The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) (Paperback)

~ Michael Hoskin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Packed with information as it is, Hoskin's short introduction makes an astonishingly good read.' Curtis Wilson, JHA

Product Description

This is a fascinating introduction to the history of Western astronomy, from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in the mid-nineteenth century. Historical records are first found in Babylon and Egypt, and after two millennia the arithmetical astronomy of the Babylonians merged with the Greek geometrical approach to culminate in the Almagest of Ptolemy. This legacy was transmitted to the Latin West via Islam, and led to Copernicus's claim that the Earth is in motion. In justifying this Kepler converted astronomy into a branch of dynamics, leading to Newton's universal law of gravity. The book concludes with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century applications of Newton's law, and the first explorations of the universe of stars.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192803069
• ISBN-13: 978-0192803061
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #787,950 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Centuries of Astronomy in 123 Pages, March 31, 2007

By	Steve Ruskin (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent short history of developments in astronomy from prehistory to the 19th century. And there is perhaps no one better suited than Michael Hoskin to write it: he is the editor of the `Cambridge Illustrated History of Astronomy'; he has also been the long-standing editor of the `Journal for the History of Astronomy.' He if anyone can distill millennia of stargazing to under 125 pages.

The six short chapters cover the sky in prehistory, astronomy in antiquity, astronomy in the middle ages, the Copernican revolution, astronomy in the age of Newton, and developments in stellar and nebular astronomy (looking beyond our solar system). The book also provides a number of useful illustrations.

This is a great primer, a perfect pocket introduction to the history of astronomy.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lucid overview, July 17, 2007

By	D. Stover (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lucid overview of the development of astronomy as a science, from ancient times till the mid-19th century.