Minding the Heavens

The Story of our Discovery of the Milky Way

Leila Belkora

416 pages, parution le 04/12/2002

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Résumé

Today we are used to the idea that we live on a planet circling the sun, that our sun is just one of billions of stars in the galaxy we call the Milky Way, and that our galaxy is but one of billions born out of the big bang. Yet as recently as the early twentieth century the general public and even astronomers had vague and confused notions about what lay beyond the visible stars.

This book is about how we discovered that we lived in a galaxy, in fact a universe full of galaxies. This fascinating story of the discovery of our own and other galaxies is told through the lives of seven astronomers: Thomas Wright, William Herschel, Wilhelm Struve, William Huggins, Jacobus Kapteyn, Harlow Shapley and Edwin Hubble. Each contributed greatly to our present understanding of where we live in the cosmos.

Through the science and lives of these seven people, each shaped by their family, friends and contemporaries; we follow this amazing story of discovery. From the mid 1700s with Thomas Wright through to the mid 20th century with the more familiar names of Shapley and Hubble, each character bringing us nearer to our present understanding of the Universe

Contents

The Naked-Eye View of the Sky
Thomas Wright: Visionary of Stellar Systems
William Herschel: Natural Historian of the Universe
Wilhelm Struve: Seeker of Parallax
William Huggins: Pioneer of the "New Astronomy"
Jacobus Kapteyn: Mastermind Without a Telescope
Harlow Shapley: Champion of the Big Galaxy
Edwin Hubble: Redeemer of Island Universes
Epilogue: The Milky Way Revealed

Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Institute of Physics (IOP)
Auteur(s)	Leila Belkora
Parution	04/12/2002
Nb. de pages	416
Format	13,8 x 21,6
Couverture	Broché
Poids	604g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780750307307
ISBN13	978-0-7503-0730-7