Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History
Duncan Steel/ With a foreword by Paul Davies
ISBN 10: 030907438X ISBN 13: 9780309074384
Editore: Joseph Henry Pr, 2001
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Hardcover
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Revaluation Books, Exeter, Regno Unito
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Descrizione:
474 pages. 7.00x5.25x1.50 inches. In Stock. Codice articolo 030907438X
Riassunto:
Looks at the process that leads to solar eclipses, historical events that have been ascribed to times of eclipse, and the current theories and controversies surrounding eclipses.
Descrizione del libro:
Whether interpreted as an auspicious omen or a sentinel of doom, eclipses have had a profound effect upon our cultural development. Throughout recorded history, they have evoked consternation, fear, and dread—as well as awe and wonderment.
Ancient peoples were clearly disconcerted by them. The Romans marked pivotal battles with the Greeks by references to an eclipse. The date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ has been derived by using biblical mentions of an eclipse. Perhaps most famously, Christopher Columbus extorted much-needed foodstuffs from some increasingly unfriendly native hosts by purporting to demonstrate the wrath of his most powerful God when he accurately predicted a lunar eclipse.
The pattern that eclipses follow—a cycle, called the saros—was actually calculated thousands of years ago. However, it is only with the help of modern computers that we have been able to analyze and appreciate the data. Eclipses provide unique opportunities for today’s scientists to study such contrasting phenomena as the upper layers of the sun, the slowdown of our planet’s spin rate, and the effects of celestial events on human psychology.
In Eclipse, Duncan Steel expertly captures our continuing fascination with all manner of eclipses—including the familiar solar and lunar varieties and other kinds involving stars, planets, asteroids, and comets as well as distant galaxies and quasars. Steel helps us see that, in astronomical terms, eclipses are really rather straightforward affairs. Moving beyond the mysticism and the magic, the science of eclipses is revealed.
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Titolo: Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That ...
Casa editrice: Joseph Henry Pr
Data di pubblicazione: 2001
Legatura: Hardcover
Condizione: Brand New