Revolutionaries of the Cosmos: The Astro-Physicists

by Ian Glass

Overview

Galileo, Newton, Herschel, Huggins, Hale, Eddington, Shapley and Hubble: these astronomers applied ideas drawn from physics to astronomy and made dramatic changes to the world-pictures that they inherited. They showed that celestial objects are composed of the same materials as the earth and that they behave in the same way. They displaced successively the earth, the sun and finally the milky way galaxy from being the centre of the universe.
This book contains their biographies and outlines their greatest discoveries. Hard work, physical insight, desire for fame and a strong belief in the rightness of their own ideas were characteristics of all eight. Their often quirky personalities led them into bitter controversies with their contemporaries. But their successes arose from the outstanding clarity of their thoughts, their practical ability and their strong sense of direction in science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198570998
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/19/2006
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dr Ian Glass, South African Astronomical Observatory
B.A. Trinity College Dublin 1961
PhD MIT 1968

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Talent and Opportunity2. Galileo: Seeing and Believing3. Isaac Newton: Rationalising the Universe4. William Herschel: Surveying the Heavens5. William Huggins: Celestial Chemical Analysis6. George Ellery Hale: Providing the Tools7. Arthur Eddington: Inside the Stars8. Harlow Shapley: Defining Our Galaxy9. Edwin Hubble: Journeying to the Edge