History of Astronomy

El Almagesto, Seu magnae constructionis mathematicae (O gran construcción matemática), es un tratado de astronomía, escrito en el siglo II d.C. por Claudio Ptolomeo de Alejandría. Sorprende la profundidad de los conocimientos astronómicos de la gente de aquellos tiempos, con medios escasos, pero con sólidos conocimientos de geometría, además de su mayor proximidad al mundo de los cielos y las estrellas. La noche tenía la luz de la Luna y las estrellas, sólo atenuada por velas de cera, lámparas de aceite y llamas de fuego tales como las del Faro de Alejandría.

Am Beginn der Neuzeit steht der Zusammenbruch vertrauter Ordnungen im religiösen, politischen und wissenschaftlichen Bereich. Vor dem Hintergrund dieser Krisenerfahrung suchte man auch im Studium der Natur und des Himmels nach Orientierung. So wurde die Kosmologie zur Leitwissenschaft für ein neues Weltbild. Nur die Kometen wollten sich der regelmäßigen Ordnung des Himmels nicht einfügen. Sie dienten eher als Projektionsfläche kollektiver Hoffnungen und Ängste. Die große Kometendebatte der Frühen Neuzeit war keineswegs auf die Astronomen beschränkt. Als Medienereignis verband oder trennte sie Eliten-kultur und ‚Gemeinen Mann', Katholiken und Protestanten, Astronomie und Astrologie, Texttradition und Bildpropaganda, semiotische und analytische Weltsicht. In der Auseinandersetzung um die Kometen spiegeln sich Aspekte der Wissenschafts-, Kultur-, Mentalitäts-und Frömmigkeitsgeschichte, wie hier an Beispielen aus den Beständen der Staatlichen Bibliothek Regensburg gezeigt wird. Staatliche Bibliothek Regensburg Grenzgänger zwischen Himmel und Erde-Kometen in der Frühen Neuzeit Kometen in der Frühen Neuzeit Grenzgänger zwischen Himmel und Erde

Design of the ancient 360-degree circle and sexagesimal arrangement is proposed to be the result of using a scientific length standard, the Egyptian Royal cubit, to define the original dimensions of the circle reference frame. The application of modern metrological knowledge provides the "Rosetta Stone" towards understanding the origins of the 360-degree circle and the Royal cubit, inch, feet and finger length units suggesting that they are all derived from a common design approach. In turn the results of this study allows for the proposal that modern physics may be able to reinstate the ancient design elements around which the circle was based, and in so doing justify further use of the imperial inch and feet units. It also suggests that a new time frequency standard could be created that will provide a single source for the definition of the second and the length unit, and mesh perfectly with spherical angular measurement. Potential benefits may be realised in astronomy and physics if all length measurements in future revert to the use of the Royal cubit as the de facto length standard, as it bears evidence of being based on a fundamental property of the Universe, and not on an Earth commensurate measurement. The Problem at Hand Modern scholars have no idea how and why the 360-degree circle was designed. This study presents evidence to remedy the current academic situation. Historical Setting For more than 2000 years mankind has been using the circle in its sexagesimal angular arrangement for mathematical and astronomical reckoning. During this period there has not been any conclusive

Andrés de San Martín, a pilot who participated in the Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe, is one of the least known crew members of the armada. Historians have mainly paid attention to his role calculating longitude during the voyage, ignoring his role as an astrologer. In this article, I examine how San Martin was represented in Spanish and Portuguese sources dealing with the issue of the position and possession of the Moluccan Islands. I argue that San Martín only emerges as a relevant actor thanks to the Portuguese chronicles of the second half of the sixteenth century. As I show, he was always closely linked to astrological knowledge through which the pilot tried to guide the crew to the Spice Islands.

15th century's Austrian astronomer Georg Purbachius influenced Global History which is very hard to be traced. Network-analysis reveals that documents known at least by Richard Hennig’s vintage German anthology of European discoveries before Columbus make Purbachius’ impact palpable. The preliminary report is now published in the Journal “Der KonaK” 3 of 2019, pp.16-31 (in German)

First time in electronic version.  Based on a paper read in 1983 (reflecting my research of the late 1970s) and published in 1989, it is still in demand, judging from the considerable number of enquiries.  It argues that a slightly later date for the crucifixion of Jesus, not only places the event in its natural historical background, but also suggests a slightly earlier date for his birth.  While some revision of some issues would now be necessary, the central theory still stands.  A much discussed paper in the intervening years, it appeared in the celebrated festschrift for Jack Finegan, since then a handbook of New Testament chronology.

The 607 AD apparition was recorded on the Comet Song by a priest in Korea. The Comet Song was seen in #Samguk Yusa#  'Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms' in ca. 1281 AD.
When the Comet Song was written? It has been dated on February 8th, 607 AD.

The Sun and the Moon appear as brother and sister in several myths, perhaps due to their similar apparent diameter, despite the fact that the Sun's is 400 times larger than the Moon's. In Ovid's Metamorphoses we learn the myth of Callisto, condemned to stay in the heavens and never dip in the pure waters of the ocean. Indeed, in Ovid's time, the constellations Ursa Minor and  Ursa Major (Callisto and her son Arcas) were always seen above the sea in all north hemisphere places with latitude greater than 30N, which includes Ovid's Rome. At the end of 16th Century, before he had access to the very accurate astronomical data by Tycho Brahe, Kepler was already calculating the relative distances of the planets to the Sun. It is surprising the fact that he managed to relate these distances with the five platonic solids, proposing the Mysterium Cosmographicum as a model to our solar system, but we may call astonishing his considerations on the nonexistence of Ano Mundi based on his new cosmological model. These are examples of ancient myths related both with astronomy and mathematics we describe in this text.

Current German introductions to the historical auxiliary sciences lend the impression that chronology is of limited importance, relevant only for es- tablishing sequences of events. Nevertheless, numerous scientific develop- ments in recent decades have led not only to even more precise chronolog- ical methods, but also to advances in astronomical knowledge that provide a profitable supplement to chronology. Further developments in methods for dating have been brought to history from the natural sciences, specifi- cally through the investigation of biological, geological and physical re- cords. Historians should be able to understand the dates yielded by such methods as dendrochronology, sclerochronology and radiocarbon dating much more thoroughly. They relate to comparative global history, the Discrimen veri ac falsi, the history of pilgrimage, the reconstruction of climatic conditions, and, last but not least, the circumstances in which his- torical events took place.

Regarding the moon, I would like to focus on one specific aspect of taxonomy of planets: the elaboration of appearance of celestial bodies, as object of knowledge based on production of scientific pictures. Alongside the celestial mechanics, the development of astronomical observation indeed allows emergence of new visual representations. These are based on the new experience of observing the planets of the solar system, endowed with a singular form, appearance and commensurability. In this development the Moon, as the closest celestial body and the most accessible by sight, plays as a prototype for the visualization of the other planets. Its exploitation begins with Galileo and ends as we shall see between 1900 and 1914 when emerged a moon landscape.

Astrosophie ist ein auf Himmelskörperkonstellationen gerichtetes Reflexionsfeld vorzugsweise von Esoterikern und Okkultisten. In Bezug auf die gewöhnliche traditionelle Astrologie wird der Begriff seit Jahrhunderten in Abgrenzung zu Astronomie und Astrologie benutzt und publiziert und befindet sich bereits 1687 im Titel eines "wichtigen und einflussreichen astrologischen Werkes"[1] als lateinisierte „Astrosophia“, nämlich in der „Universa Astrosophia Naturalis“ von Antonius Franciscus de Bonatti.[2][3] sowie 1737 in der "Astrosophia numerica in qua generaliter tabulae", von Angelo Capello,[4] Der Ursprung des Begriffs Astrosophie geht in die Zeit der Sumerer[5] zurück, hat in verschiedenen Fachdisziplinen Beachtung erfahren und wurde umfangreich publiziert.
Veröffentlicht u.a. 1/2020 Meridian Fachmagazin für Astrologie, 3/2020 Tattva - Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft, Philosophie und spirituelle Kultur.

Per la seconda volta in Italia, dopo Tommaso Iorco, quest'importantissimo inno del Rg Veda viene tradotto in lingua corrente italiana. Tradotto dal sanscrito originale, appoggiandosi alla versione inglese di Ralph T. H. Griffith (1896) ed anche alla parziale traduzione di Raimon Panikkar in "Veda-Mantramañjarī" BUR, 2016, da lui operata solo relativamente alle strofe più importanti. Segue commento dell'autore, Kenan Digrazia, che evidenzia la tesi di come ci si trovi, in quest'inno, di fronte alla testimonianza dell'unicità monoteistica dei culti antichi, precisamente in quella fase storica ove emerge il politeismo come trasformazione successiva. Il commento è anche spirituale, nel rispetto della tradizione indiana, e comparativo con la tradizione biblica occidentale.

Most comprehensive book on the history of computing, consisting of two volumes encompassing some 2,000 pages, with more than 700 illustrations (some 280 of which are new to this edition) and over 150 tables (about 50 of which are new to this edition) New edition (published in the English language for the first time) features a significantly expanded global overview, comprehensive German-English and English-German glossaries of technical terms with over 5,000 entries, and a greatly expanded and updated bibliography with over 6,000 entries Features new information on recently discovered mathematical instruments, including the Multiple Curta (the world's smallest mechanical parallel calculator) an This Third Edition is the first English-language edition of the award-winning Meilensteine der Rechentechnik; illustrated in full color throughout in two volumes. The Third Edition is devoted to both analog and digital computing devices, as well as the world's most magnificient historical automatons and select scientific instruments (employed in astronomy, surveying, clocks, etc.). It also features detailed instructions for analog and digital mechanical calculating machines and instruments, and is the only such historical book with comprehensive technical glossaries of terms not found in print or in online dictionaries. Meticulously researched, the author conducted a worldwide survey of science, technology and art museums with their main holdings of analog and digital calculating and computing machines and devices, historical automatons and selected scientific instrumentsin order to describe a broad range of masterful technical achievements. Also covering the history of mathematics and computer science, this work documents the cultural heritage of technology as well.