The Royal Observatory GreenwichCambridge University Press, 22 d’ag. 2013 - 326 pàgines When this highly illustrated work first appeared in 1900, the day-to-day business of an astronomer was prone to misapprehension; the reality tended to be clouded by the temptation to imagine observatories as preoccupied with making awe-inspiring discoveries and glimpsing distant worlds. Describing himself as a hybrid between an engineer and an accountant, astronomer Edward Walter Maunder (1851-1928) explodes the romantic myths and takes the reader on an entertaining tour of the history and real purposes of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Founded with the sole aim of advancing navigation at sea, the observatory originally confined its activities to the accurate compilation of celestial charts. In exploring the observatory's various departments and the lives of its Astronomers Royal, Maunder shows how its remit slowly expanded into heliography, meteorology, spectroscopy and the study of magnetism, which transformed it from a tool of the Navy to a major institution in contemporary astronomy. |
Continguts
THE NEW BUILDING | 9 |
CHAPTER | 15 |
FLAMSTEED | 27 |
CHAPTER PAGE VI THE TIME DEPARTMENT | 159 |
THE TRANSIT AND CIRCLE DEPARTMENTS | 181 |
THE ALTAZIMUTH DEPARTMENT | 205 |
THE MAGNETIC AND METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENTS | 228 |
Altres edicions - Mostra-ho tot
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich: A Glance at Its History and Work Edward Walter Maunder Visualització completa - 1900 |
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich: A Glance at Its History and Work Edward Walter Maunder Visualització completa - 1900 |
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich: A Glance at Its History and Work Edward Walter Maunder Visualització completa - 1900 |
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Airy Airy’s altazimuth anemometers appearance assistant Astrographic Astronomer Royal axis barometer Bradley building Cambridge carried catalogue celestial chiefly chronograph chronometer clock comet determination difficulty direction discovery distance dome double stars earth eclipse entirely equator equatorial field find first five fixed stars Flamsteed Flamsteed’s Gamma Draconis Greenwich Observatory Halley Halley’s John Flamsteed Jonas Moore Jupiter labour latitude longitude longitude at sea Lower Computing Room lunar magnetic needle Maskelyne ment meridian Meteorological minor planets minutes moon moon’s motion mounted move movements mural circle NATHANIEL BLISS navigation Newton o’clock observations office official pass photographic pier planets pole Pond Pond’s position practical present quadrant reflected refractor right ascension Royal Observatory Royal Society satellites scientific Sir Jonas Moore solar spectroscope spots sufficient sun-spots sun’s telescope thermometer Thompson tions transit circle transit instrument transit of Venus watch whilst wires