000			03991nam a22004695i 4500
001			978-1-4614-2149-8
003			DE-He213
005			20140220083245.0
007			cr nn 008mamaa
008			120216s2012 xxu| s |||| 0|eng d
020			_a9781461421498 _9978-1-4614-2149-8
024	7		_a10.1007/978-1-4614-2149-8 _2doi
050		4	_aQA21-27
072		7	_aPBX _2bicssc
072		7	_aMAT015000 _2bisacsh
082	0	4	_a510.9 _223
100	1		_aSteele, John M. _eauthor.
245	1	0	_aAncient Astronomical Observations and the Study of the Moon’s Motion (1691-1757) _h[electronic resource] / _cby John M. Steele.
264		1	_aBoston, MA : _bSpringer US, _c2012.
300			_aXIV, 154p. 13 illus. _bonline resource.
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_acomputer _bc _2rdamedia
338			_aonline resource _bcr _2rdacarrier
347			_atext file _bPDF _2rda
490	1		_aSources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences
505	0		_aPreface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Edmond Halley’s Discovery of the Secular Acceleration of the Moon -- 3. A Forgotten Episode in the History of the Secular Acceleration: William Whiston, Arthur Ashley Sykes and the Eclipse of Phlegon -- 4. The Gradual Acceptance of the Existence of the Secular Acceleration During the 1740s -- 5. Eighteenth Century Views of Ancient Astronomy -- 6. The First Detailed Study of the Moon’s Secular Acceleration: Richard Dunthorne -- 7. An Integrated Approach: Tobias Mayer -- 8. The Final Synthesis: Jérôme Lalande -- 9. Epilogue -- References -- Index.
520			_aHistorians of astronomy, historians of the ancient world, and astronomers will be enriched by the unique and captivating topics covered in this book. This volume contains the first detailed study of the use of ancient and medieval astronomical observations in order to investigate the moon’s secular acceleration—from its discovery by Edmond Halley to the establishment of the magnitude of the acceleration by Richard Dunthorne, Tobias Mayer and Jérôme Lalande in the 1740s and 1750s. The discovery of a gradual acceleration in the moon’s mean motion by Halley in the last decade of the seventeenth century sparked a revival of interest in reports of astronomical observations from antiquity. These observations provided the only means with which to study the moon’s ‘secular acceleration’ as this newly-discovered acceleration became known.   John M. Steele tells the story of how the secular acceleration of the moon was discovered, the reception of its discovery, and the first attempts to determine its size of the acceleration from historical data. Additionally, this study addresses the wider question of how ancient and medieval astronomy was viewed in the eighteenth century; particularly European perceptions of ancient Greek, Arabic, Babylonian, and Chinese astronomy.   Making extensive use of previously unstudied manuscripts, this book explores how different astronomers used the same small body of preserved ancient observations in different ways in their work on the secular acceleration.  Further, the broader context of the study of the moon’s secular acceleration, including its use in debates of biblical chronology and the use of astronomy in determining geographical longitude, are examined.
650		0	_aMathematics.
650		0	_aAstronomy.
650	1	4	_aMathematics.
650	2	4	_aHistory of Mathematical Sciences.
650	2	4	_aAstronomy, Observations and Techniques.
650	2	4	_aAstronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology.
650	2	4	_aHistory and Philosophical Foundations of Physics.
710	2		_aSpringerLink (Online service)
773	0		_tSpringer eBooks
776	0	8	_iPrinted edition: _z9781461421481
830		0	_aSources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences
856	4	0	_uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2149-8
912			_aZDB-2-SMA
999			_c101214 _d101214