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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 51, June 15, 2003 *
* *
* Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick and Hilmar W. Duerbeck *
* *
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Contents
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1. Sixth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop
2. Wayne Orchiston: History of astronomy at the IAU General Assembly
3. Symposium "Ethno- and archaeoastronomy in the Americas"
4. Stephen McCluskey:
Meeting of the Societe Europeenne pour l'astronomie dans la culture
5. Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Axel D. Wittmann, Wolfgang Schmidt:
Colloquium "Development of Solar Research"
6. XXII Scientific Instrument Symposium
7. Gudrun Wolfschmidt: Exhibition "The changing World View" in Hamburg
Imprint
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Item 1 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
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Sixth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop
--------------------------------------------
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 63,
14. Juni 2003, Item 1.)
The Sixth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop will be held at the
University of Notre Dame on 19-22 June 2003. The Biennial History of
Astronomy Workshops typically attract about 60-65 scholars interested in
the history of astronomy. Comfortable and economical accomodation is
available in the dormitories of Notre Dame, and provide an intimate setting
for a weekend devoted to scholarship. This year's invited speaker will be
Harry Collins, from the Centre for the Study of Knowledge Expertise and
Science at Cardiff University. One change in the typical schedule for the
workshops is that Prof. Collins will give an opening address on Thursday
evening, which will be followed by breakout sessions on Friday morning.
The program co-chairs of the workshop issue a call for proposals for
work-in-progress papers, poster papers, and organized sessions.
Work-in-progress papers must address a topic in the history of astronomy,
but a wide variety of time periods and approaches will be acceptable. Due
to time constraints, we shall judge proposals on a more competitive basis
than in previous years. Graduate students reporting on their dissertation
projects and speakers who did not present a paper at the last workshop will
receive preference. Papers will be selected in order to present a balanced
schedule, with coverage of different chronological periods and
historiographical approaches. Presentations will be strictly limited to
twenty minutes. It is suggested that oral presentations should take ten to
fifteen minutes, which will leave some time for questions and discussion.
Those who wish to present work-in progress papers should submit an abstract
of not more than 250 words which states clearly the topic to be covered,
the current state of scholarship on the subject, and the author's own
approach.
Rather than presenting a paper orally, a poster paper may be constructed
for display throughout the workshop. Please note that poster papers should
take advantage of the poster format, and should be visually appealing and
convey information to the viewer through images (photos, diagrams, tables,
etc.) and succinct text. Poster paper proposals should not be more than 250
words and should state clearly the topic to be covered and the current
state of scholarship on the subject. They should also include a statement
regarding how the topic benefits from a visual presentation.
Session proposals should state the theme of the session, as well as who has
been contacted regarding participation in the session. The time for
sessions will be limited, and a significant portion of each session should
be devoted to discussion. Sessions can last between 1 and 2.5 hours; please
indicate in the proposal how long the session will need to be.
Abstracts will be posted on the workshop web page prior to the meeting.
Full papers may also be posted by arrangement; if presenters choose to post
their paper on the web, they are encouraged to modify their presentation so
that it is not simply a recitation of the posted paper.
All speakers are expected to register for the conference and pay the
registration fee. We cannot offer travel grants of any kind.
Proposals for sessions and work-in-progress papers are due by 1 February
2003. Proposals for poster papers are due by 1 April 2003. Proposals should
be sent to each of the program co-chairs, preferably by e-mail, but hard
copy is acceptable. Send abstracts to:
Marc Rothenberg
8533 Milford Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
E-mail: Josephhenr@aol.com
and
David DeVorkin
9611 West Bexhill Drive
Kensington MD 20895
E-mail: David.DeVorkin@nasm.si.edu
and
Rudi Paul Lindner
Department of History
1029 Tisch Hall
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003
E-mail: rpl@umich.edu
Please note that no person may submit more than one proposal for a
work-in-progress paper, but that the same person may submit a proposal
for both a work-in-progress and a poster paper.
For more information on the workshop, see the web page at
http://www.nd.edu/~histast4/ .
[Source: Matthew F. Dowd to History of Astronomy Discussion Group
(HASTRO-L), 15 Oct 2002]
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Item 2 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
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History of astronomy at the IAU General Assembly
------------------------------------------------
By Wayne Orchiston, Epping, Australia
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 63,
14. Juni 2003, Item 2.)
Every three years the International Astronomical Union holds its General
Assembly (GA) in a different major city of the world, and this year the
GA will be in Sydney, Australia, from July 13 to 26.
IAU Commission 41 and the Inter-Union Commission for History of Astronomy
(ICHA) have organised a rich history of astronomy program that is designed
to appeal to every research taste. It is packed into just three days, with
two parallel streams each day. This allows us to offer the following range
of Science Meetings (SM) and Working Group Meetings (WG):
SM1: Applied Historical Astronomy
SM2: The Early Development Australian Radio Astronomy
SM3: Recent Research
SM4: Ethnoastronomy & Archaeoastronomy
WG1: Astronomical Archives
WG2: Astronomical Chronology
WG3: Historical Instruments
WG4: Transits of Venus
For the detailed program, see
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/iaucomm41/meetings/ga2003/ .
Please feel free to contact me if you would like further information about
the Sydney history of astronomy program, or about C41 and the ICHA.
Author's address: Dr Wayne Orchiston, Anglo-Australian Observatory,
PO Box 296, Epping, NSW 2121, Australia.
(C41/ICHA Secretary and Sydney History of Astronomy Program Co-ordinator)
[Source: Wayne Orchiston to HASTRO-L, 17 Jan 2003.]
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Item 3 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
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Symposium "Ethno- and archaeoastronomy in the Americas"
-------------------------------------------------------
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 63,
14. Juni 2003, Item 3.)
The symposium ARQ-13: Ethno and Archaeoastronomy in the Americas was
accepted by the Organizing Committee of the 51st ICA, International
Congress of Americanists (Santiago de Chile, 14-18 July 2003). You will
find the "Call for Papers" at
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/~boccas/ica51_simposio_arq13.html .
Do not hesitate to contact the executive coordinators (mboccas@gemini.edu
and gonzalo@astro.bo) for additional questions. Our hope is to gather all
the serious investigators who have worked in this field in Northern,
Central and Southern America over the last few years.
Johanna Broda, Mexico
Gonzalo Pereira, Bolivia
Maxime Boccas, Chile
Coordinators of the Symposium
[Source: Rolf Sinclair to HASTRO-L, 21 May 2002]
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Item 4 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
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Meeting of the Societe Europeenne pour l'astronomie dans la culture
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Stephen McCluskey, Leicester, UK
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 63,
14. Juni 2003, Item 4.)
The 2003 meeting of the Societe Europeene pour l'Astronomie dans la Culture
(SEAC) will be held at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom on 11-12
August, 2003, following the INSAP-4 meeting being held in Oxford. This is
not a full SEAC meeting, instead, this short meeting will highlight the
role of young people in archaeoastronomy through two special sessions:
Young archaeoastronomers: Archaeoastronomers under the age of 30(-ish),
including research students or others doing research in the field, are
invited to give presentations on their work. Come and meet established
people in the field and make international contacts! Proposals for
presentations in this session should be made to Clive Ruggles
(rug@le.ac.uk) as soon as possible. An abstract of 200-300 words will be
required by 1 April 2003.
Education round table: Clive Ruggles, the organiser of this meeting, will
chair an informal discussion on education in archaeoastronomy focusing on
attracting young people into the discipline and the problems of
multidisciplinary training. Please contact Clive directly if you would are
interested in participating as a panelist on the round table.
For further details on the conference see:
http://www.le.ac.uk/archaeology/rug/SEAC03/
For general information on SEAC see:
http://www.iac.es/seac/seac.html
Author's address:
Prof. Stephen McCluskey
Honorary Visiting Fellow
School of Archaeology and Ancient History
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
e-mail: scmcc@wvu.edu
[Source: Stephen McCluskey to HASTRO-L, 7 Feb 2003]
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Item 5 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
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Colloquium "Development of Solar Research"
------------------------------------------
By Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Axel D. Wittmann and Wolfgang Schmidt
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 63,
14. Juni 2003, Item 6. Translation by James Caplan.)
The Working Group for the History of Astronomy will hold a Colloquium on
"Development of Solar Research" on Monday, 15 September 2003, in Freiburg
im Breisgau, Germany. The Colloquium is a component of the Annual Meeting
of the Astronomische Gesellschaft (AG) to be held in Freiburg from 15-20
September 2003. However, separate participation in the Colloquium is
possible, in particular for non-members of the AG.
Because the Kiepenheuer-Institut fuer Sonnenphysik (KIS; see
http://www.kis.uni-freiburg.de and links therein to the AG meeting) is
located in Freiburg, the Working Group for the History of Astronomy has
proposed the Colloquium theme "Development of Solar Research".
Participants are invited to an informal get-together beginning at 19.30 on
Sunday, 14 September, in a restaurant in Freiburg (details will be on the
web page of the Colloquium and communicated to the registered
participants).
The Colloquium itself is scheduled for Monday, 15 September 2003, from 9.00
to 17.00, in the AG's meeting area in the "Institutsviertel" of the
Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg, in the building "Hochhaus 21a" of the
Chemisches Laboratorium and the Physikalisches Institut; lectures will be
in Hoersaal 1 and coffee breaks will be in the foyer.
Fee for the meeting: 20 Euros, which will contribute towards financing
publication of the meeting contributions. This fee does not apply to those
taking part in the general AG Meeting, for which the participation fee
includes the cost of this Colloquium.
Webpages of the Colloquium:
http://www.math.uni-hamburg.de/math/ign/events/akag03.htm
Webpages of the general AG Meeting:
http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/Astron_Ges/agtagfbg.html
Registration for the AG Meeting as well as booking of hotel rooms by:
CSM Congress and Seminar Management
Industriestrasse 35
82194 Groebenzell/Muenchen
Germany
Tel.: +49-8142-570183, Fax: +49-8142-54735
E-Mail: info@csm-congress.de
Detailed information on registration as well as hotel booking (unless
you wish to do this yourself) can be found on the conference web pages.
Administrative information:
Assessorin jur. Ute Rynarzewski
Kiepenheuer-Institut fuer Sonnenphysik
Schoeneckstrasse 6
79104 Freiburg i. Br.
Deutschland
Tel.: +49-761-3198-0 (secretary's office)
Fax: +49-761-3198-111
E-Mail: ag03-loc@kis.uni-freiburg.de
Thematically the colloquium is open to all contributions on the history of
solar research, thus not only the history of solar physics. The topic is
intentionally very open: lectures can concern sun cults of ancient
cultures, Stonehenge or the sky disk of Nebra, continuing through the
discovery and observation of sunspots in early modern times. The emphasis,
however, should be on the 19th century, with the beginnings of solar
physics starting with Fraunhofer's discovery of the dark lines in the solar
spectrum: photography of the Sun (also with the heliograph), solar eclipse
expeditions, clarification of the nature of the prominences, the discovery
of the chromosphere, observation of the corona and its spectrum, study of
magnetic fields, new instruments of solar physics such as solar towers,
spectroheliographs, coronographs, etc. The history of solar observatories
is also a relevant topic. In the 20th century, questions concern solar
physics during the Nazi era. For the second half of the 20th century, one
could include solar observations from space, and international cooperation
in solar research, e.g. JOSO.
Coordinators of the colloquium:
Prof. Dr. Gudrun Wolfschmidt, IGN, Universitaet Hamburg,
Bundesstr. 55, D-20146 Hamburg
e-mail: wolfschmidt@math.uni-hamburg.de, Tel. +49-40-42838-5262
Dr. Axel D. Wittmann, Universitaets-Sternwarte Goettingen,
Geismarlandstr. 11, D-37083 Goettingen
e-mail: wittmann@uni-sw.gwdg.de, Tel. +49-551-395045
Dr. habil. Wolfgang Schmidt, KIS, Freiburg,
Schoeneckstrasse 6, D-79104 Freiburg i. Br.
e-mail: wolfgang@kis.uni-freiburg.de, Tel. +49-761-3198-162
Please direct your inquiries and your registration for the colloquium to
Ms. Wolfschmidt, and well as to at least one of the other two coordinators,
with whom your speaking time (presumably no more than 20 min) must be
agreed upon. Please register even if you do not give a talk, so that the
program can be sent to you. Talks can be given in English or German.
Deadline for abstracts, in English (even if the talk is given in
German!): to be submitted by e-mail until
20 June 2003
using the Abstract form of the AG (the new LaTex macro can be downloaded
from the pages of the AG:
http://www.kis.uni-freiburg.de/AG03/abstracts.html) - to be submitted to
Dr. Reinhard E. Schielicke, Universitaets-Sternwarte Jena, email:
schie@astro.uni jena.de AND to Ms. Wolfschmidt AND (at least) one of the
other two coordinators.
Further local information is available from Dr. Wolfgang Schmidt (see
address above). After the conference a Proceedings volume is planned
(depending, however, on the financial situation!): "Development of
Solar Research" - Acta Historica Astronomiae (ISSN: 1422-8521), Verlag
Harri Deutsch.
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Item 6 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
...........................................................................
XXII Scientific Instrument Symposium
------------------------------------
The XXII Scientific Instrument Symposium will be held at The Mariners'
Museum, Newport News, Virginia, between Tuesday 30 September and Saturday 4
October, 2003.
CONFERENCE FEE AND REGISTRATION
The registration fee is $125.00 per person. This includes an opening
reception, cocktails and dinner on Friday evening, refreshments during the
symposium, and lunch on Tuesday through Friday.
During the symposium there will be excursions to the Thomas Jefferson
National Accelerator Laboratory, Colonial Williamsburg and the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C.
The number of participants is limited, so early registration is
recommended. Fees based on a minimum of 40 participants.
The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory (Jefferson Lab) visit
will include a tour of the facility; a reception (possibly a dinner) and a
lecture on J.J. Thompson who in 1884 was the Director of the Cavendish
Laboratory at Cambridge University. This laboratory became the world's
preeminent center for experimental nuclear physics. Jefferson Lab has a
variety of antique scientific instruments, which will be on display during
the presentation. To find out more about Jefferson Lab visit www.jlab.org.
During the Colonial Williamsburg visit, participants will be invited to
view the scientific instruments and the conservation laboratories at the
Wallace Conservation and Collections Building. Eric Goldstein, curator of
mechanical arts, will serve as a guide for the group. Participants will be
able to speak to the conservators about current projects and techniques.
There will be an opportunity to walk through the Historic Area of Colonial
Williamsburg, restored site of Virginia's 18th-century colonial capital.
The tour also includes an admission ticket to the buildings and craft shops
where you can see craftspeople using 18th-century technology to create
items for everyday use. For more information visit
www.colonialwilliamsburg.org.
The Smithsonian Institution visit will be to the National Museum of
American History, where we plan to offer tours of the science and
technology collections, including the collections of: Physical Sciences,
Electricity, Mathematics, Medical Sciences, and Timekeeping. Collection
staff will be present to provide tours and answer questions. For more
information about the Smithsonian visit www.si.edu.
Also scheduled during the symposium is a tour of The Library at The
Mariners' Museum and a session during which the extensive collection of the
Museum's scientific instruments will be available for inspection. The
Museum's Library has an outstanding collection of maritime history. Its
rich collections are international in scope, containing over 78,000 books,
one million manuscript items, 600,000 photographs, and 65,000 maps, charts,
and drawings. Subject concentrations include travel and voyage literature,
geography, navigation, the Civil War, and shipwrecks. In addition, the
Library is home to the Chris-Craft archive of several thousand records from
the famous manufacturer of pleasure boats. Library staff answers thousands
of questions each year from researchers all over the world. The Library
catalog is available on the Web at www.mariner.org/librarchives.html.
During the symposium, the museum will be showcasing its collection of
navigational instruments in a temporary exhibition. Upon receipt of the
Ifland collection in 2000 President and CEO John Hightower was quoted as
saying, "The extraordinary gift of Peter Ifland's carefully assembled and
thoughtfully acquired collection complements the navigation instrument
collection of The Mariners' Museum perfectly. The result is America's
largest and most distinguished collection of magnificent scientific
instruments that once were essential to finding one's way across the
uncharted expanse of the ever uncertain sea."
DEADLINES
The deadline for registration is Friday, May 2, 2003; registration after
this date will be subject to an additional charge of $35.00.
Deadline for submitting abstracts and titles is Friday May 16, 2003.
Deadline for accommodation application at the suggested hotels is Friday,
May 23, 2003. Early registration and accommodations are highly recommended.
Deadline for car reservations is July 11, 2003.
PAPERS
There is no specified theme for the symposium. In addition to giving talks
from individual papers, we encourage participants to suggest themes for
sessions as well as recruiting speakers. Speakers will be given 20 - 30
minutes for their respective talks.
The following proposals for sessions have been received: 'Scientific
Instruments in Iconography', organized by Willem Morzer Bruyns. If you
wish to contribute a paper to this session please contact
wmorzerbruyns@scheepvaartmuseum.nl.
'Conservation Problems with Materials on Modern Instruments and Forensic
Studies of Old Instruments' organized by Randall Brooks. If you wish to
contribute a paper to this session please contact rbrooks@nmstc.ca.
The deadline for submitting papers is May 16, 2003. Earlier submission is
encouraged, and early confirmation of acceptance may be given upon request.
Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words, and should include the name
of the author and the title of the paper.
CONFERENCE OFFICE
22nd International Scientific Instrument Symposium
Marge Shelton, Secretary
The Mariners' Museum
100 Museum Drive
Newport News, Virginia 23606, USA
Tel: + 757-591-7707
FAX: + 757-591-7311
Email: mshelton@mariner.org
WEB SITE
For more information, please consult http://www.mariner.org/SIC2003/ .
[Source: http://www.mariner.org/SIC2003/, June 14, 2003]
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Item 7 ENHA No. 51, June 15, 2003
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Exhibition "The changing World View" in Hamburg
-----------------------------------------------
By Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Hamburg, Germany
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 63,
14. Juni 2003, Item 7. Translation by Hilmar W. Duerbeck.)
The exhibition
Weltbild im Wandel - Von Copernicus bis zur modernen Kosmologie
[The changing world view - from Copernicus to modern cosmology]
is on display at Hamburg Observatory (Gojenbergsweg 112, D-21029 Hamburg)
from December 12, 2002 until at least August, 2003. A catalogue is in
preparation. The exhibition can be visited every 14 days at 7 p.m.
(guided tour).
Next dates for guided tours: June 19, July 3, 17 and 31.
Groups can arrange a visit any time:
Visitor service: Lars-Winter@t-online.de
Hamburg Observatory: Mrs B. Schmidt, Tel. +49-40-42891-4111/4112
Additional information:
http://www.math.uni-hamburg.de/math/ign/fhs/weltbild.htm
Author's address:
Prof. Dr. Gudrun Wolfschmidt
Institut fuer Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften
Fachbereich Mathematik
Universitaet Hamburg
Bundesstrasse 55
D-20146 Hamburg
Tel. 040-42838-5262
Fax: 040-42838-5260
wolfschmidt@math.uni-hamburg.de
http://www.math.uni-hamburg.de/home/wolfschmidt/index.html
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Imprint
-------
Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA)
Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the
Astronomische Gesellschaft
Editors: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick and Dr. Hilmar
W. Duerbeck
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.astrohist.org/
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, Vogelsang 35 A, D-14478 Potsdam,
Germany, e-mail: wdick@astrohist.org
Bank Acct. of the Astronomische Gesellschaft:
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Contributions from foreign countries: acct # 162 18-203, Postbank
Hamburg, BLZ 200 100 20
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