Society for the History of Astronomy/Autumn Conference

Hi folks!

Each year, the Society for the History of Astronomy - the UK's national
society in this specialised field - holds its annual Autumn Conference
in Birmingham, England.

The venue is the historic Birmingham & Midland Institute, in Margaret
Street, in the heart of Birmingham city centre, and this year's
conference takes place on Saturday 8th October (11am to 6pm).

The theme for 2005 is 'Astronomers and Observatories' and papers will
be given by both amateur and professional astronomers and historians,
covering topics of local, national and international interest. These
talks will be of interest to anyone with a casual, hobby or academic
interest in the subject.

The conference is open to non-members, and tickets are available in
advance at =A310 each from the SHA Treasurer, Mr K J Goward FRAS, 14
Keightley Way, Tuddenham St Martin, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP6 9BJ.
Email:

Make cheques payable to Society for the History of Astronomy.

For more information on the Society for the History of Astronomy, check
out our website at: http://www.shastro.org.uk

Or send a stamped A4 s.a.e. to me:

Stuart Williams, Secretary, Society for the History of Astronomy, 26
Matlock Road, Bloxwich, WS3 3QD.

Hope to see some of you in October!

Cheers,

Stuart
--

SHA GENERAL CONTACT:

Stuart Williams LRPS FRAS
Secretary, SHA

http://www.shastro.org.uk

PHOTOS he:

The BMI:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...esspix/BMI.jpg

Dr. Allan Chapman, noted astronomy historian and Hon. President of the
SHA, speaking at last year's Autumn Conference:

]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Grey_Wanderer/shapresspix/AChapman.=
jpg

To Stuart

Here is a topic for discussion at your conference.

The first heliocentrists isolated the Earth's orbital motion against
the motion of the others planets and by an exquisite line of reasoning
inferred the heliocentric system,for instance , the faster Earth
taking an inner orbital circuit against the motions of Mars ,Jupiter
and Saturn which wetre in conjunction in the era of Copernicus.

http://www.opencourse.info/astronomy...turn_retro.gif

Here is Galileo's explanation of the above time lapse fottage which
should make it easy for contemporaries to comprehend.

"[Here Salviati explains Jupiter's motion, then follows with:]

Now what is said here of Jupiter is to be understood of Saturn and
Mars also. In Saturn these retrogressions are somewhat more frequent
than in Jupiter, because its motion is slower than Jupiter's, so that
the Earth overtakes it in a shorter time. In Mars they are rarer, its
motion being faster than that of Jupiter, so that the Earth spends more
time in catching up with it. Next, as to Venus and Mercury, whose
circles are included within that of the Earth, stoppings and retrograde
motions appear in them also, due not to any motion that really exists
in them, but to the annual motion of the Earth. This is acutely
demonstrated by Copernicus . . .

You see, gentlemen, with what ease and simplicity the annual motion --
if made by the Earth -- lends itself to supplying reasons for the
apparent anomalies which are observed in the movements of the five
planets. . . . It removes them all and reduces these movements to
equable and regular motions; and it was Nicholas Copernicus who first
clarified for us the reasons for this marvelous effect." 1632, Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief World Systems

http://vms.cc.wmich.edu/~mcgrew/chain.htm


Newton mangled the work of the early heliocentrists through one single
step that was not astronomically required insofar as he jumps from
observed apparent retrograde to an observer at the Sun to account for a
resolution of that apparent motion -

"For to the earth they appear sometimes direct, sometimes stationary,
nay, and sometimes retrograde. But from the sun they are always seen
direct,"

http://members.tripod.com/~gravitee/phaenomena.htm


Anyone who really cares for pure astronomy,at least the major part of
astronomy that sets aside the use of telescopes and relies on intuitive
thinking would abhor the thinking of Newton for ultimately he goes on
to mangle the entire intricate system left by heliocentrists up to
Roemer for his ballistics agenda with the grandiose sounding title of
universal law of gravitation.

Most of the error is due to 18th century cataloguers in their attempt
to tie the celestial sphere to terrestial longitudes.

wrote:

To Stuart

Here is a topic for discussion at your conference.

usual gubbins snipped

Oh, give it a rest.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaminorbeta.co.uk AIM/iChatAV: JCAndrew2
Lost: Stack Pointer. Small reward offered if found.