Product Description
For millennia humans have studied the skies to help them grow crops, navigate the seas, and earn favor from their gods. We still look to the stars today for answers to fundamental questions: How did the universe begin? Will it end, and if so, how? What is our place within it? John North has been examining such questions for decades. In Cosmos, he offers a sweeping historical survey of the two sciences that help define our place in the universe: astronomy and cosmology.
Organizing his history chronologically, North begins by examining Paleolithic cave drawings that clearly chart the phases of the moon. He then investigates scientific practices in the early civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas (among others), whose inhabitants developed sophisticated methods to record the movements of the planets and stars. Trade routes and religious movements, North notes, brought these ancient styles of scientific thinking to the attention of later astronomers, whose own theories—such as Copernicus’ planetary theory—led to the Scientific Revolution.
The work of master astronomers, including Ptolemy, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, is described in detail, as are modern-day developments in astrophysics, such as the advent of radio astronomy, the brilliant innovations of Einstein, and the many recent discoveries brought about with the help of the Hubble telescope. This new edition brings North’s seminal book right up to the present day, as North takes a closer look at last year’s reclassification of Pluto as a “dwarf” planet and gives a thorough overview of current research.
With more than two hundred illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography, Cosmos is the definitive history of astronomy and cosmology. It is sure to find an eager audience among historians of science and astronomers alike.
Organizing his history chronologically, North begins by examining Paleolithic cave drawings that clearly chart the phases of the moon. He then investigates scientific practices in the early civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas (among others), whose inhabitants developed sophisticated methods to record the movements of the planets and stars. Trade routes and religious movements, North notes, brought these ancient styles of scientific thinking to the attention of later astronomers, whose own theories—such as Copernicus’ planetary theory—led to the Scientific Revolution.
The work of master astronomers, including Ptolemy, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, is described in detail, as are modern-day developments in astrophysics, such as the advent of radio astronomy, the brilliant innovations of Einstein, and the many recent discoveries brought about with the help of the Hubble telescope. This new edition brings North’s seminal book right up to the present day, as North takes a closer look at last year’s reclassification of Pluto as a “dwarf” planet and gives a thorough overview of current research.
With more than two hundred illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography, Cosmos is the definitive history of astronomy and cosmology. It is sure to find an eager audience among historians of science and astronomers alike.
Cosmos: An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology
Tags: Newton, John North, early civilizations, history of astronomy
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“Cosmos” is a wonderful book by one of the truly great historians of astronomy. It is easily the most comprehensive popular astronomy history ever published and is a model of clarity and scholarship. In my mind, there are two factors that set this book apart:
1. The scope of the work is comprehensive and covers astronomy from ancient times to the most modern techniques and challenges. You should scan the Table of Contents in the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon to get a feel for the range of topics presented.
2. It gracefully explains how, over time, contributions from cultures and individuals combined and evolved into the astronomical systems in use in each era and evolved into today’s view of the universe.
The first half of the book deals with ancient and medieval astronomy, including not only Western cultures, but also how astronomy developed and was used in China, India and the Americas. The presentation is seamless and gives the reader a good feel for how astronomical ideas and measurements were influenced by many cultures.
The second half focuses on the evolution of astronomy as a science and how contributions from many individuals were refined and combined to create a coherent view of the universe.
It ends with a look at the research challenges facing the modern astronomer and astrophysisist.
“Cosmos” is an expanded version of North’s, “Norton’s History of Astronomy and Cosmology”, with a large amount of additional material and is much better illustrated. It is written for an educated general audience and can serve as a “read” just for fun, a textbook or a permanent reference.
It took me rather a long time to get through the entire book as it inspired me to dig into other sources for more detailed material on some points. What more can you ask of a history book than to open doors?
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