"On the Orbits of the Asteroids." [Pp. 28 36 in:] The American Journal of Science and Arts. Second Series, No. 16 July, 1848

GOULD, Benjamin Apthorp, Jr.

About this Item

New Haven: B. L. Hamlen, Printer. Octavo. Original printed wrappers. Wrappers darkened and foxed; small corner loss to lower wrap; internal foxing. Gould Popularizes "Asteroid" into American Scientific Vocabulary Scarce first journal appearance of Benjamin Apthorp Gould s 1848 paper "On the Orbits of the Asteroids," among the earliest American scientific uses of the term "asteroid." The word "asteroid" had been coined in 1802 when William Herschel, advised by the classical scholar Charles Burney Jr., introduced it in a Royal Society paper to describe Ceres and Pallas. While the term circulated in Europe, it was Gould (1824 1896) who naturalized it in the United States, using it consistently in his scientific writings and bringing it into professional currency. Illustrated with tables and a diagram, this study of orbital determinations is among Gould s earliest American-published contributions to celestial mechanics, showing how he aligned U.S. astronomy with contemporary European planetary science. The following year he founded the pioneering Astronomical Journal, which secured "asteroid" as the standard terminology in American astronomy ("How the First Dwarf Planet Became the Asteroid Ceres," Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 2009). Gould was the first American to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy and later became known for identifying the "Gould Belt," a ring of young stars encircling the solar neighborhood. Very scarce in its original printed wrappers, with other important contributions by Ferdinand Roemer (geology of Texas), Robert Hare (electrical theory), and W. B. & R. E. Rogers (chemistry of carbonic acid absorption and diamond oxidation).

Seller Inventory # 3735464

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "On the Orbits of the Asteroids." [Pp. 28 36 in:] The American Journal of Science and Arts. Second Series, No. 16 July, 1848
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Science and Technology