by
Glass, I. S. (Ian S.), author.
Call Number
520.92 23
Publication Date
2013
Summary
La Caille was one of the observational astronomers and geodesists who followed Newton in developing ideas about celestial mechanics and the shape of the earth. He provided data to the great 18th-century mathematicians involved in understanding the complex gravitational effects that the heavenly bodies have on one another. Observing from the Cape of Good Hope, he made the first ever telescopic sky survey and gave many of the southern constellations their present-day names. He measured the paths of the planets and determined their distances by trigonometry. In addition, he made a controversial measurement of the radius of the earth that seemed to prove it was pear-shaped. On a practical level, La Caille developed the method of 'Lunars' for determining longitudes at sea. He mapped the Cape. As an influential teacher he propagated Newton's theory of universal gravitation at a time when it was only beginning to be accepted on the European continent. This book gives the most comprehensive overview so far available of La Caille's life and work, showing how he interacted with his often difficult colleagues. It places special emphasis on his life at, and his observations and comments on, the Cape of Good Hope, where he spent the years 1751-53.
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Electronic Resources
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0.1078
by
Turyshev, Slava G.
Call Number
523.01 22
Publication Date
2009
Summary
Space-based laboratory research in fundamental physics is an emerging research discipline that offers great discovery potential and at the same time could drive the development of technological advances which are likely to be important to scientists and technologists in many other different research fields. The articles in this review volume have been contributed by participants of the international workshop "From Quantum to Cosmos : Fundamental Physics Research in Space" held at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, Virginia, USA, on May 21-24, 2006. This unique volume discusses the advances in our understanding of fundamental physics that are anticipated in the near future, and evaluates the discovery potential of a number of recently proposed space-based gravitational experiments. Specific research areas covered include various tests of general relativity and alternative theories, search of physics beyond the Standard Model, investigations of possible violations of the equivalence principle, search for new hypothetical long- and short-range forces, variations of fundamental constants, tests of Lorentz invariance and attempts at unification of the fundamental interactions. The book also encompasses experiments aimed at the discovery of novel phenomena, including dark matter candidates, and studies of dark energy.
Format:
Electronic Resources
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0.1048
by
Stephenson, Bruce.
Call Number
521 20
Publication Date
2014
Summary
Valued today for its development of the third law of planetary motion, Harmonice mundi (1619) was intended by Kepler to expand on ancient efforts to discern a Creator's plan for the planetary system--an arrangement thought to be based on harmonic relationships. Challenging critics who characterize Kepler's theories of harmonic astronomy as ""mystical, "" Bruce Stephenson offers the first thorough technical analysis of the music the astronomer thought the heavens made, and the logic that led him to find musical patterns in his data. In so doing, Stephenson illuminates crucial aspects o
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0.1020
by
Rochberg, Francesca, 1952-
Call Number
133.59235 22
Publication Date
2010
Format:
Electronic Resources
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0.0927
by
Goldsmith, Donald, author.
Call Number
523.24 23
Publication Date
2018
Summary
Using a variety of innovative techniques, astronomers have recently discovered thousands of planets that orbit stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy. Donald Goldsmith presents the science of exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial life in a way that Earthlings with little background in astronomy or astrophysics can understand and enjoy. Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public at large is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds, which bear little resemblance to the planets in our solar system. The sizes, masses, and orbits of exoplanets detected so far raise new, unanswered questions about how planets form and evolve. Still more tantalizing are the efforts to determine which exoplanets might support life. Astronomers are steadily improving their means of examining planets' atmospheres and surfaces, with the help of advanced spacecraft sent into orbits a million miles from Earth to obtain finer views of the cosmos. These instruments will provide better observations of planetary systems in orbit around the dim red stars that throng the Milky Way. Previously spurned as too faint to support life, these cool stars turn out to possess myriad planets that nestle sufficiently close to maintain Earthlike temperatures. The quest to find other worlds brims with possibility. Exoplanets shows how astronomers have already broadened our planetary horizons, and tells us what may come next, including the ultimate discovery: life beyond our home planet.--
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Electronic Resources
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0.0889
by
Wickramasinghe, Chandra, 1939- author.
Call Number
523.01092
Publication Date
2015
Format:
Electronic Resources
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0.0855
by
Wickramasinghe, Chandra, 1939- author.
Call Number
523.01092
Publication Date
2015
Format:
Electronic Resources
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0.0855
by
Schrijver, Karel, author.
Call Number
523.1 23
Publication Date
2015
Summary
'Living with the Stars' describes the many fascinating connections between the universe and the human body, which range from the makeup of DNA and human cells, growth and aging, to stellar evolution and the beginning of the universe.
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Electronic Resources
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0.0798
by
Aveni, Anthony F., author.
Call Number
520.93 23
Publication Date
2019
Summary
"Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in constellation stories from diverse cultures. We can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing readers to tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non-Western and Indigenous, ancient and contemporary. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect reading for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky"--Jacket
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Electronic Resources
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0.0703
322.
by
Johnston, Scott Alan, author.
Call Number
389.17 23
Publication Date
2022
Summary
"Until the nineteenth century all time was local time. On foot or on horseback, it was impossible to travel fast enough to care that noon was a few minutes earlier or later from one town to the next. The invention of railways and telegraphs, however, created a newly interconnected world where suddenly the time differences between cities mattered. The Clocks Are Telling Lies is an exploration of why we tell time the way we do, demonstrating that organizing a new global time system was no simple task. Standard time, envisioned by railway engineers such as Sandford Fleming, clashed with universal time, promoted by astronomers. When both sides met at the International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, in 1884 to debate the best way to organize time, disagreement abounded. If scientific and engineering experts could not agree, how would the public? Following some of the key players in the debate, Scott Johnston reveals how people dealt with the contradictions in global timekeeping in surprising ways - from zealots like Charles Piazzi Smyth, who campaigned for the Great Pyramid to serve as the prime meridian, to Maria Belville, who sold the time door to door in Victorian London, to Moraviantown and other Indigenous communities that used timekeeping to fight for autonomy. Drawing from a wide range of primary sources, The Clocks Are Telling Lies offers a thought-provoking narrative that centres people and politics, rather than technology, in the vibrant story of global time telling."--
Format:
Electronic Resources
Relevance:
0.0436
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