The big bang, black holes, space travel and life in other galaxies - this is the stuff of science fiction and the subject of much current speculation and research on the part of astronomers and cosmologists. This book shows how man's chronological needs helped scientific developments.

The Reader's Guide to the History of Science looks at the literature of science in some 550 entries on individuals (Einstein), institutions and disciplines (Mathematics), general themes (Romantic Science) and central concepts (Paradigm and Fact). The history of science is construed widely to include the history of medicine and technology as is reflected in the range of disciplines from which the international team of 200 contributors are drawn.

This Encyclopedia traces the history of the oldest science from the ancient world to the space age in over 300 entries by leading experts.

This book contains a series of articles summarizing the technical, institutional and intellectual history of mathematical tables from earliest times until the late 20th century when the electronic spreadsheet changed the way information is processed.

The author, a well-known astronomer himself, describes the evolution of astronomical ideas, touching only lightly on most of the instrumental developments. Richly illustrated, the book starts with the astronomical ideas of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian philosophers, moves on to the Greek period and then on to the golden age of astronomy, that of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Finally, Pecker concludes with modern theories of cosmology. Written with astronomy undergraduates in mind, this is a fascinating survey of astronomical thinking.

Astronomy, perhaps the first of the sciences, was already well developed by the time of Christ. Seventeen centuries later, after Newton showed that the movements of the planets could be explained in terms of gravitation, it became the paradigm for the mathematical sciences. In the nineteenth century the analysis of star-light allowed astrophysicists to determine both the chemical composition and the radial velocities of celestial bodies, while the development of photography enabled distant objects invisible to the human eye, to be studied and measured in comfort. Technical developments during and since the Second World War have greatly enlarged the scope of the science by permitting the study of radiation. 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. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Recent discoveries of planet-like objects circling other sun-like stars have stirred enormous interest in what other planets may exist in the universe, and whether they could support intelligent life. This book takes us into the midst of this search for extrasolar planets. Unlike other books, it focuses on the people behind the searches -- many known personally by the author -- and the extraordinary technology that is currently on the drawing boards. The author is an experienced, award-winning science journalist who was previously technology correspondent for the Financial Times of London. He has written on many topics in astronomy and astrobiology in over 35 different newspapers and magazines worldwide.

This is a textbook on the history of astronomy focusing on the topics of prime importance.

Only a book this big could convey the majesty of the ever-expanding universe and provide a glimpse into the ultimate limits of space. Originally published in French in 1997 and updated to include recent developments, this volume takes readers on a unique, scenic exploration of the universe. More than 200 incredible, full-color photographs gathered from the Hubble Space Telescope and the largest telescopes in the world capture the magic and wonder found in the vast expanse of the universe. In a beautiful, large format, containing many full-page color spreads, Majestic Universe allows readers to witness the birth of stars; scan the sky for extrasolar planets; venture near black holes; travel into the realm of galaxies and clusters of galaxies; gauge the vastness of space with Hipparcos; and finally wonder about the history and future of our mysterious universe. Clear, enthusiastic captions accompany each image, providing details on the great theories of the structure of the cosmos; descriptions of the latest advances in cosmology; and a trip into the past in search of the origins of the universe, of space, and of time. Majestice Universe is the ultimate "vehicle" for armchair space buffs to explore the final frontier. Serge Brunier is chief editor of the journal Ciel et Espace, a photo-journalist, and the author of many nonfiction books aimed at both specialists and the general public.

This book will take the story of astronomy on from where Allan Chapman left it in Stargazers, and bring it almost up to date, with the developments and discoveries of the last three centuries. He covers the big names - Halley, Hooke, Herschel, Hubble and Hoyle; and includes the women who pushed astronomy forward, from Caroline Herschel to the Victorian women astronomers. He includes the big discoveries and the huge ideas, from the Milky War, to the Big Bang, the mighty atom, and the question of life on other planets. And he brings in the contributions made in the US, culminating in their race with the USSR to get a man on the moon, before turning to the explosion of interest in astronomy that was pioneered by Sir Patrick Moore and The Sky at Night.