The Story of Astronomy

L. Motz, J. Weaver0-7382-0566-9

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.

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Table of contents :
Contents……Page 8
CHAPTER 1 The Origins of Astronomy……Page 12
CHAPTER 2 The Ancient Cosmologies……Page 24
CHAPTER 3 The Greek Philosophers and the Early Greek Astronomers……Page 32
CHAPTER 4 From Aristarchus to Ptolemy: The Birth of Accurate Observational Astronomy……Page 50
CHAPTER 5 The Revival of European Astronomy……Page 68
CHAPTER 6 Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler……Page 80
CHAPTER 7 Galileo, the Astronomical Telescope, and the Beginning of Modern Astronomy……Page 100
CHAPTER 8 The Newtonian Era……Page 118
CHAPTER 9 The Rise of Modem Astronomy……Page 140
CHAPTER 10 Post-Newtonian Astronomy……Page 154
CHAPTER 11 The Beginning of the New Age of Astronomy: Beyond the Solar System……Page 170
CHAPTER 12 Astronomy as a Branch of Physics……Page 196
CHAPTER 13 The New Physics and Its Impact on Astronomy……Page 216
CHAPTER 14 Relativity and Astronomy……Page 244
CHAPTER 15 The Origin and Development of Astrophysics……Page 268
CHAPTER 16 Stellar Evolution and the Beginning of Galactic Astronomy……Page 290
CHAPTER 17 Beyond the Stars: The Galaxies……Page 320
CHAPTER 18 Cosmology……Page 342
Epilogue……Page 364
Bibliography……Page 372
A……Page 374
C……Page 376
D……Page 378
E……Page 379
F……Page 380
G……Page 381
H……Page 382
K……Page 384
M……Page 385
N……Page 387
O……Page 388
P……Page 389
R……Page 392
S……Page 393
T……Page 396
U……Page 397
Z……Page 398