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* *
* ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY *
* *
* Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy *
* in the Astronomische Gesellschaft *
* *
* Number 45, April 11, 2001 *
* *
* Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick *
* *
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Contents
--------
1. Conference Announcement: European Astronomy in the 20th Century
2. Conference Announcement: Cosmology through Time
3. Conference Announcement:
Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East
4. 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium
5. Conference announcement: Tycho Brahe and Prague
6. Further Conferences in 2001
7. Past Meetings
Acknowledgements
Imprint
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Item 1 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
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Conference Announcement: European Astronomy in the 20th Century
---------------------------------------------------------------
Special Colloquium on the History of Astronomy
"European Astronomy in the 20th Century"
in the framework of the
Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting for 2001
J E N A M - 2001
10th European and 75th Annual Assembly of Astronomische Gesellschaft
September 10-14, 2001, Munich, Germany
First announcement and call for papers
The European meeting of astronomers to be held in September 2001 in
Munich will give the opportunity to review the development of astronomy in
Europe during the last century. Emphasis will be made on the evolution of
ideas, instruments and scientific results, although the history of
institutions and biographies of astronomers may also be considered.
The colloquium is being organized by the Working Group for the History
of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft, who invited other European
astronomers to the SOC.
Scientific Organizing Committee - SOC:
Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Potsdam, Germany, e-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de
Dr. Izold Pustylnik, Toravere/Tartu, Estonia, e-mail: izold@aai.ee
Dr. Helmut Steinle, Garching, Germany, e-mail: hcs@mpe.mpg.de
Dr. Christiaan L. Sterken, Brussels, Belgium, e-mail:
csterken@vub.ac.be
Local Organizing Committee - LOC:
Dr. Helmut Steinle
Contact address:
Dr. Helmut Steinle
Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik
Postfach 1312
85741 Garching
Germany
E-mail : hcs@mpe.mpg.de
WWW : http://www.mpe.mpg.de/hcs/
Phone : (49) 89 30000 3374
Fax : (49) 89 30000 3569
Location: Campus of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich,
located well in the city centre of Munich.
Time: Friday, September 14: 14.00-15.30 and 16.00-17.30
Saturday, September 15: 9.00-10.30 and 11.00-12.30
Arrival and Departure, Accommodation:
See the according pages at the JENAM-20001 web site:
http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/english/conferences/jenam01/
or ask for the Second Announcement of JENAM-2001 at
car@mpa-garching.mpg.de
In addition we want to warn you that following the meeting, the
world-famous Oktoberfest starts and thus accommodation in and arround
Munich may be very hard to find. So please make reservations as soon as
possible!
Call for Papers:
Both oral and poster contributions will be accepted. However, oral
papers have to address the main theme of the colloquium, whereas posters
may also deal with other topics from the history of astronomy in general.
The SOC reserves the right to accept the contributions and to decide on the
type of the presentation (oral or poster).
Oral Papers
Any author must send an abstract until the deadline
July 1, 2001 (deadline for oral abstracts).
The abstracts have to be submitted electronically to the
publication editor of Astronomische Gesellschaft, Dr. R. Schielicke
(schie@astro.uni-jena.de), and to Dr. H. Steinle (hcs@mpe.mpg.de).
Poster Papers
Any poster author must send an abstract until the deadline
July 13, 2001 (deadline for poster abstracts).
The poster abstracts have to be submitted electronically to the
publication editor of Astronomische Gesellschaft, Dr. R. Schielicke
(schie@astro.uni-jena.de), and to Dr. H. Steinle (hcs@mpe.mpg.de).
The abstracts have to submitted in LaTeX format. A Tex-Macro can be
downloaded: http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/Astron_Ges/agamacro.tex
Please contact the LOC if you are not able to submit your abstract in
LaTeX.
All abstracts of accepted talks and posters will be published in the
Astronomische Gesellschaft Abstract Series and available through the ADS
well before the conference.
Registration and Registration Fees:
For participants of the general JENAM-2001 conference who also want
to attend this Special Colloquium, please see the JENAM-2001 web site
or the JENAM-2001 Second Announcement (see above).
Whether it will also be possible to attend this Special Colloquium
alone is still under negotiation. Further information will be available in
the second announcement.
Financial Assistance:
No financial support of any kind can be provided by the organizers
of this Special Colloquium. Please see the JENAM - 2001 web site for
possible financial assistance to participants of JENAM-2001 in general
(please note the deadline: April 30).
Events:
We will try to organize tours to places of interest for historians of
astronomy in Munich and surroundings, e.g.
European Southern Observatory headquarters (ESO)
Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik (MPE)
Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Ludwig-Maximilian
University Munich (USM)
Deutsches Museum
Benediktbeuern and J. Fraunhofer's glass production site
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Item 2 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
...........................................................................
Conference Announcement: Cosmology through Time
-----------------------------------------------
International Meeting
Astronomical Observatory of Rome
Monteporzio Catone, June, 17-21, 2001
COSMOLOGY THROUGH TIME / LA COSMOLOGIA NEL TEMPO
(Ancient and Modern Cosmologies in the Mediterranean Area)
SOC: Bertola, F., Bono, G., Bonoli, F., Buonanno, R., Capaccioli, M.,
Castellani, V., Cham-Cham, K., Fodera`-Serio, G., Malik, A.,
Panaino, A., Picchioni, S.
LOC: Colafrancesco, S. (chair), Amendola, L., D'Alessio, F., Giobbi, G.,
Menci, N., Monaco, G.
Organizers: Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Osservatorio Astronomico di
Capodimonte, Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, * Egyptian Embassy,
Societa Astronomica Italiana, * Lybian Embassy, Universita` di Roma
"Tor Vergata", Universite`Hassan II Ain-Chock - Casablanca,
* Moroccan Embassy, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e L'Oriente,
Associazione per l'Amicizia Italo-Araba, AlmaMed, ESCO
* = Possible Co-Organizer
Language
========
The Conference official language is English. Special sessions will be held
in Italian.
Aim of the Meeting
==================
Nowadays, we regard cosmology as a modern science, but cosmological
thoughts have been part of humanity throughout history. All cultures have
a cosmology, because such questions have been asked by all peoples for as
long as we have wondered at the stars. The explanations have varied from
culture to culture, and from time to time, but all of them seek to impose
an order upon the cosmos, so as to make it accessible to the human mind.
This is just as true of scientific as of pre-scientific cosmologies.
Astronomy has been one of the main scientific areas (the mother of sciences
in the Arab tradition) to investigate physical laws using Mathematics since
the beginning of early scientific developments. And yet, there is more to
it. Astronomy, being the most immediate and useful area of Science at our
disposal, had the power to link different civilizations, cultures and
religions throughout the evolution of humankind.
While Astronomy withered in Medieval Europe, it flourished in Islam.
Renaissance astronomers learned from the texts of Islamic scholars who had
preserved and transformed the Science of the Ancient Greek and Arab
cultures.
Modern Cosmology originates from this historical stage of cultural
revolution which brought new scientific concepts into the mathematical
framework of Islamic Astronomy.
The Mediterranean area has been the cradle of modern Astronomy and
Cosmology and still retains the connections between Ancient and Modern
Cosmology.
This meeting wants to re-discover these ties in the light of our current
knowledge of the Universe, of the origin of time and space, in the spirit
of the ancient travellers guided by the stars.
IMPORTANT DATES:
January 20th, 2001: First announcement
March 1st, 2001: Second announcement
April 2nd, 2001: Registration and Contribution through web
May 2nd, 2001: Deadline for Hotel Booking
May 15th, 2001: Final announcement and program
CONTACT ADDRESS:
Scientific Secretary
Dr. Giuliana Giobbi
Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33,
I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone - Roma - Italy
Fax +39-069447243
email: cosmo01@coma.mporzio.astro.it
TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED:
- Ancient Astronomy, Early Cosmology
- The Role of Astronomy in the development of Cultures in the
Mediterranean area
- Astronomy, Astrology and Religions in the Early Epochs
- Astronomy, Time and Travels
- Historical and scientific outline
- Ancient cosmologies
Cosmologies of the Mesopotamic area
Cosmologies of the ancient Egypt
Cosmology of the Hebrews
The vision of the Universe in ancient Greece
- The origin of Cosmology and Astronomy in the Arab culture
Traditional science in Arabia
Astronomy, astrology and religion
Mathematical astronomy and its techniques
- Schools of Arab Astronomy
Iraq and Iran
Egypt, Syria, Yemen
Maghreb
The Impact of Arab culture in Spain
- From Early to Modern Cosmology
The Arab Heritage and the Origin of Modern Astronomy
Medieval European Cosmologies
Dante's Cosmology and Christian Cosmology
- The origin of Modern Cosmology
- Philosophy and the Structure of Scientific Knowledge
- Scientific Revolutions and the idea of the World
- The idea of the World after the advent of Quantum Mechanics:
Quantum Physics and Cosmology
- The pillars of Modern Cosmology
- The Anthropic Principle and Modern Cosmology
- Time, Space and Energy in Modern Cosmology
- Cosmology, Astrology and Religions nowadays
- Archeo-Astronomy in the Mediterranean area
- Contemporary Astronomy and Cosmology in the Mediterranean area
SPECIAL EVENTS:
* V. Castellani - Conferenza Pubblica
* S. Rossi Esser - Letture in italiano di poesie di Hildegarde von Bingen
* Inaugurazione dell'AstroLab presso l'Osservatorio Astronomico
CONTRIBUTIONS:
Oral contributions are accepted by specialists of the topics listed above.
A preliminary title and abstract are requested.
Deadline for contributions: APRIL 2, 2001.
REGISTRATIONS:
Please fill in and send by e-mail the registration form at:
http://www.mporzio.astro.it/cosmo2001/registration.html
Deadline for registrations: APRIL 2, 2001.
PROCEEDINGS & FEES:
The Conference Proceedings will be published.
Further informations about Registration fees, social events and other
details will be provided in the second announcement.
ACCOMODATION:
Participants must take care of their own accomodation by choosing one of
the hotels listed at
http://www.mporzio.astro.it/cosmo2001/alberghi.html
and book their room by fax using the form provided.
The deadline for hotel booking is MAY 2, 2001.
The Observatory does not answer for room availability after this
date. Transport is only provided to and from the hotels in the list.
TRANSPORT:
Monteporzio is accessible by trains, local coaches and taxis. Details
about how to reach the Observatory and maps of the area are provided
at the following site:
http://www.mporzio.astro.it/~giobbi/infomp.html
Tentative list of Speakers
==========================
Barbour, J. (UK)
Belmonte Aviles J.A. (Spain)
Bonoli, F. (Bologna)
Buonanno, R. ( Universita' di Roma II "Tor Vergata")
Capaccioli, M. (SAIt, OAC)
Castellani, V. (Pisa)
Cham-Cham, K. (Casablanca)
Davies, P. (Australia)
DeMeis, S. (Milano)
Elamrani-Jamal (Casablanca)
Guiderdoni B. (Paris)
Hunger H. (Vienna)
King D. (Francoforte)
Kunitsz P. (Munich)
Panaino, A. (Bologna)
Picchioni, S. (Bologna)
Pingree, D. (Brown Univ.)
Rashed, R. (Paris)
Saliba, G. (Columbia Univ.)
Silk J. (Oxford UK)
Treumann, R. (MPG Munich, Garmany)
Vittorio, N. (II Universita' di Roma II "Tor Vergata")
For further informations and questions, please contact the L.O.C. at the
following address: cosmo01@coma.mporzio.astro.it
Or visit the Web site at: http://www.mporzio.astro.it/cosmo2001/
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Item 3 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
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Conference Announcement: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under One Sky: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East
25-27 June 2001, The British Museum.
Archaeologically recovered materials from Egypt and Mesopotamia provide the
earliest written sources of astronomy and mathematics known to us today.
They reveal that already by the early second millennium BC advanced
mathematical techniques had been developed to solve both practical and
abstract problems. In the first millennium BC, Babylonian astronomers used
developments of these mathematical methods to calculate planetary and lunar
phenomena such as the dates of the first and last visibilities of the
planets, and eclipses of the sun and moon.
This conference will provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of
recent work on the history of astronomy and mathematics in the Ancient Near
East. In addition to technical discussions of the methods of the ancient
science, sessions of the conference will be devoted to exploring the
relationship between astronomy and celestial divination, the role of
astronomy in establishing absolute chronologies, and the legacy of Ancient
Near Eastern science in neighbouring cultures.
For further information please contact one of the following:
John Steele, Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road,
Durham, DH1 3LE, Tel: 0191-3742139, Email: j.m.steele@durham.ac.uk
Annette Imhausen, Dibner Institute, 38 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
02139, USA, Email: aimhausen@dibinst.mit.edu
Christopher Walker, Department of the Ancient Near East, The British
Museum, London, WC1B 3DG, Tel: 020-73238382, Email:
c.walker@british-museum.ac.uk
Or visit the conference web site:
http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~jms/UOS/Preview/index.html
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Item 4 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
...........................................................................
20th Scientific Instrument Symposium
------------------------------------
The 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium of the Scientific Instrument
Commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of
Science will take place at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, at the
invitation of the Center for the History of Science from Monday 15th to
Friday 19th October, 2001.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is an independent, non-governmental
organisation dedicated to promoting the development of science. The Center
for the History of Science, established in 1988, is an international
research institute operating under the auspices of the Academy. Its
purpose is to accomplish, stimulate and support research within the history
of science.
The sessions of the symposium will take place at the Academy. The Academy
is situated near a subway station providing easy access.
Some visits will be arranged for example to the Observatory Museum, where
many of the instruments belonging to the Academy are on display. We will
also visit the Nobel Jubilee Exhibition, which opens in the spring of 2001.
Trips outside of Stockholm will take us to Uppsala and to the Baroque
castle of Skokloster.
Conference address:
20th International Scientific Instrument Symposium
Center for History of Science
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Box 50005
SE-104 05 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46-(0)8-673 95 00
Fax: +46-(0)8-673 95 98
E-mail: sic2001@kva.se
Web: http://www.cfvh.kva.se/sic2001.htm
Organising committee:
Olov Amelin, Inga Elmqvist, Tore Frangsmyr, Karl Grandin, Christina
Hallden and Svante Lindqvist.
The 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium in Stockholm is sponsored by
the Wenner-Gren Foundations.
...........................................................................
Item 5 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
...........................................................................
Conference announcement: Tycho Brahe and Prague
-----------------------------------------------
Tycho Brahe and Prague:
Crossroads of European Science
An International Symposium on the History of Science in Rudolphine period
organized on the occasion of 400th anniversary of Tycho Brahe's death
(Prague, 24 October 1601)
First Announcement and Call for Papers
The symposium will be organized by the Research Center for the History of
Sciences and Humanities (RCHSH, founded by Charles University and Academy
of Sciences of the Czech Republic) in Prague, 22-25 October 2001.
The symposium will deal with the following topics:
A) Tycho Brahe and 16th- and 17th-century astronomy
B) Rudolphine Prague as a center of scientific and intellectual life
C) Danish-Bohemian relations 1576 - 1648.
Scientific Organizing Committee:
O. Gingerich (Harvard Univ.)
J. R. Christianson (Luther Coll., Iowa)
J. Dobrzycki (Academy of Sciences, Warszaw)
A. Hadravova (Academy of Sciences, Prague, LOC)
Z. Hojda (Charles Univ., Prague)
L. Konecny (Academy of Sciences, Prague)
J. Petran (RCHSH, Prague)
A. Ph. Segonds (Observatoire de Paris)
M. Solc (Charles Univ., Prague, LOC)
Local Organizing Committee:
A. Kostlan (RCHSH, Prague)
P. Hadrava (Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov)
A. Hadravova (Academy of Sciences, Prague, SOC)
J. Parez (Strahov library, Prague)
M. Solc (Charles Univ., Prague, SOC)
M. Svatos (Charles Univ., Prague)
V. Urbanek (Academy of Sciences, Prague)
For further information or suggestions, please contact:
A. Kostlan
Research Center for the History of Sciences and Humanities
Legerova 61
120 00 Praha 2
Czech Republic
e-mail: brahe@kav.cas.cz
Web site with pre-registration form:
http://stelweb.asu.cas.cz/tycho/
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Item 6 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
...........................................................................
Further Conferences in 2001
---------------------------
Further conferences in the year 2001 were reported in previous issues of
ENHA. For a complete list of all meetings announced see the following URL:
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_meet.html
April 27-28, 2001, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Baroque Imaginary: The World of Athanasius Kircher, S. J. (1602-80)
Place: Stanford University
Contacts: Paula Findlen, e-mail: pfindlen@leland.stanford.edu
June 11-16, 2001, Palermo, Italy
Asteroids 2001: from Piazzi to the 3rd Millenium
Contacts: Carlo Blanco, Universita di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e
Astronomia, Via S. Sofia, 78, I-95125 Catania, Italy,
Phone +390957332245, Fax +39095330592,
e-mail: cblanco@alpha4.ct.astro.it
June 13-16, 2001, Paris, France
Culture scientifique : les observatoires de Paris et de Palerme
Contacts: D. Chalonge, Observatoire de Paris - DEMIRM,
61, avenue de l'Observatoire, PARIS, France, 75014,
Phone 33-01-40-51-22-21, Fax 33-01-40-51-20-02,
e-mail: chalonge@mesiob.obspm.fr
July 8-14, Mexico City, Mexico
XXIst International Congress of History of Science,
Symposium "Astronomical Heritage of Non-European Cultural Areas"
Contacts: Prof. S.M. Razaullah Ansari, c/o Physics Department, Aligarh
Muslim University,
Aligarh 202002, India, Fax: ++91-571-400466, e-mail: Raza.Ansari@gmx.net
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Item 7 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001
...........................................................................
Past Meetings
-------------
January 7-8, 2001, San Diego, CA, USA
197th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society
Session 1. HAD I: Boners of the Century
Session 23. HAD II
Contacts: Barvara Welther, e-mail: bwelther@cfa.harvard.edu
http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas197/program/
February 10, 2001, Oakland, CA, USA
Meeting of the Northern California History of Astronomy Luncheon and
Discussion Association (NCHALDA)
Further information: Norm Sperling, email: nsperling@california.com
...........................................................................
Acknowledgements
----------------
For information we thank: S.M. Razaullah Ansari, Silvia Barbantani,
Petr Hadrava, Norm Sperling, John Steele.
...........................................................................
Imprint
-------
Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA)
Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the
Astronomische Gesellschaft
Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick
All items without an author's name are editorial contributions.
Articles as well as information for the several sections are appreciated.
Subscription for ENHA is free. Readers and subscribers are asked for
occasional voluntary donations to the working group.
Copyright Statement:
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Non-commercial reproduction of single items in electronic or printed media
is possible only with the editor's permission.
Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of
Astronomy:
URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/astoria.html
Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der
Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany,
Tel.: +49(0)6592 2150, Fax: +49(0)6592 985140
Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Otterkiez 14, D-14478 Potsdam,
Germany, e-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de
Bank Acct. of the Working Group of the Astronomische Gesellschaft:
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