*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 17, November 20, 1996 * * * * A translation of * * * * ELEKTRONISCHE MITTEILUNGEN ZUR ASTRONOMIEGESCHICHTE * * Nr. 17, 12. September 1996 * * * * Edited by: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick * * * * Translated by: Mr. Donald Bellunduno <76450.1741@CompuServe.COM> * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. Meeting of the Working Group for the History of Astronomy during the Fall Meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft 2. Exhibits 3. Conferences in 1996/97 4. New Books Acknowledgements Imprint ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 17, November 20, 1996 ........................................................................... Meeting of the Working Group for the History of Astronomy --------------------------------------------------------- during the Fall Meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft --------------------------------------------------------- Tuebingen, September 20 - 21, 1996 Place: Eberhard Karls University, Lecture building of the natural sciences faculties, Auf der Morgenstelle, lecture hall N3 Coordinator: Wolfgang R. Dick Friday, September 20 Splinter meeting I of the AG Fall Meeting: History of Astronomy - Part 1 A - Abstract published in "Astronomische Gesellschaft Abstract Series" No. 12 (1996) 14.00 - 14.10: Welcome 14.10 - 14.40 W. Kokott (Bonn): Regiomontan's ephemerids for the years 1475-1506 (A) 14.40 - 15.00 G. Oestmann (Bremen): Presentation of a research project: The library of Wilhelm Olbers in Pulkovo 15.00 Demonstration of the digitized celestial globe by Johannes Stoeffler at the Wilhelm Schickard Institute for Informatics of the Eberhard Karls University by Th. Grunert; introduction into the historical background by G. Oestmann 16.00 - 16.30 Ch. Theis, S. Deiters, Ch. Einsel, F. Hohmann (Kiel): An exiled Jewish astronomer: Hans Rosenberg (A) 16.30 - 16.50 W. R. Dick, A. Zenkert (Potsdam): Paul Guthnick: A portray from letters to Buergel, self-portrayals and remembrances (A) 17.00 - 17.30 J. Hamel (Berlin): The first German translation of the major work of Nicolaus Copernicus around 1586: A research report 17.30 - 18.00 K.-D. Herbst (Jena): A general history of astronomical research in Germany: A project Afterwards: Bussiness meeting of the working group, Part 1 Saturday, September 21 Splinter meeting I of the AG Fall Meeting: History of Astronomy - Part 2 9.30 - 10.00 F. Seck (Tuebingen): The edition of Wilhelm Schickard's correspondence: A working report 10.00 - 10.35 J. Rienitz (Tuebingen): Robert Hooke and atmospheric refraction (A) 10.35 - 10.45 G. Wolfschmidt (Munich): Tycho Brahe (1546-1601): The best observing astronomer in the 16th century (poster presentation) (A) 11.00 - 11.30 H. Lichtenberg (Bonn), P. H. Richter (Bremen): Improved calendar calculations (A) 11.30 - 12.00 M. Strumpf, O. Schwarz (Gotha): Stress up to the physical limits: B. A. von Lindenau (1780-1854) and the reinstallation of the Seeberg Observatory (1808) (A) 12.00-12.30 O. Schwarz, M. Strumpf: P. A. Hansen (1795-1874) and the scientific community: The patronage of science by the Gotha astronomer (A) Afterwards: Bussiness meeting of the working group, Part 2 In addition, two more posters relating to history of astronomy will be on display during the conference: J. D. Schumann (Daun): Leonardo's telescope J. Wuensch (Bonn): On the measuring accuracy of Hevelius (A) In order to take part in the meeting of the Working Group for the History of Astronomy, one need not pay the conference fee of the AG Fall Meeting. Guests are welcome. ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 17, November 20, 1996 ........................................................................... Exhibits -------- From 9 January to 13 March 1996 the Cambridge University Library (England, UK) has shown the exhibition "Eye and ear: astronomy and the psychology of perception". For more information, please e-mail library@ula.cam.ac.uk . Source: http://www.cam.ac.uk/Libraries/Newsletters/nl02/ Tycho Brahe - Lord of the Stars - this large international exhibition about the scientist and the man Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) is being shown in 1996 in Landskrona, Sweden. The exhibition is a project produced in collaboration between the Municipality of Landskrona, Lund University, the Ole Roemer Museum in Copenhagen, Stenomuseet in Aarhus and the Astronomical Institute at Charles University in Prague etc. The exhibition was opened by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustav on 12th April, and continues until 15th September. It commemorates Tycho Brahe, the father of modern astronomy, the landscape gardener, the alchemist, the paper producer, the surveyor, the constructor of instruments and the Renaissance prince. The exhibition also shows the development of astronomy and space technology with the help of multimedia, and magnificent scientific instruments and models from the days of the Renaissance. Information: Landskrona Art Gallery/Tourist Information, Tel. 0418 - 79145 (int. +46 418 791 45) Source: http://www.landskrona.se/tychobrahe/e_index.htm On the occasion of the 450th birthday of Tycho Brahe the Ole Roemer Museum in Denmark shows the exhibit "The new star" from the 1st of October until the 30th of November 1996. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Fri 9am-3pm, Sat/Sun/holidays: 2pm-5pm Address: Ole Romer Museet, Kroppedals Alle 3, Vridslosemagle, DK-2630 Taastrup, Daenemark, Tel. + 42 52 95 85. ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 17, November 20, 1996 ........................................................................... Conferences in 1996/97 ---------------------- For a comprehensive list of history of astronomy meetings see http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de:8000/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_meet.html 23 - 27 September 1996, Moscow, Russia International scientific meeting on current problems in astrophysics in memory of three distinguished astrophysicists: 80th birthday of Professor I.S. Shklovskii and 75th birthday of Professors S.A. Kaplan and S.B. Pikelner Contact: Prof. A.M. Cherepashchuk, Sternberg Astronomical Institute, 119899, Moscow, Russian Federation, Telefax: 7-095-9328841, E-Mail: cher@sai.msu.su. 12 October 1996, Berlin, Germany Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Archenhold Observatory Starting time: 8pm Place: Archenhold-Sternwarte, Alt-Treptow 1, D-12435 Berlin, Tel.: (030) 5 34 80 80, Fax: (030) 5 34 80 83 27 October 1996, London, England The 21st International Antique Scientific & Medical Instrument Fair Radisson SAS Portman Hotel, Portman Square, London W1. 10:00 - 16:30. Details: Peter Delehar +44 181 866 8659 Address: 146 Portobello Road, London W11 2DZ, UK 14 - 15 December 1996, Chicago, IL, USA Symposium on Black Holes and Relativistic Stars (dedicated to the memory of S. Chandrasekhar) Contact: John Wald, Enrico Fermi Inst., The Univ. of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637-1433, USA 7 - 10 January 1997, Padova, Italy The Three Galileos: The Man, The Spacecraft, The Telescope Contact: C. Bargieri, Dept. of Astronomy, Univ. of Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova, Italy, phone: 39 49 875 4343 E-mail: barbieri@astrpd.pd.astro.it 27 April 1997, London, England The 22nd International Antique Scientific & Medical Instrument Fair Radisson SAS Portman Hotel, Portman Square, London W1, 10:00 - 16:30. Details: Peter Delehar +44 181 866 8659 Address: 146 Portobello Road, London W11 2DZ, UK 16 - 20 June 1997, Los Alamos, NM, USA A Half Century of Stellar Pulsation Interpretations - A Tribute to Arthur N. Cox Contact: Ms. Joyce A. Guzik, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA, E-mail: joy@lanl.gov 4 - 14 August 1997, Uppsala, Sweden Global Change and History of Geophysics and Related Disciplines Contact: Dr. Wilfried Schroeder, Hechelstr. 8, D-28777 Bremen-Roennebeck, Germany 1 - 5 September 1997, Odessa, Ukraine International Conference on Variable Stars (dedicated to the 90th Anniversary of V.P.Tsessevich) Contact: Prof.V.G. Karetnikov, Astronomical Observatory, Odessa State University, T.G. Shevchenko Park, Odessa 170014, Ukraine, phone: 70482 228 442, E-mail: root@astro.odessa.ua 15 - 19 September 1997, Beijing, China The Second International Symposium on Astronomical Exchange between China and Other Countries Place: Old Beijing Observatory Themes: 1. The old astronomical picture of the world; 2. History of astronomy in China; 3. Astronomical exchange between China and other countries; 4. Chinese astronomy and the missionary work; 5. Research and state of dicussion in museology. Registration forms may be requested from: Dr. Eckehard Schmidt, Postfach 4616, D-90025 Nuernberg, Germany, Fax: (++911) 5 86 55 49 ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 17, November 20, 1996 ........................................................................... New Books --------- Astronomichna observatoriya Kyivs'kogo universytetu imeni Tarasa Shevchenka. 150 rokiv. Storinki istorii ta rezul'taty naukovykh doslidzhen'. Kyjiv: Vydavno-poligrafichnyj centr "Kyivs'kij universytet", 1995. Pp. 320, ISBN 5-7707-7590-4 [Past and present of the University Observatory at Kiev. In Ukranian] Bartha, Lajos: Portable sundials. Selected from Hungarian collections. Catalogue of exhibitions Time-Measure (Museum of Applied Arts, Aug. 4 - Sep. 24, 1995) and My Measure is the Sky (Budapest History Museum - Kiscelli Museum, Sep. 12 - Nov. 12, 1995). [Budapest]: Iparmueveszati Muzeum, Magyar Czillagaszati Egyesulet, Orzagos Muszaki Muzeum, 1995. Pp. 68, ISBN 9-63-046050-5, DM 5.00 incl. postage [Author's address: Frankel Leo ut 36, H-1023 Budapest II., Hungary. Introduction and sundial names in English, descriptions in Hungarian. The descriptions may be partly understood with the provided translations of abbreviations used.] Beckmann, Johann: Schwedische Reise nach dem Tagebuch der Jahre 1765-1766. [Swedish trip according to the diaries of the years 1765-1766.] Lengwil (Switzerland): Libelle Verlag, 1995. IV, 183 pp., ISBN 3-909081-74-6, Hb DM 35.00 including postage [Reprint of edition of 1911, complimented by a preface and bibliographical comments; Astronomical items: pp. 42f., 73f., 94, 126, 138f., 153; Distribution: Johann Beckmann-Bibliothek, Schlossplatz 2, D-27318 Hoya, Germany] Biagioli, Mario: Galileo, courtier: The practice of science in the culture of absolutism. Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Pp. xiv, 402, $ 29.95 (hb), $ 15.95 (pb) Review: M.H.Shank: J. Hist. Astron. 25 (1994) 3, 236-243 Bialas, Volker; Nevskaya, Nina I. (Eds.): Kepler-Arbeiten in Russland, Deutschland und Oesterreich [Kepler studies in Russia, Germany and Austria; in Russian and German]. St. Petersburg: Internationaler Fond fuer die Geschichte der Wissenschaften [International Foundation for the History of Science], 1994. Pp. 169 (Johannes Kepler, Sammlung, No. 1) Bianchini, Francesco: Observations concerning the planet Venus. Translated by Sally Beaumont, assisted by Peter Fay. London: Springer-Verlag, 1996. Pp. iv, 172, ISBN 3-540-19980-2, GBP 49.00 (hb), DM 128.00 [Translation of "Hesperi et Phosphori nova phaenomena sive observationes circa planetam Veneris", 1728; appendix: results of a recontruction and testing of Biancini's telescope] Review: R.Baum: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 106 (1996) 2, 68 Brandt, John C.; Chapman, Robert D.: Rendezvous im Weltraum. Die Erforschung der Kometen. Basel: Birkhaeuser Verlag, 1994. 320 pp., DM 68.00 German translation of: Rendezvous in space. The science of comets. 1992 Review: Th.Schmidt-Kaler: Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1995) 5, 126 Calder, Nigel: Comets: speculation and discovery. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Pp. 160, ISBN 0-486-27879-4, $ 8.95 (pb) [A history of comets prior to Comet Halley's 1985-86 apparition; first American publication of the 1982 British book "The comet is coming!" with new introduction] Castleden, Rodney: The making of Stonehenge. Routledge, 1993. Pp. 305, ISBN 0-415-08513-6, $ 35.00 Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan: Newton's Principia for the common reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp. 593, 25 x 20 cm, ISBN 0-198-51744-0, GBP 70.00, $ 135.00 (hb) Review: L.Mestel: The Observatory 116 (1996) 1130, 36-37 Daintith, John (Ed.): Biographical encyclopedia of scientists. Second edition. Institute of Physics Publishing, 1994. Pp. 1,075, ISBN 0-7503-0287-9, $ 190.00 Dolz, Wolfram: Erd- und Himmelsgloben. Sammlungskatalog [Terrestrial and celestial globes. Catalogue of the collection]. Dresden: Staatlicher Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon [State Mathematical-Physical Salon], 1994. 128 pp., 18,50 DM [Distribution: Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, Zwinger, D-01067 Dresden, Germany, Tel. (0351) 4951364, Fax 4960201] Fritscher, Bernhard; Brey, Gerhard (Hrsg.): Cosmographica et Geographica. Festschrift fuer Heribert M. Nobis zum 70. Geburtstag A Festschrift for Heribert M. Nobis on the occasion of his 70th birthday]. 2 vols. Munich: Institut fuer Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, 1994. Vol. 1: ca. VIII, 418 pp.; Vol. 2: ca. VIII, 395 pp.; illus., ISBN 3-89241-012-7, Pb totally DM 49.60 (Algorismus, 13) Gehlhar, Fritz: Wie der Mensch seinen Kosmos schuf. Eine kleine Kulturgeschichte der Astronomie [How man created his cosmos. A short cultural history of astronomy.]. Berlin: Aufbau Taschenbuch Verlag, 1996. 202 pp., 57 illus., ISBN 3-7466-8018-2, Pb DM 16.90 (Aufbau Taschenbuch, 8018) [A history of astronomy from antiquity up until today from the point of view of philosophy, with emphasis on cosmology and cosmogony.] Genz, Henning: Die Entdeckung des Nichts. Leere und Fuelle im Universum. [The discovery of nothingness. Emptiness and fullness in the Universe.] Munich: Carl Hanser Verlag, 1994. 416 pp., DM 58.00 [History of the research on vacuum; it also contains a short history of physics and cosmology.] Review: H.Schopper: Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1996) 1, 128-129 Hall, A. Rupert: All was light. An introduction to Newton's Opticks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp. 252, 24 x 15 cm, ISBN 0-198-51798-X, GBP 12.95 (pb) [paperback release of the 1993 hardbound edition] Hamel, Juergen: Astronomie in Quellentexten. Von Hesiod bis Hubble. [Astronomy in source texts. From Hesiod to Hubble.] Berlin: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 1996. 328 pp., ca. 45 illus., ISBN 3-8274-0072-4, Hb DM 78.00 [The collection contains 96 texts from 73 authors from a time period stretching two and one half thousand years. The presented authors and texts include: Hesiod, the Holy Scriptures, pre-socratic philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Lukrez, Hyginus, Plinius, Ptolemy, Censorinus, Augustinus, Joh. Philoponos, old Chinese astronomy, Joh. de Sacrobosco, Thomas of Aquin, Dante Alighieri, Konrad of Megenberg, Agrippa, P. Apian, N. Copernicus, A. Osiander, M. Luther, L.F. Plieninger, G. Bruno, Tycho Brahe, H. Roeslin, Chr. Rothmann, J. Kepler, S. Marius, Galileo Galilei, P. Crueger, R. Descartes, Chr. Huygens, R. Cotes, I. Newton, E. Halley, I. Kant, J.H. Lambert, F.W. Herschel, J.E. Bode, J.H. Schroeter, H.W.M. Olbers, P.S. Laplace, C.F. Gauss, J. Fraunhofer, F.W. Bessel, H.S. Schwabe, A. Humboldt, J.F. Encke, J.G. Galle, G.R. Kirchhoff, F. Zoellner, H. Helmholtz, A. Einstein, A.S. Eddington, E. Hubble, H.A. Bethe. The book also contains "neighboring areas of interest" like astrology and calendars.] Harman, P.M. (Ed.): The scientific letters and papers of James Clerk Maxwell. Volume II, 1862-1873. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. 999, 28 x 22 cm, ISBN 0-521-25626-7, GBP 190.00, $ 285.00 (hb) Review: A.Chapman: The Observatory 116 (1996) 1130, 44-45 Hetherington, Barry: A chronicle of pre-telescopic astronomy. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. Pp. ca. 300, ISBN 0471959421, ca. GBP 50.00 [Record of astronomical discoveries, events, publications and biographical details of astronomers and people connected with astronomy from all nations from the earliest times to the year 1609 AD; entries are arranged chronologically and are referenced; includes name and subject index] Hodgson, John H.: The Heavens above and the Earth beneath: A history of the Dominion Observatories, Part 2, 1946-1970. Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada Open File 1945, 1994. Pp. xi, 257 Review: R.A.Jarrell: J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Can. 89 (1995) 6, 274-275 Kozhamthadam, Job: The discovery of Kepler's laws. Notre Dame, Ind./London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994. Pp. xii, 315, $ 39.95 Review: S.Westfall: J. Hist. Astron. 25 (1994) 3, 244-245 Krupp, Edwin C.: Echoes of the ancient skies: the astronomy of lost civilisations. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp. xvii, 386, ISBN 0-19-508801-8, GBP 12.99 (pb) [first published in 1983] Review: I.Howard-Duff: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 106 (1996) 2, 68 Kueveler, Gerd: Zukunft gestern: wie man sich frueher die Zukunft vorstellte. [Future yesterday: How Man imagined his future would be.] Kommentierter Katalog mit einem Essay zur Ausstellung alter Science-fiction- und Zukunftsliteratur im Rahmen der Ruesselsheimer Hochschultage 1995. [Commented catalog with an essay on the exhibit of old science-fiction and futuristic literature in the framework of Ruesselsheimer Hochschultage 1995. Wiesbaden: Fachhochschule Wiesbaden, 1995. 118 pp., ISBN 3-923068-26-3 [Including ideas on space travel and life on Mars.] Launius, Roger D.: NASA: a history of the U.S. civil space program. Melbourne, Florida: Krieger Publishing, 1994. Pp. 276, ISBN 0-89464-878-0, $ 16.50 Levy, David H.: The quest for comets: An explosive trail of beauty and danger. Avon Books, 1995. Pp. 282, ISBN 0-380-72526-6, $ 12.50 [personal view of the history and attraction of comet discovery; paperbound edition of 1994 hardback] Margolis, Howard: Paradigms and barriers: How habits of mind govern scientific beliefs. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Pp. xii, 267, $ 40 (hb), $ 14.95 (pb) [Chapters 7 to 10: about the Copernican account] Review: N.S.Hetherington: J. Hist. Astron. 25 (1994) 4, 325-327 Matson, Wayne R. (Ed.): Cosmonautics: a colorful history. Washington, DC: Cosmos Books, 1994. Pp. 212, $ 54.95 [a history of the Soviet-Russian space program] Review: J.McDowell: Sky & Telescope 88 (1994) 3, 52-53 Morrison, Philip: Nothing is too wonderful to be true. Woodbury, N.Y.: American Institute of Physics, 1995. Pp. 446, ISBN 1-5639-6363-9, US $ 29.95 (hb)(Masters of Modern Physics, 11) [Reminiscences and thoughts about physics, astronomy, and science in general] Review: J.-C.Pecker: Space Science Reviews 76 (1996) 3-4, 355-356 Pichot, A.: Die Geburt der Wissenschaft. Von den Babyloniern zu den fruehen Griechen. [The birth of science. From the Babylonians up until the early Greeks.] Frankfurt a.M.: Campus-Verlag, 1995. 576 pp., ISBN 3-593-35348-2, DM 98.00 [Also on astronomy and calendric calculations, for example, calculations of planetary motions in Babylonian times.] Pyenson, Lewis: French expansion and the exact sciences. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. Pp. xxii, 378, $ 45 [Focuses on meteorology, geophysics and astronomy] Review: P.Dear: J. Hist. Astron. 25 (1994) 4, 331-332 Richter, Peter (Hrsg.): Sterne, Mond, Kometen: Bremen und die Astronomie. [Stars, Moon, comets: Bremen and astronomy.] Bremen, 1995. 328 pp., ISBN 3-929902-84-2, Hb DM 68.00 Schenkel, Peter Michael: Johannes Kepler, Gesammelte Werke. Register zu Band III: Astronomia Nova. [Johannes Kepler, Collected works. Register of volume III: Astronomia Nova.] Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften [Bavarian Academy of Sciences], 1995. 29 pp. (Berichte der Keplerkommission, Heft 6 [Reports of the Kepler Commission, volume 6]) Schmidt, Erik: Optical illusions. The life story of Bernhard Schmidt the great stellar optician of the twentieth century. Estonian Academy Publishers, 1995. Pp. 160 (text) + 48 (illus.), ISBN 9985-50-102-0, US$ 20 (hb) + US$ 10 postage [First biography of B. Schmidt in English. Written by his nephew, with 74 photos from the author's private collection. Distribution: Mr Uelo Niine, Estonian Academy Publishers, Estonia Blvd 7, EE-0001 Tallinn, Estonia, fax (372) 64 66 026, e-mail niine@kirj.ee Payment: Bank transfer to Account No 22-610136, Hansabank Ltd., Tallinn, Liivalaia 12, EE-0100 Tallinn, Estonia, S.W.I.F.T. code HABA EE 2X. A list of the foreign correspondents of this bank in 20 countries is available.] Sheehan, William: The immortial fire within: The life and work of Edward Emerson Barnard. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. xiv, 429, ISBN 0-521-44489-6, GBP 40.00, $ 49.95 (hb) Review: D.diCicco: Sky & Telescope 91 (1996) 2, 54-55 R.McKim: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 106 (1996) 1, 44 Strasser, Sylvia; Wuerker, Wolfgang: Sonne, Mond und Sterne. Eine Entdeckungsreise unter geheimnisvollen Himmeln. [Sun, Moon and stars. A travel of discovery under secret-filled skies] Munich: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1996. 272 pp., numerous color and b/w illus., ISBN 3-453-09751-3, Hb DM 48.00 [Companion book to the German television series of the same title. Contains much on the history of astronomy.] Stuhlinger, Ernst; Ordway III, Frederick I.: Wernher von Braun: Crusader for space. A biographical memoir. Melbourne, Florida: Krieger Publishing, 1994. Pp. 375, ISBN 0-89464-842-X, $ 42.50 Stuhlinger, Ernst; Ordway III, Frederick I.: Wernher von Braun: Crusader for space. An illustrated memoir. Melbourne, Florida: Krieger Publishing, 1994. Pp. 147, ISBN 0-89464-824-1, $ 29.50 Thorne, Kip S.: Gekruemmter Raum und verbogene Zeit. Einsteins Vermaechtnis. Aus dem Amerikanischen von Doris Gerstner und Shaukat Khan. Muenchen: Droemer Knaur, 1994. 720 pp., DM 58.00 [German translation of "Black Holes & Time Warps - Einstein's outrageous legacy"; A historical introduction into the theory of relativity, and their astronomical applications, with a short biographiesa and a timetable.] Review: U.Borgeest: Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1996) 3, 117-118 Tomsa, Jan: Pocitani casu (Zaklady teorie kalendare). Praha: KLP, 1995. Pp. 71, ISBN 80-85917-11-4 (Akademie ved Ceske republiky, Astronomicky ustav, Scripta astronomica, 7) Von Tondern nach Gotha: Der Astronom Peter Andreas Hansen, 1795-1874. [From Tondern to Gotha: The astronomer Peter Andreas Hansen, 1795-1874.] [Aabenraa, Denmark]: Bund deutscher Nordschleswiger, 1995. 48 pp. [With contributions by M.Strumpf und G.Wolfschmidt] Warner, Brian: Cataclysmic variable stars. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Pp. xix, 572, ISBN 0-521-41231-5 (Cambridge Astrophysics Series, 28) [Chapter 1: Historical Development (p. 1-26)] Whitfield, Peter: The mapping of the heavens. London: The British Library, 1995. Pp. x, 134, ISBN 0-7123-0402-9, GBP 20.00 (hb) Review: A.Chapman: J. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 106 (1996) 2, 66 ........................................................................... Acknowledgements ---------------- For information we thank: Lajos Bartha (Budapest), Volker Bialas (Munich), Peter Delehar (London), Wolfram Dolz (Dresden), Carl Ehrig-Eggert (Mainz), Helga E. Frester (Hoya), Juergen Hamel (Berlin), Gerd Kueveler (Wiesbaden), Uelo Niine (Tallinn), Eckehard Schmidt (Nuremberg), Gudrun Wolfschmidt (Munich). ........................................................................... Imprint ------- Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA) A translation of "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick Translated and Co-Edited by: Mr. Donald Bellunduno <76450.1741@compuserve.com> All news which is not quoted by name are editorial contributions. Articles as well as information for the several sections will be gladly received. Subscription for ENHA is free. Astronomische Gesellschaft / Astronomical Society: Chairman: Prof. Dr. Hanns Ruder, University of Tuebingen, Theoretical Astrophysics and Computational Physics, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, D-72076 Tuebingen Secretary: Dr. G. Klare, Landessternwarte, Koenigstuhl, D-69117 Heidelberg Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of Astronomy: URL: http://aibn55.astro.uni-bonn.de:8000/~pbrosche/aa/aa.html Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany, Tel.: (+6592) 2150, Fax: (+6592) 2937 Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Institut fuer Angewandte Geodaesie, Aussenstelle Potsdam, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: (+331) 316 619, E-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de Secretary for Public Relations: Dr. Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Deutsches Museum, Museumsinsel 1, D-80538 Muenchen, Germany, Tel.: (+89) 2179 277, Fax: (+89) 2179 324, E-mail: kdq01ag@sunmail.lrz-muenchen.de Treasurer: Dr. Reinhard Schielicke, Universitaetssternwarte, Schillergaesschen 2, D-07745 Jena, Tel.: (+3641) 63 03 36, E-mail: schie@georg.astro.uni-jena.de Bank Acct. of the Working Group of the Astronomische Gesellschaft: Acct # 333 410 41, Sparkasse Bochum (BLZ 430 500 01) Contributions from foreign countries: acct # 162 18-203, Postgiroamt Hamburg, BLZ 200 400 20 Please sign with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************