Hindsight and popular astronomy [electronic resource] / Alan B. Whiting.

ISBN:

9789814307925

Title:

Author:

Whiting, Alan B.

Personal Author:

Whiting, Alan B.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 273 pages) : illustrations

Contents:

Preface; Contents; 1. One Question and Two Ironies; 2. Positions, Orbits and Calculations; 3. Sir John Herschel, Treatise on Astronomy, 1833; 4. Sir George Biddell Airy, Popular Astronomy, 1848; 5. Heat, Light and Three Bodies; 6. Sir John Herschel, Outlines of Astronomy, Tenth Edition, 1869; 7. Simon Newcomb, Popular Astronomy, 1878; 8. Sir Robert S. Ball, In the High Heavens, 1893; 9. Simon Newcomb, Astronomy for Everybody, 1902; 10. Things Get Strange: Quanta and Relativity; 11. Sir James Jeans, The Universe Around Us, First Edition, 1929.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Astronomical literature -- History and criticism.

Communication in astronomy -- History -- 19th century.

Communication in astronomy -- History -- 20th century.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2011

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
809.9336 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Named a Top Ten Book of 2011 by Physics World, UK.There are many books that endeavor to bridge the gap between scientists and laymen, yet too many overemphasize the presentation of scientific findings as hard facts and end up alienating readers from the critical thinking processes involved in science.Whiting attempts to break away from the norm in this revolutionary review of popular astronomy books written from 1833 to 1944. He examines these important works by acknowledged authorities in the field to see how they have stood the test of time. Where the luminaries have failed, he looks for clues that the layman reader could have used to raise doubts about what was being said. The aim of this highly accessible book is to develop tools for the non-scientist to evaluate the strange and marvelous results that astronomers report, in place of the highly-developed scientific and mathematical techniques available to the scientists themselves. A must-read for all science and astronomy enthusiasts.