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History of Astronomy

In this book, Walter W. Bryant traces the history of astronomy through the ages. We start at the very beginning, where astronomy was an occupation of priests, move with the help of the Arabs through the middle ages to the (re-) discovery of the heliocentric system by Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo. A discussion of Newton and his laws follows as well as a description of the biographies and works of successors like Halley, Herschel, and Bessel. The second half of the book deals with (at the time) recent discoveries with respect to our solar system and the comets, meteors, and stars beyond. (Summary by Ava) (10 hr 0 min)

Chapters

Preface

I Early Notions

II The Eastern Nations of Antiquity

III The Greeks

IV The Arabs

V The Revival - Copernicus - Tycho Brahe

VI Kepler - Galileo

VII Newton

VIII Newton's Successors: Laplace

IX Flamsteed - Halley - Bradley - Herschel

X The Early Nineteenth Century - Neptune

XI Herschel - Bessel - Struve

XII Comets

XIII The Sun - Eclipses - Parallax

XIV General Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics

XV Observatories and Instruments

XVI Adjustment of Observations - Personal Errors

XVII The Sun

XVIII Solar Spectroscopy

XIX Solar Eclipses - Spectroscopy

XX The Moon

XXI The Earth

XXII The Interior Planets

XXIII Mars

XXIV Minor Planets

XXV The Major Planets

XXVI The Solar System

XXVII Comets, Meteors, Zodiacal Light

XXVIII The Stars - Catalogues - Proper Motion - Parallax - Magnitude

XXIX Double Stars

XXX Variable Stars

XXXI Clusters - Nebulae - Milky Way

XXXII Stellar Spectroscopy

XXXIII Conclusion