The Moon that Wasn’t : The Saga of Venus’ Spurious Satellite

Documento digitale:

Natura:

Monografia - Materiale multimediale - Risorsa elettronica

Specifiche:

[Supporto specifico] Risorsa remota

Descrizione:

The Moon that Wasn’t : The Saga of Venus’ Spurious Satellite / by Helge Kragh. - Basel : Birkhäuser Basel, 2008. - digital. - (Science Networks. Historical Studies ; 37)

Note:

Springer eBooks. - Printed edition: 9783764389086

Sommario/Abstract:

Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2 -- A moon or not? A century of confusion -- 3. From climax to anticlimax -- 4. Contemporary analysis and criticism -- 5. A spurious but persistent satellite -- 6. Closure: the discussion of the 1880s -- 7. Conclusion, and a note on the satellites of Uranus -- 8. Appendix: Biographical sketches -- Bibliography. - This book details the history of one of astronomy’s many spurious objects, the satellite of Venus. First spotted in 1645, the non-existing moon was observed more than a dozen times until the late eighteenth century. Although few astronomers believed in the existence of the moon after about 1770, it continued to attract attention for at least another century. However, it has largely disappeared from the history of astronomy, and the rich historical sources have never been exploited. By telling the story of the enigmatic satellite in its proper historical context it is demonstrated that it was much more than a mere curiosity in the annals of astronomy – Frederick II of Prussia was familiar with it, and so was Bonnet, Kant and Voltaire. The satellite of Venus belongs to the same category as other fictitious celestial bodies (such as the planet Vulcan), yet it had its own life and fascinating historical trajectory. By following this trajectory, the history of planetary astronomy is addressed in a novel way

Collezione:

[Fa parte di] Science Networks. Historical Studies ; 37 [Vai al dettaglio]

Numeri:

ISBN: 978-3-7643-8909-3
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-7643-8909-3
N. catalogo straniero: QC6.9 (Library of Congress Call Number)
N. catalogo straniero: QC5.53 (Library of Congress Call Number)

Autore:

Kragh, Helge - [Responsabilità principale](Visualizza dettaglio)

SpringerLink (Online service) - [Responsabilità secondaria]

Soggetto:

Astronomy

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Classificazione: