The History Of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction

This lively anc comprehensive book charts the developments in the history of western astronomy from prehistoric times, when farmers used the stars to predict the start of the seasons, through the merging of Babylonian and Greek astronomy, and on to the eighteeth-and nineteenth-century applications of Newton's law. Ending his history in the middle of the ninetheenth century with the rise of astrophysics, Michael Hoskin looks at the achievements of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Halley, and Newton, whilst touching upon the first exciting post-war explorations of the universe of stars.
About Author :
Michael Hoskin taught History of Astronomy at Cambridge University for thirty years, and was Head of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. He has edited the Journal for the History of Astronomy ever since its foundation of the History of Astronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union, and the only historian to have given an Invited Discourse to the Union. In 2001 the Union named Minor Planet 12223 'Hoskin' in his honour. He is also the author of the Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy (1999).
Contents :
List of Illustrations The Sky in Prehistory Astronomy in antiquity Astronomy in the Middle Ages Astronomy transformed Astronomy in the age of Newton Exploring the universe of stars Epilogue Further reading Glossary Index