From Earth-bound to satellite : telescopes, skills, and networks / edited by Alison D. Morrison-Low ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Morrison-Low, A. D.

Series:

History of science and medicine library ; v. 23.

History of science and medicine library ; v. 23

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Telescopes--History.

Telescopes.

Astronomical instruments--History.

Astronomical instruments.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (312 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The volume forms a part of the celebrations marking the anniversary of the invention of the telescope. From its Renaissance beginnings to yesterday’s Cold War, the essays contributed here throw a spotlight on a number of significant episodes in the continuing adventures of this well-loved instrument, which has played a crucial role in Man’s thinking about his position – literally and philosophically – in the universe. Drawn from various conferences held by the Scientific Instrument Commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science between 2007 and 2009, these papers make a substantial contribution to our current knowledge about this fascinating optical instrument.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Galileo’s Shopping List: An Overlooked Document about Early Telescope Making / Giorgio Strano

Johann Wiesel’s Telescopes and his Clientele / Inge Keil

The ‘Invisible Technician’ Made Visible: Telescope Making in the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth-century Dutch Republic / Huib J. Zuidervaart

The Art of Polishing: Practice and Prose in Eighteenth-century Telescope Making / Jim A. Bennett

Networks of Telescope Makers and the Evolution of Skill: Evidence from Observatory and Museum Collections / Gloria Clifton

Scoping Longitude: Optical Designs for Navigation at Sea / Richard Dunn

Following the Stars: Clockwork for Telescopes in the Nineteenth Century / James Caplan

Telescopes Made in Berlin: From Carl Bamberg to Askania / Gudrun Wolfschmidt

Wide-Field Photographic Telescopes: The Yale, Harvard and Harvard/Smithsonian Meteor and Satellite Camera Networks / Teasel Muir-Harmony , David H. DeVorkin and Peter Abrahams

The Making of Space Astronomy: A Gift of the Cold War / Robert W. Smith

General Index

Colour Plates I–XIII.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-33470-4

9786613334701

90-04-21461-5

OCLC:

777548338

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004214613 DOI