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Chasing shadows : mathematics, astronomy, and the early history of eclipse reckoning / Clemency Montelle.
By: Montelle, Clemency.
Material type:
BookSeries: Johns Hopkins studies in the history of mathematics: Publisher: Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, c2011Description: xii, 408 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.ISBN: 9780801896910; 0801896916.Subject(s): Eclipses -- History
Contents:
Summary: Lunar and solar eclipses have al- ways 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. --Summary: Eclipses were the celestial phenomena most challenging to understand in the ancient world. Montelle draws on original research ùmuch of it derived from reading primary source material written in Akkadian and Sanskrit, as well as ancient Greek, Latin, and Arabicùto 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. --Summary: Chasing Shadows is an invitingly written and highly informative exploration of the early history of astronomy. --Book Jacket.
Heavenly hide and seek: an introduction to eclipse reckoning in early times -- The rudiments of alignment: Basic eclipse theory -- An accountancy of appearances: Mesopotamian eclipse reckoning -- Beyond the appearances: Greek eclipse reckoning -- Recipient and remodeler: Indian eclipse reckoning -- A science of configuration: Arabic eclipse reckoning.
| Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Science Museum London Dana Research Centre Library: Books | Science & Technology Studies Collection | 521.8:93 MONTELLE (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 2402556850 |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-391) and index.
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