Reflections on the Astronomy of Glasgow

David Clarke

2013年5月 · Edinburgh University Press

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How Astronomy contributed to the educational enlightenment of Glasgow, to its society and to its commerce. The words 'Astronomy' and 'Glasgow' seem an incongruous juxtaposition, and yet the two are closely linked over 500 years of history. This is a tale of enlightenment and scientific progress at both institutional and public levels. Combined with the ambitions of civic commerce, it is a story populated with noteworthy personalities and intense rivalries.It is remarkable to realise that the first Astronomy teaching in the Glasgow 'Colledge' presented an Earth-centred Universe, prior to the Copernican revolution of the mid sixteenth Century. Glasgow was later known astronomically for the telescope observations of sunspots made by Wilson in the 1760s, but less well known are the ideas related to mono-chromaticity within light, to dew point and hoar frost, and Herschel's discovery of infra-red energy in solar radiation by application of Glasgow-made thermometers.This engrossing and entertaining scientific history includes the story of Glasgow's 'Big Bang' of 1863, the controversy over 'Astronomer Royal for Scotland' and a historical survey of the eight observatories that once populated Glasgow. David Clarke brings us a complex weave of science and accompanying social history in this unique and fascinating work.

作者简介

David Clarke is a Practical Astronomer and has worked around the world on optical telescopes and on space missions such as Skylab and Pioneer 10. His main focus is Astronomical Polarimetry, having designed instruments to study scattering processes within stellar atmospheres, the interstellar medium and the Earth's atmosphere. Spending most of his career within Glasgow University in Education and Research as Observatory Director, his energies have now turned to exploring historical themes.