Astronomy of the Ancients (MIT Press)

ISBN 10: 0262520702 / ISBN 13: 9780262520706

Published by MIT Press, 1981

About this Item

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned.

Seller Inventory # rev2281833743

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Astronomy of the Ancients (MIT Press)
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication Date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262520702
• ISBN 13: 9780262520706
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 322.1 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The eight articles and dozens of photographs and drawings in this book introduce the reader to the ancient astronomers—their observatories, their instruments, and their explorations of the awesome regularities (and shocking irregularities) that appear in the sky. The authors draw upon a wide range of disciplines—history, archaeology, technology, even mythology in discussing their subjects. This book is one endeavor toward a reconstruction of the past of the human mind, using all available evidence: text, myth, spade; yet, there is a difference. That difference is that in the world of the heavens there are real phenomena, striking or subtle, enduring or transient, which can be invoked today to challenge or to support the inferences of the archeologist, epigrapher, historian, or mythologist. The authors go back to one sole source: real human beings watching the real sky; if we do so reflectively, we can share at every glance the roots of the power of human thought, the thought which once married science and literature, art and number, wonder and insight, when thoughtful people were still rather few under this ceaseless sky.

About the Author

Kenneth is Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Physics at Boston University.