Practical Astronomy Research Articles

Satellite astronomy: the principles and practice of astronomy from space

Satellite astronomy: the principles and practice of astronomy from space

Astronomy in West Germany Goes Supernational

Astronomy in West Germany Goes Supernational

Book Review: Newton's Contemporaries: Under Newton's Shadow: Astronomical Practices in the Seventeenth Century

Book Review: Newton's Contemporaries: Under Newton's Shadow: Astronomical Practices in the Seventeenth Century

Two Treatises on Astronomical Instruments by cABD Al-Munc IM Al-cĀmilī & Qāsim cAlī Al-Qāyinī

A characteristic feature of Arab-islamic astronomy during the Middle Ages is the promotion and tremendous growth of practical astronomy which was in turn manifested primarily by the establishment of scores of observatories in West-Central Asia, from Abbasid Caliph al-Māmūn (813-833) to the Turkish king Murād III (1574-1595), and by the production of copious literature on astronomical Tables (the zījes) as well as on astronomical instruments (ālāt al-rasad). The enormity of the literature on the latter could be gauged by the list of extant works as given by Matvievskaya and Rosenfeld (1983) in their recent Biobibliography: 349 treatises on astrolabes, 138 on sine-instruments, 81 on quadrants, 4 on sextants and octants, 41 on armillary spheres and celestial globes, 77 on sundials and again 77 on “other instruments”—in all 767 treatises. As a matter of fact the instruments developed by Arab-islamic astronomers could be broadly classified into four groups: a) Time measuring instruments (e.g. sundials, shadow quadrants), b) Angle measuring instruments for astronomical parameters (e.g. armilla of various kinds, dioptre and parallactic rulers), c) instruments for transformation of system of coordinates and/or solving nomographical problems (e.g. astrolabes, quadrants, dāstūr instrument), d) Mathematical instruments for evaluating trigonometric functions, (e.g. sinequadrants). Apart from the fourth and the most important of all, the astrolabe, which in turn embodies all the four groups of instruments to a certain extent, works on “other instruments” were compiled in almost every century (down from 9th to 18th A.D.), also by well-known Arab-Islamic astronomer-mathematicians.

Under Newton's Shadow: Astronomical Practices in the Seventeenth Century. Lesley Murdin

<i>Under Newton's Shadow: Astronomical Practices in the Seventeenth Century</i>. Lesley Murdin

Under Newton's Shadow – Astronomical Practices in the 17th Century

Lesley Murdin 1985 Bristol: Adam Hilger viii + 152 pp price £16.75 (IOP members' price £13.40) ISBN 0 85274 456 0 In Newton's time, as now, science depended as much on the matrix of community and communication between rank and file scientists as on individual genius. By describing the lives and personalities of the English astronomers of roughly 1670–1720, Lesley Murdin not only tells a vivid and absorbing story but helps to build an understanding of how and why rational astronomy emerged.

The Interrelationship of Rock Art and Astronomical Practice in the American Southwest

The Interrelationship of Rock Art and Astronomical Practice in the American Southwest

Relativistic Reduction of Astrometric Observations

The nonuniqueness of the quasi-Galilean coordinates of general relativity leads to the emergence of unmeasurable coordinate-dependent quantities in astronomical practice. One may offer three possible ways to overcome the related difficulties: 1.developing theoretical conclusions only in terms of measurable quantities2.using arbitrary coordinates and developing an unambiguous procedure for comparing measurable and calculated quantities3.agreement to utilize one and only one coordinate system.In this paper we prefer the second way. After formulating the heliocentric planetary and geocentric satellite equations of motion, the general technique for relativistic reduction in astrometry and geodynamics is developed. Specific algorithms for the reduction of absolute and relative measurements are derived for the one- and the two- body problem. For illustration, the relativistic reduction of stellar parallaxes, Doppler satellite observations, navigation measurements with the aid of satellites and radiointerferometric measurements are presented in detail.

Beyond the planets: early nineteenth-century studies of double stars

In 1837 the German-born astronomer F. G. W. Struve published his famous catalogue of double stars. For Struve this was the culmination of 12 years' detailed observation of a class of celestial objects lying exclusively beyond the solar system; for historians of astronomy it poses the problem of explaining why the study of double stars became a significant part of astronomical endeavour, as it did, during the 1820s and 1830s. For, although Struve's interest was extreme, it was shared to a lesser extent by several eminent contemporaries, including John Herschel, Friedrich Bessel, Johann Encke, James South and Félix Savary. Their combined efforts represented an important transition in astronomy: for the first time one of the emphases of the subject moved beyond the solar system to the so-called fixed stars. The question of the emergence of interest in double stars is of historical significance, therefore, as it is related to the problem of the origins of ‘stellar astronomy’. This essay is thus intended to offer an explanation of astronomers' interest in double stars, and to tackle the related question of whether this transition constituted a major break in the history of astronomy. Furthermore it is proposed that answers to these problems may be found by considering the practice of astronomy dominant during the first half of the nineteenth century. Astronomers in this period were overwhelmingly concerned with a refined form of positional astronomy. The problems they chose to solve were by and large related to the difficulties of the accurate reduction of observational data, and the compilation of reliable tables and star charts, which were then used as a background against which the motions of solar system objects were plotted. By assessing individuals' studies of double stars within this context it can be seen firstly that such studies were no more or less than specific examples of a general case, and secondly that the stars themselves were not usually of intrinsic interest. In general it was the positions of the stars on the

Practical Astronomy with your Calculator — by Peter Duffett-Smith (Cambridge University Press), second edition 1981, 181 pp. $A36.50 (hard copy), $A12.25 (plastoic). Plastoic copy supplied by Cambridge University Press (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Practical Astronomy with your Calculator — by Peter Duffett-Smith (Cambridge University Press), second edition 1981, 181 pp. $A36.50 (hard copy), $A12.25 (plastoic). Plastoic copy supplied by Cambridge University Press (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Book review

Book review

Book Review: Calculators for Astronomers: Mathematical Astronomy with a Pocket Calculator, Practical Astronomy with Your Calculator

Book Review: Calculators for Astronomers: Mathematical Astronomy with a Pocket Calculator, Practical Astronomy with Your Calculator

David Thompson's Surveying Instruments and Methods in the Northwest 1790–1812

The paper examines the surveying instruments and methods of David Thompson, the renowned Canadian fur trader, explorer, surveyor and cartographer. A description is provided of his instruments and of the publications which he used in conducting his surveys. A brief background of the state of the science of practical astronomy is given, followed by a layman's look at Thompson's surveying methods in the North American wilderness. His methods of determining latitude and longitude are examined, with particular emphasis on the method of measuring lunar distances to calculate longitude. Finally, Thompson's use of his astronomic observations and track surveys in the making of his maps is outlined.

Organization and Control: Professionals and Amateurs in American Astronomy, 1899-1918

Spurred by concerns that amateur researchers would organize Independent of the guidance of the professional astronomical community, professional astronomers established the Amencan Association of Variable Star Observers and the Amencan Meteor Society to provide direction for and ensure the utilization of amateur observations. Concurrently, the American Astronomical Society, established In 1899 after a half-century of abortive efforts, evolved Into an organization open to all astronomical researchers. This paper discusses the events which resulted m this interlocking, hierarchical network of astronomical researchers and societies, focusing especially on the history and ultimate demise of the Society for Practical Astronomy - the only major effort on the part of American amateurs during this period to establish their own national society. Representing a potential challenge to the hegemony of the professionals, the Society for Practical Astronomy became the target of an effective assault by the professional community

Practical astronomy with your calculator, by Peter Duffett-Smith. Pp xi, 129. £9·50 hard covers, £3·95 paperback. 1979. SBN 0 521 22761 5/29636 6 (Cambridge University Press)

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Astronomical studies in surveying courses

Abstract Programmable electronic calculators are dramatically altering survey practice by eliminating the need for the surveyor to perform calculations which may be both complex and tedious. Our teaching needs to be reviewed in the light of these capabilities. The study of astronomical practice is also of great value in developing a good understanding of instmments and of the practical realities of statistics in the evaluation of precisions.

Practical Astronomy with Your Calculator

Peter Duffet-Smith 1979 London: Cambridge University Press xi + 129 pp price £9.50 (£3.95 paperback) This book is a real gem, not only for the amateur astronomer, but also for students of elementary positional astronomy including those studying it in a nautical context or as a complementary subject. One problem of teaching astronomy in a complementary studies programme is the great variety of mathematical backgrounds of the students, and this sometimes means cutting down on the numerical aspects of the subject.

Toward a Philosophy of Technology

Toward a Philosophy of Technology

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd 1816–1892

Lewis M. Rutherfurd (1816-1892) was a wealthy amateur practitioner of science, making notable contributions to the optics of astronomy and spectroscopy. He graduated from Williams College at the age of 18 and soon began a career in law. Not long thereafter he was fortunate enough to acquire sufficient wealth through marriage to permit him to pursue scientific activity, for which he had gained interest. He soon became interested in photographing the heavens to obtain quantitative data regarding star motions. A few years later he developed a spectrometer with which he obtained some of the best attainable stellar spectra of the time. Rutherfurd is not widely known because he did not fully report his work; but through correspondence and instrument development he had a profound influence on his contemporaries. He was made a trustee of Columbia College in 1858, and in 1881 he helped to found a department of Geodesy and Practical Astronomy there.

The development of astronomical theory and practice from the 17th to the 20th century

The development of astronomical theory and practice from the 17th to the 20th century