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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 24, December 4, 1997 *
* *
* A translation of *
* *
* ELEKTRONISCHE MITTEILUNGEN ZUR ASTRONOMIEGESCHICHTE *
* Nr. 24, 3. Dezember 1997 *
* *
* Edited by: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick *
* *
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Contents
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1. The International Spring Meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft 1998
2. Introducing the "Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage"
3. Axel D. Wittmann: Catalog of Naked-Eye Sunspot Observations and
Large Sunspots, 165 BC to AD 1918
4. Thomas B. Settle: Mechanical Marvels: Invention in the Age of Leonardo
(Announcement of an Exhibition)
Acknowledgements
Imprint
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Item 1 ENHA No. 24, December 4, 1997
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The International Spring Meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft 1998
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Gotha, Germany, May 11 - 15, 1998
The conference will take place in commemoration of the first astronomical
congress held in 1798 at the Seeberg observatory. Therefore history of
astronomy is one of two special fields of the meeting, with a natural focus
on the 18th and 19th centuries. The other field is astrometry. We expect
results from the satellite Hipparcos and the discussion of successing
projects. The language will be the "lingua franca" of our times, English.
Especially characteristic quotations in French and German may be presented
in the original version as well. There will be invited lectures as well as
short oral and poster contributions.
Scientific Organizing Committee:
Peter Brosche (Daun/Bonn), Wolfgang R. Dick (Potsdam), Roland Wielen
(Heidelberg)
Registration for the conference:
Information and registration - chairman of the Local Organizing Committee:
Oliver Schwarz, Uthmannstr. 8, D-99867 Gotha, Germany
E-mail: SternwGTH@aol.com
Other information (e.g., about travel to Gotha and accomodation) may be
downloaded from URL http://members.aol.com/SternwGTH . Later also the
preliminary programme will be placed there.
The Organizing Committee asks for registration as early as possible, not
later than by March 15, 1998. Registered participants will receive a
list of hotels and bed & breakfast in Gotha. O. Schwarz may help you
with organizing your accomodation.
Fees:
Members of the Astronomische Gesellschaft: DM 60, students DM 40,
non-members DM 80. Excursion to Inselsberg: DM 25
In case that your conference fee will be received by January 15, 1998,
the excursion will be free for you.
Please make your payments to Acct # 750 003 715, Sparkasse Gotha,
BLZ 820 520 20, indicating "Fruehjahrstagung". Requests for re-funding
of fees received later than one week prior to the conference may be
granted only at 50 %.
Scientific programme:
Please send your requests concerning the programme as well as your
abstracts of papers and posters by March 15, 1998, to Prof. Peter Brosche,
University of Bonn, Observatorium Hoher List, D-54550 Daun, Germany. We
ask for your understanding that contributions submitted later may not be
accepted.
In difference to other meetings of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, no
abstract book will be published due to a lack of funds. However, we
intend to publish the abstracts together with the invited papers in the
Proceedings to appear after the meeting. For this you may edit your
abstracts later. Prior to the meeting the abstracts will be published
in the WWW (URL see above). For this, authors are asked to submit
machine-readable abstracts, either on diskette together with the hardcopy
to Prof. Brosche (any formats, also Word or WordPerfect, except Macintosh
formats), or by e-mail to the LOC at SternwGTH@aol.com (ASCII, HTML or
LaTeX), or by ftp to ftp.potsdam.ifag.de into the directory
pub/incoming/wdi with a short e-mail notice to wdi@potsdam.ifag.de (any
formats, except Macintosh).
Preliminary schedule:
May 11 2 pm opening ceremony, opening of a special exhibition
7 pm informal gathering in Hotel Lindenhof
May 12 9 am presentations on history of astronomy
7 pm public evening lecture held by Dr. Oliver Schwarz
entitled "Die Vermessung des Weltalls"
May 13 9 am history of astronomy
astrometry
7 pm reception by the mayor of the city of Gotha
May 14 9 am astrometry
May 15 10 am astronomical-geodetic excursion to the Inselsberg, the
highest mountain of the Thuringian Forest
Invited speakers (with short titles):
Suzanne Debarbat: Astronomy at the Paris Observatory
Jean-Claude Pecker: The diary of Lalande
Peter Brosche: Astronomy in Gotha
Karin Reich: Astronomy - the leading discipline
Manfred Schneider: Astrometry and geodesy
Leslie V. Morrison: Sands of Time and Tidal Friction
Adriaan Blaauw: History of the HIPPARCOS project
Roland Wielen: The FK6 and the double stars
Helmut Jahreiss: HIPPARCOS and the nearby stars
Wilhelm Seggewiss: Distance scale and HIPPARCOS
Michel Mayor: Radial velocities and extra-solar planets
Jacques Colin: The automatic meridian circle of Bordeaux
Christian de Vegt: HIPPARCOS for wide field astronomy
Alain Fresneau: Carte du Ciel and HIPPARCOS
Michael Geffert: CCD astrometry
Lennart Lindegren: HIPPARCOS and the future
Ulrich Bastian: The astrometric satellite DIVA
Michael H. Soffel: Relativity and space astrometry
Erik Hog: [title not yet defined]
General information about Gotha
Gotha is one of the Thuringian residence towns, which, despite being the
capitals of only small states, were of great importance for the cultural
development in Germany. The reigning dukes supported the arts, and one of
the last, Ernst II (1745-1804) had a great passion for astronomy. He
founded an observatory and made Franz Xaver von Zach (1754-1832) the first
director. Following astronomy also related sciences were developed:
Justus Perthes' "Geographische Anstalt" made significant contributions to
cartography.
A great share of the cultural heritage of Gotha is concentrated in the
large castle Friedenstein which was the residence of the dukes. There are
the Science and State Library Gotha, the Thuringian State Archives,
several museums and a unique baroque theater. The collections include
astronomical instruments, globes and clocks.
Many of Johann Sebastian Bach's ancestors lived in the area surrounding
Gotha. However, he was born in Eisenach about 30 km to the West of Gotha.
The centre of German classical literature, Weimar, is 40 minutes by train
to the East. Inbetween lies Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia and one of
the most remarkable German medieval cities.
Not second to the cultural highlights is the possibility to explore the
beauties of nature: the foot of the Thuringian Forest can be reached by
tram and the ridge by buses. From the Inselsberg (which we shall visit)
one can see the stage of the opera "Tannhaeuser", the Wartburg, in the
North-West.
More about Gotha at http://www.gotha-online.de/
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Item 2 ENHA No. 24, December 4, 1997
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Introducing the "Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage"
--------------------------------------------------------------
Following extensive discussions at the recent General Assembly of the IAU,
a research publication titled the "Journal of Astronomical History and
Heritage" is to be launched in 1998. This will go some way towards
providing an alternative outlet for those who liked to publish in the
"Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society" and in "Vistas in
Astronomy".
JAH2 will be published twice-yearly, in June and December, and will feature
review papers, research papers, short communications, and book reviews.
Papers on all aspects of astronomical history will be considered, including
studies which place the evolution of astronomy in political, economic and
cultural context. Papers on astronomical heritage may deal with historic
telescopes and observatories, conservation projects (including the
conversion of historic observatories into museums of astronomy), and
historical or industrial archaeological investigations of astronomical
sites and buildings. All papers will be refereed prior to publication.
Managing Editor of the new journal is John L. Perdrix, from Perth,
Australia, who is closing down the "Australian Journal of Astronomy" in
order to activate the new journal. Papers Editor is Dr Wayne Orchiston,
Executive Director of the Carter Observatory (the National Observatory of
New Zealand). An international Editorial Board is in the process of being
formed, and Dr Bambang Hidayat (Indonesia, and IAU Vice-President),
Professor Rajesh Kochhar (India), Professor Brian Warner (South Africa),
Commander Derek Howse (England), Dr Wolfgang Dick (Germany), Dr David
Andrews (Northern Ireland), Dr Alan Batten (Canada), Dr Steve Dick (USA,
and Chairman of IAU Commission 41), Professor Ben Gascoigne (Australia),
and Professor Don Osterbrock (USA) have already agreed to join.
The annual subscription, for individuals, is just $US20. Queries regarding
subscriptions, book reviews and the production of the new journal should be
directed to Mr J. Perdrix at Astral Press, PO Box 107, Wembley, WA 6014,
Australia (or e-mail: geochem@techpkwa.curtin.edu.au). Queries regarding
papers should be directed to Dr W. Orchiston at the Carter Observatory, PO
Box 2909, Wellington, New Zealand (or e-mail: Wayne.Orchiston@vuw.ac.nz).
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Item 3 ENHA No. 24, December 4, 1997
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Catalog of Naked-Eye Sunspot Observations and Large Sunspots
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165 BC to AD 1918
-----------------
By Axel D. Wittmann, Goettingen, Germany
Large ('naked-eye') sunspots may serve as one of the primary indicators of
solar activity; their distribution shows the typical features of solar
activity (11-year cycle, butterfly diagram, bimodal maxima, Maunder-type
maxima and minima, etc.). Historical naked-eye sunspot observations are
one of the very few direct (non-proxy) means of studying solar activity
during the past.
This cataloge contains observations of large sunpots (or what may possibly
have been a large sunspot!) with the naked eye. 'Modern' spots (more
recent spots observed telescopically) are only included if they were large
enough to be (in principle, at least) visible to the naked eye.
When trying to interpret the data, and in particular the ancient Chinese
observations, note that they are not at all systematic, i.e. 'dense' in
time (or statistically 'complete'), but were made more or less by chance,
or were often cited inaccurately in the chronicles! In particular, the
ancient astronomers were trying to determine the phase of the new moon
(for calendar purposes), and that is why often sunspots were preferrably
detected near the day of new moon (whereas their actual 'maximum' was
sometime else): So be careful and don't mis-interpret the meagre
statistics!
Data from 165 BC to AD 1684 were compiled by Axel D. Wittmann, University
Observatory, Goettingen, Germany, and Zhen-Tao Xu, Purple Mountain
Observatory, Nanjing, China; cf. Ref. [1].
This data has been updated and expanded (in particular for the time from
1685 to 1918) by data taken from the catalog of Kevin K.C. Yau and F.
Richard Stephenson, University of Durham (cf. Ref. [2]) by A.D. Wittmann
in 1988.
The 'modern' observations (after AD 1764, and in particular those of the
20th century) were compiled by A.D. Wittmann; if possible they include the
measured area and the observed heliographic latitude. The date usually is
that of the CMD passage.
Electronic copies of the catalogue are available from the author upon
request. A downloadable version is available from the WDC-A for Solar-
Terrestrial Physics at Boulder (for more information please contact
Dr. Helen Coeffey, Editor Solar-Geophysical Data, hcoffey@ngdc.noaa.gov).
References:
[1] Wittmann,A.D., Xu,Z.T.: 1987, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 70, pp. 83-94.
[2] Yau,K.K.C., Stephenson,F.R.: 1988, Quart. J. Roy. Astron. Soc. 29, 175.
Author's address:
Dr. A.D. Wittmann, University Observatory, Geismarlandstr. 11,
D-37083 Goettingen, Germany, Phone: +(49)-551-395045,
Fax: +(49)-551-395043, E-mail: wittmann@uni-sw.gwdg.de
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Item 4 ENHA No. 24, December 4, 1997
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Mechanical Marvels: Invention in the Age of Leonardo
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Announcement of an Exhibition
-----------------------------
By Thomas B. Settle, Brooklyn, NY, USA
24 October, 1997 - 1 March, 1998
World Financial Center in lower Manhattan, New York, USA
This show is the most recent edition of two previous ones entitled
"Renaissance Engineers from Brunelleschi to Leonardo da Vinci" held at
the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence a year ago and in Paris before that.
It was organized by a team at the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienze
of Florence under the direction of Prof. Paolo Galluzzi, the Director
of the Istituto.
The show has three major sections: on "Filippo Brunelleschi" and
various aspects of the design and construction of the Cupola of the
Florentine Cathedral; on the "Sienese Engineers", including Taccola
and Francesco di Giorgio; and on Leonardo da Vinci. Featured are
excellent and large working models of both real and imaginary
machines figured in the original documents.
There will be catalogs and CDs available on site.
For an introduction to the show you might want to visit:
http://galileo.imss.fi.it/news/mostra/index.html
Also availabe by a link through the World Financial Center Page:
http://www.worldfinancialcenter/com/art/fall97/page2.html
For location of and directions to the World Financial Center
as well as other information:
http://www.worldfinancialcenter.com/
Author's address:
Thomas B. Settle Tel. +1 718 260 3406 (w)
History of Science and Technology Fax. +1 718 260 3136
Polytechnic University Em. tsettle@duke.poly.edu
Brooklyn, NY 11201 tsettle@galileo.imss.firenze.it
Web. http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/~tsettle/index.html
(Note: This is an informal and unofficial announcement. Please excuse
cross-posting; but feel free to pass the information on to others.)
...........................................................................
Acknowledgements
----------------
For information we thank:
Peter Brosche (Bonn/Daun), Wayne Orchiston (Wellington), Oliver Schwarz
(Gotha/Daun), Reinhard Schielicke (Jena).
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Imprint
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Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA)
A translation of "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte"
Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the
Astronomische Gesellschaft
Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick
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