Websites and resources about Astronomy - History
Eclipses, Occultations and Transits
Instruments
Observatories
People
Solar System
Worldviews
Harmonia Macrocosmica by Andreas Cellarius
Atlas of the heavens as seen by the astronomers of the time of its 1661 printing: Copernicus, Ptolemy, Brahe, and Aratus. Entire book has been digitized and the images may be browsed or searched.
http://www.lib.utah.edu/digital/cellarius.html
History and Philosophy of Western Astronomy
The History chapter of an introductory astronomy course.
http://www.astronomynotes.com/history/s1.htm
Jewish Astronomy, From Ancient to Modern Times
Astronomy in Israel from Og's Circle to the Wise Observatory.
http://wise-obs.tau.ac.il/judaism/jewish_astro.html
The %c3%80ryabhat%c3%adya of %c3%80ryabhata
The oldest exact astronomic constant? The ratio of earth rotations to lunar orbits in Aryabhata's AD 498 writing.
http://www.jqjacobs.net/astro/aryabhata.html
Astronomy in Japan
Historical and modern Japanese astronomy, and its place in Japanese culture
http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/jastro.html
The Star of Bethlehem
An investigation of the science and history which bear on the mysterious star said to have accompanied the advent of Christ.
http://www.bethlehemstar.net/
Northern California History of Astronomy Luncheon and Discussion Association
Announcements of discussions (in Oakland, California), open to the public, on various astronomy history topics, and an archive of past discussions
http://nchalada.org/
Rundetaarn (The Round Tower)
Astronomy in Denmark: Brahe, Roemer, Hertzsprung.
http://www.rundetaarn.dk/engelsk/observatorium/history.htm
Hindu Cosmological Time Cycles
measurement system.
http://www.aaronsrod.com/time-cycles/index.html
History of Astronomy in Ancient India
Eclipse calculation, heliocentric theory, size of the world.
http://india.coolatlanta.com/GreatPages/sudheer/astro.html
History of Astronomy Pages
of J.C. Kapteyn (1851-1922); Many history of astronomy and history of science links with a Dutch flavour.
http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~heijden/history.html
Historical Astronomy Division
American Astronomical Society division devoted to history, with a link to pages on the history of the society itself.
http://www.aas.org/~had/had.html
A Brief SETI Chronology
A timeline of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, from Morrison and Coconni to SETI@home.
http://www.setileague.org/general/history.htm
A Science Odyssey - Physics and Astronomy
PBS articles about 20th century astronomy and physics.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/physastro.html
Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy
Complete archive and subscription information.
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/enha/
Biennial History of Astronomy Conferences
Workshops at Notre Dame, papers presented, abstracts, group pictures of attendees.
http://www.nd.edu/~histast4/index.html
From Stargazers to Starships
Tutorial/historical exposition of the motion of Earth in space, Newtonian mechanics and spaceflight, on a high school level.
http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Sintro.htm
The Babylonian Theory of the Planets
A substantial look at the subject, and a review of N. M. Swerdlow's book.
http://www.maa.org/reviews/babplanets.html
The Manchester Astronomical Society History
The first hundred years, list of presidents, list of archived documents.
http://www.u-net.com/ph/mas/history.htm
Atlas Celeste
A rare celestial atlas discovered in the library of the Manchester Astronomical Society.
http://www.u-net.com/ph/mas/bevis/home.htm
Russell A. Hulse - Nobel Lecture
The discovery of the binary pulsar.
http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1993/hulse-lecture.html
The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
Robert Woodrow Wilson Nobel Lecture.
http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1978/wilson-lecture.html
Historiacoelestis
Yahoo group moderated by Stuart Williams, F.R.A.S.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/historiacoelestis/
This Month in the History of Astronomy
Short descriptions of important discoveries, events, and birthdays sorted by month.
http://astro.martianbachelor.com/TMITHOA/
Digital Archive of Historical Astronomy Pictures
Images from the history of astronomy, old telescopes, pictures of astronomers, observatories.
http://www42.pair.com/infolund/bolaget/DAHAP/
Astronomy
Features history of discoveries and references.
http://jacq.istos.com.au/sundry/astro.html
Astronomical References in the Ruba'iy%c3%a1?t of Omar Khayyam
Excerpts and commentary with reproductions of some of Elihu Vedder's illustrations.
http://www.minaret.org/INSAP3.htm
HASTRO-L
Archive of the History of Astronomy Discussion Group, the mailing list for scholars in this field.
http://listserv.wvu.edu/archives/hastro-l.html
Tycho's Star Maps
Celestial atlases and globes on exhibit at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server.php?request=setTemplate:singlecontent&contentTypeA=conWebDoc&contentId=388
X-ray Astronomy at Goddard
Describes observations using balloons, rockets and satellites.
http://lhea.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xray/history.html
Understanding Tidal Friction
Article by Peter Brosche on gaining understanding of changes in the Moon's orbit.
http://www.tribunes.com/tribune/art98/bros.htm
Big Ear Radio Observatory
Radio astronomy and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
http://www.bigear.org/
Starry Messenger
Phase I of the Electronic History of Astronomy, developed in the Whipple Museum of the History of Science at Trinity College, Cambridge. Covers the history of instruments and techniques, themes such as astrology and calendar reform, and biographies of major historical astronomers.
http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/starrymessenger.html
Roemer and the First Determination of the Velocity of Light
Burndy Library online publication of 1940 article detailing the background and details of Roemer's work.
http://dibinst.mit.edu/BURNDY/OnlinePubs/Roemer/index.html
Little Green Men, White Dwarfs or Pulsars?
A personal account by Jocelyn Bell Burnell on the discovery of pulsars.
http://www.bigear.org/vol1no1/burnell.htm
History of Astronomy
Offers a history of the field and science. Features links to related sites, awards and contact details. Provided by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy.
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/astoria.html
The Society For The History Of Astronomy
Academic and popular topics, with a focus on Britain.
http://www.shastro.org.uk/
Heavenly Mathematics: Cultural Astronomy
An interdisciplinary course on cultural astronomy.
http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/teaching/heavenly.html
Islamic Astronomy
Article by Owen Gingerich explores refinement and criticism of Ptolemaic astronomy, including religious influences on direction, and describes precursors to and influences on Copernicus.
http://users.kfupm.edu.sa/phys/alshukri/PHYS215/Islamic%20astronomy.htm
Gene Smith's Brief History of Astronomy
Covers the development of this ancient science from days of Stonehenge (3100 BC) to the discovery of Pulsars (1968 AD). Includes related resource links.
http://cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/History.html
Out of This World
Exhibition catalog for The Golden Age of the Celestial Atlas. Includes an historical essay and sample pictures.
http://www.lindahall.org/events_exhib/exhibit/ex_atlas.shtml
Astronomy in Sweden 1860-1940
From the Uppsala University Newsletter for History of Science.
http://www.astro.uu.se/history/swehistory_1860-1940.html
Fabri de Peiresc's Quest for a Method to Calculate Terrestrial Longitude
Article by Jane T. Tolbert in the Historian publication in 1999. Whereas Galileo sought to confront and embarrass the established Church, Peiresc worked from within clerical ranks with persuasion and tact.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2082/4_61/56909071/p1/article.jhtml
MuslimHeritage.com - Astronomy
Articles on astronomers, observatories, work performed and its significance from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries.
http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?TaxonomyTypeID=18&TaxonomySubTypeID=107
History of SETI
An overview of the history of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence using radio frequencies. Includes photos.
http://www.seti-inst.edu/seti/seti_background/Welcome.html
Astronomy in the 18th Century
Discusses the development of reflective telescopes during the 1700's. Covers the different types of mirrors and lens that were used during these times. Includes some key contributors to the improvement of the telescope during this period.
http://www.cosmicelk.co.uk/astronomy18c.htm
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