how she first wanted to become a novelist – as well as an astronomer – before academia and the study of film attracted her attention. She describes how she became interested in existential phenomenology, how her groundbreaking book The Address of the Eye took shape, and how it has influenced film studies since its first publication 25 years ago. She also reflects on the value of phenomenology as a research method and responds to criticism leveled against it as a philosophy that is too subjectivist and a-political.

Michael F. A'Hearn

Internationally respected astronomer and renowned comet physics expert Michael Francis A’Hearn (1940–2017) passed away on 29 May 2017 at the age of 76.

The Astronomer and the Witch: Johannes Kepler's Fight for His Mother

The Astronomer and the Witch: Johannes Kepler's Fight for His Mother

In Memoriam: Astronomer and astrophysicist Jerry Nelson

In Memoriam: Astronomer and astrophysicist Jerry Nelson

The fuzzy image.

This article celebrates the variety of Don Caspar's research interests, with particular focus on those scientific investigations beyond the structural biology of viruses for which he is often associated. These lesser known, seemingly backwater projects, allow us to build up a portrait, in both word and image, of this prolific and creative scientist. Exploration of his ideas will reveal a close connection to other structural thinkers and artists throughout history, most notably the 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler.

Os diários de viagem do doutor Lacerda; a trama de referências no texto de um astrônomo paulista do final do século XVIII

O presente estudo ocupa-se em fazer uma leitura dos textos de Francisco José de Lacerda e Almeida, um astrônomo paulista do século XVIII, inserindo-os na cultura escrita de seu tempo, buscando as relações de seus escritos com outros, em suma a intertextualidade presente em suas memórias e diários de viagem. O estudo das relações entre textos, a tão insistentemente repetida intertextualidade, é caracterizado pela multiplicidade de vertentes, mais próximas do ambiente teórico das letras e artes do que propriamente da historiografia, onde tendeu a tornar-se mais um chavão vazio. De forma não sistemática, e principalmente sem incorporar o jargão, este é um ensaio de método historiográfico que procura aproximar-se da tradição construída a partir da linguística estrutural, que tem no texto seu objeto.

Canvas Weave Match Supports Designation of Vermeer’s Geographer and Astronomer as a Pendant Pair

Canvas Weave Match Supports Designation of Vermeer’s Geographer and Astronomer as a Pendant Pair

Un "selfie" alla cultura armena del settimo secolo: l’“Autobiografia” di Anania Širakacci

Anania Sirakacci, a scientist (mathematician, cosmologist, astronomer, etc.) from the 7th century, is among the most original figures in Armenian literature. Anania Sirakacci, a scientist (mathematician, cosmologist, astronomer, etc.) from the 7th century, is among the most original figures in Armenian literature. His autobiography ‒ a brief text dating back to the last phase of his scholarly activity ‒ provides a description of contemporary Armenian culture, highlighting its many deficiencies. Furthermore, it details the efforts of a brilliant man ‒ Anania himself ‒ devoted to obtaining abroad (i.e. in the Byzantine world) the knowledge and resources that were not available in his home country, and to spreading them among his compatriots. This article includes a translation of the Autobiography as well as a linguistic, historical, and philological commentary on it.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Muslim secularism

The fact that quatrains known as Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam were not really composed by the twelfth century astronomer of that name, but composed by various hands and made into collections later, is widely accepted. This paper examines under what political and social atmosphere in later times, the collections began to be compiled, and what elements of scepticism, irreligion, mysticism and even rationalism entered into them. It is argued that the collections retained their popularity and freely circulated wherever Persian was cultivated down to modern times.

Nearly blind astronomer opens observatory for tourists

Nearly blind astronomer opens observatory for tourists