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OverviewLunar and solar eclipses have always fascinated human beings. Digging deep into history, Clemency Montelle examines the ways in which theoretical understanding of eclipses originated and how ancient and medieval cultures shared, developed, and preserved their knowledge of these awe-inspiring events. Eclipses were the celestial phenomena most challenging to understand in the ancient world. Montelle draws on original research-much of it derived from reading primary source material written in Akkadian and Sanskrit, as well as ancient Greek, Latin, and Arabic-to explore how observers in Babylon, the Islamic Near East, Greece, and India developed new astronomical and mathematical techniques to predict and describe the features of eclipses. She identifies the profound scientific discoveries of these four cultures and discusses how the societies exchanged information about eclipses. In constructing this history, Montelle establishes a clear pattern of the transmission of scientific ideas from one culture to another in the ancient and medieval world. Chasing Shadows is an invitingly written and highly informative exploration of the early history of astronomy. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Clemency Montelle (University of Canterbury)Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Imprint: Johns Hopkins University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.20cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.726kg ISBN: 9780801896910ISBN 10: 0801896916 Pages: 424 Publication Date: 10 July 2011 Recommended Age: From 17 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsPreface 1. Heavenly Hide and Seek: An Introduction to Eclipse Reckoning in Early Times 1.1. Development and Cross-Cultural Transmission 1.2. Eclipses and Their Human Significance 1.3. Observation and Theory 1.4. Aims of This Study 2. The Rudiments of Alignment: Basic Eclipse Theory 2.1. The Moon and the Sun 2.2. Eclipses 2.3. Prediction and Patterns of Eclipses 2.4. The Celestial Sphere 2.5. Mathematical Conventions 3. An Accountancy of Appearances: Mesopotamian Eclipse Reckoning 3.1. Overview 3.2. The Earliest Accounting for Eclipses: Enuma Anu Enlil 3.3. Assyrian Eclipse Reckoning: The Letters and Reports 3.4. Babylonian Eclipse Reckoning 4. Beyond the Appearances: Greek Eclipse Reckoning 4.1. Overview 4.2. Early Greek Geometrical Celestial Conceptions 4.3. Sizes, Distances, and Measurement: Aristarchus and Archimedes 4.4. Early Greek Mathematical Astronomy 4.5. The Peak of Greek Mathematical Astronomy 4.6. Omens in Greek and Hellenistic Sources 5. Recipient and Remoceler: Indian Eclipse Reckoning 5.1. Overview 5.2. General Features of Eclipse Reckoning in India 5.3. Eclipses as Omens 5.4. Eclipse Observation Records in Inscriptions 5.5. Eclipse Reckoning in Indian Texts with Greco-Babylonian Influence: The Pancasiddhantika of Varahamihira 5.6. Eclipse Reckoning from the Fifth to the Tenth Century 5.7. Paramesvara and the Astronomical School in Kerala 6. A Science of Configuration: Arabic Eclipse Reckoning 6.1. Overview 6.2. General Features of Eclipse Reckoning in the Islamic Near East 6.3. Major Contributions to Islamic Eclipse Reckoning 7. Concluding Remarks Appendixes A. Abbreviations and Conventions B. A Comparison of NMAT and MAT Eclipse Predictions C. The Eclipse Tables in the Wajiz of al-Khazini Notes Glossary Bibliography IndexReviewsA substantial contribution to the history of ancient astronomy. It is especially significant because of the cultures discussed and in particular its treatment of Indian astronomy. - John Steele, Brown University Author InformationAuthor Website: www.canterbury.ac.nzClemency Montelle is a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Canterbury. Tab Content 6Author Website: www.canterbury.ac.nzCountries AvailableAll regions |
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