The General History of Astronomy: Volume 2, Planetary Astronomy from the Renaissance to the Rise of Astrophysics

History of astronomy from Newton to Poincaré.

René Taton (Edited by), Curtis Wilson (Edited by), Michael Hoskin (General editor)

9780521120098, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 September 2009

296 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.44 kg

Review of the hardback: 'This is a scholarly and well-produced book.' Alan Chapman, Webb Society Reviews

Part B of Planetary Astronomy from the Renaissance to the Rise of Astrophysics is the sequel to Part A and continues the history of celestial mechanics and observational discovery through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Twelve different authors have contributed their expertise in some eighteen chapters, each of them intended to be accessible to the interested layman. An initial section deals with stages in the reception of Newton's inverse square law as exact. In the remainder of the book a large place is given to the development of the mathematical theory of celestial mechanics from Clairaut and Euler to LeVerrier, Newcomb, Hill and Poincaré – a topic rarely treated, at once synoptically and in some detail. Lists of further reading provide entrée to the literature of these several topics.

Part V. Early Phases in the Reception of Newton's Theory: 14. The vortex theory in competition with Newtonian celestial dynamics Eric J. Aiton
15. The shape of the Earth Seymour L. Chapin
16. Clairaut and the motion of the lunar apse: The inverse-square law undergoes a test Craig B. Waff
17. The precession of the equinoxes from Newton to d'Alembert and Euler Curtis Wilson
18. The solar tables of Lacaille and the lunar tables of Mayer Eric G. Forbes and Curtis Wilson
19. Predicting the mid-eighteenth-century return of Halley's Comet Craig B. Waff
Part VI. Celestial Mechanics During the Eighteenth Century: 20. The problem of perturbation analytically treated: Euler, Clairaut, d'Alembert Curtis Wilson
21. The work of Lagrange in celestial mechanics Curtis Wilson
22. Laplace Bruno Morando
Part VII. Observational Astronomy and the Application of Theory in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century: 23. Measuring solar parallax: The Venus transits of 1761 and 1769 and their nineteenth–century sequels Albert Van Helden
24. The discovery of Uranus, the Titius-Bode and the asteroids Michael Hoskin
25. Eighteenth–and nineteenth century developments in the theory and practice of orbit determination Brian G. Marsden
26. The introduction of statistical reasoning into astronomy: from Newton to Poincaré Oscar Sheynin
27. Astronomy and the theory of errors: from the method of averages to the method of least squares F. Schmeidler
Part VIII. The Development of Theory During the Nineteenth Century: 28. The golden age of celestial mechanics Bruno Morando
Part IX. The Application of Celestial Mechanics to the Solar System to the End of the Nineteenth Century: 29. Three centuries of lunar and planetary ephemerides and tables Bruno Morando
30. Satellite ephemerides to 1900 Yoshihide Kozai
Illustrations
Combined index for Parts 2A and 2B.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]