*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 44, October 6, 2000 * * * * Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. The Stewart Museum Globe Symposium - Programme 2. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Centenary Symposium 3. Annual Meeting of the History of Science Society 4. Fifth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop 5. SEAC 2001: Annual Meeting of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture 6. Symposium on Michael Maestlin - short announcement 7. The Herbert C. Pollock Award Acknowledgements Imprint ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... The Stewart Museum Globe Symposium - Programme ---------------------------------------------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 52, 6. Oktober 2000, Item 3.) Stewart Museum, Ile Sainte-Helene, Montreal 19-22 October 2000 (Programme as of 20 July 2000) Thursday - 19 October 2000 6:00 p.m. Registration and reception (1195 Sherbrooke Street West) Friday - 20 October 2000 8:30 a.m. Symposium registration and opening (Grande Poudriere, Ile Sainte-Helene) 9:15 a.m. "Looking at the Earth from Outer Space: Ancient Views on the Power of Globes" Christian Jacob, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris 10:30 a.m. "'The Doctrine of the Sphere': A Forgotten Chapter in the History of Terrestrial and Celestial Globes" Elly Dekker, Linschoten, The Netherlands 12:00 noon Introduction to the globe exhibition, viewing and lunch 2:00 p.m. "La symbolique du globe dans les arts graphiques en Occident, XVIe-XVIIIe siecle : la lecon des livres d'emblemes et d'iconologie" Catherine Hofmann, Departement des cartes et plans, Bibliotheque nationale de France (to be presented in French; English translation will be available) 3:20 p.m. "An Art Historian's Approach to Globes" Robert Derome, departement d'histoire de l'art, Universite du Quebec a Montreal 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. Viewing of exhibition 7:00 p.m. Dinner (Festin du Gouverneur) Saturday - 21 October 2000 9:00 a.m. "Globe Production in the Low Countries and Its Impact in Europe, 1525-1650" Peter van der Krogt, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands 10:30 a.m. "Celestial Globes: Origins and Innovations" Elly Dekker, Linschoten, The Netherlands 1:30 p.m. "La restauration des globes anciens : la reintegration des lacunes" Alain Roger, restaurateur, chef de travaux d'art, Bibliotheque nationale de France (to be presented in French; English translation will be available) 4:00 p.m. Leave by bus for the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal 7:00 p.m. Reception and dinner Sunday - 22 October 2000 9:30 a.m. "More than just Spheres: A Curator's Vision for a New Globe Museum in Vienna" Jan Mokre, Curator of the Globe Museum, Austrian National Library, Vienna 11:00 a.m. Symposium wrap-up session and discussion 12:30 p.m. Farewell lunch The registration fee, which will include lunches and dinners during the symposium, is $285 (Canadian). This fee also includes a complimentary copy of the lavishly illustrated book, _Sphaerae Mundi: Early Globes at the Stewart Museum_ (retail: $50 CDN). The registration deadline is 8 September 2000. (If space is still available after that date, the fee will be $325). Participation will be limited to 75 persons. English will be the principal language of the symposium. For further information concerning such matters as accommodation, and in order to receive the registration form, please contact the globe symposium secretary: Nadia Hammadi - nhammadi@stewart-museum.org Stewart Museum, PO Box 1200, Station A, Montreal (Qc), H3C 2Y9, Canada Tel: (514)861-6703, ext. 260 / Fax: (514)284-0123 Please feel free to contact one of the three symposium organizers for further information: Ed Dahl - edahl@iosphere.net Jean-Francois Gauvin - jfgauvin@stewart-museum.org Eileen Meillon - emeillon@stewart-museum.org [Text provided by Jean-Francois Gauvin.] ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Centenary Symposium -------------------------------------------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 52, 6. Oktober 2000, Item 4.) On 26-27 October 2000 a centenary symposium in honor of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin will be held at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin was the second woman to become a fully tenured professor in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard (the first in the natural sciences), and simultaneously the first woman department chairman. Born and educated in England, she came to America in 1923 to seek wider opportunities in her chosen science, astronomy. At Harvard College Observatory she wrote what the eminent astrophysicist Otto Struve later called "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy," and in 1934 the dean of American astronomers, Henry Norris Russell, wrote that the best candidate in America to be his successor at Princeton "alas, is a woman!", an obvious reference to Cecilia Payne in an age when neither Harvard nor Princeton would have dared to consider a woman faculty member. Not until the 1950s would Harvard finally have the temerity to appoint a woman to a regular Arts and Sciences faculty position. This autumn, in the centennial year of her birth, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will host a symposium in her honor. The program of speakers includes former students, family, old friends, and experts on topics related to her astrophysical interests, which encompassed among others stellar spectroscopy, variable stars and photometry, galactic structure and stellar evolution. The proceedings will be published by the L. Davis Press. The organizing committee consists of Owen Gingerich, Andrea Dupree, Kathy Haramundanis, Dave Latham, Dave Philip, and Virginia Trimble. Registered participants are invited to join us for a reception and banquet on Thursday evening at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge. The reception starts at 6:00 p.m. and the meal will be served at 7:00 p.m. The meal choices are Grilled Chilean Seabass, Seared Lambchops, or Vegetarian. This event is partially sponsored, so the cost to participants is only $45. Please register at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cpg/regform.html if you wish to participate. The deadline is 18 October 2000. - $5 for a name badge and Friday morning coffee - $8 late registration for a name badge and Friday morning coffee after 18 October - $30 for badge, coffee, Friday box lunch, and symposium volume - $45 for the Thursday evening reception and banquet at the American Academy (actual cost $115) If you have difficulty with the registration form, mail your check and registration information to CPG Centenary Registration MS-15 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics 60 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 More information is available at the Symposium Website: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cpg/ More information about Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1979) can be found at: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/persons/pers_payne-gaposchkin.html [This text is based on the symposium's website. Thanks to Larry Klaes for drawing my attention to this symposium by sending a CfA Press Release to HASTRO-L.] ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... Annual Meeting of the History of Science Society ------------------------------------------------ (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 52, 6. Oktober 2000, Item 5.) The annual meeting of the History of Science Society will be held in Vancouver, Canada, November 2-5, 2000. Among the sessions scheduled are three which should appeal to historians of astronomy: "Cultures of 20th-Century Astronomy," with papers by Matthew Stanley, Keith R. Lafortune, Abha Sur, David P.D. Munns, and JoAnn Palmeri, Friday, November 3 "Astronomy and Its Histories: A Session in Honor of Owen Gingerich," with papers by Robert S. Westman, Sara Schechner, James R. Voelkel / Owen Gingerich, and Joann Eisberg, Saturday, November 4 "Theory Comes West: The Beginnings of Theoretical Astrophysics in Western America," with presentations by David DeVorkin, Donald Osterbrock, and Karl Hufbauer, Saturday, November 4 Contact address: HSS Executive Office Attn: Vancouver Meeting University of Washington, Box 351330 Seattle, WA 98195-1330 USA Telephone: (206) 543-9366 (during regular business hours, Pacific Coast time) FAX: (206) 685-9544 E-mail: hssexec@u.washington.edu More information on the meeting can be obtained from the website at http://depts.washington.edu/hssexec/annual/ During the History of Science Society meeting the Special Interest Group for the history of astronomy will meet on the evening of Friday, November 3. Contacts: Marc Rothenberg, e-mail: rothenbergm@osia.si.edu [Based on the meeting's website and on a message sent by Marc Rothenberg to HASTRO-L.] ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... Fifth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop -------------------------------------------- The Fifth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop will be held July 5-8, 2001 at the University of Notre Dame. The workshop is sponsored by Notre Dame's Graduate Program in History and Philosophy of Science, Notre Dame's Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, the History of Astronomy Special Interest Group of the History of Science Society, and the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society. Steven Dick and Marc Rothenberg are program co-chairs. Persons wishing to present work in progress papers or poster papers should submit a title and abstract of approximately 200 words to one of the program co-chairs by Feb. 15, 2001, indicating preference for oral or poster presentation. Proposals will be accepted in a number of forms, but because the abstracts of papers accepted for the conference will appear on the conference website, we prefer electronic submissions. Write either Steven J. Dick, U.S. Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20392-5420, USA, E-mail: dick.steve@usno.navy.mil, tel. 202-762-0379; or Marc Rothenberg, Joseph Henry Papers Project, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, DC 20560-0429, USA, E-mail: josephhenr@aol.com. The local arrangements chair for the workshop is Matt Dowd, who can be reached at Graduate Program in History and Philosophy of Science, Univ. of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, or E-mail: Matthew.F.Dowd.11@nd.edu. Persons wishing to register should contact: Astronomy, Center for Continuing Education, Univ. of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, E-mail: cce.cce.1@nd.edu. The registration fee of $75 includes the cost of the banquet. Housing is available in new air conditioned dormitories at $29 per night for a single, $23 per night for a double. The conference will include a book exhibit and display tables. Participants are welcome to bring materials to display. Contact Matt Dowd with regard to how much space will be needed. Regarding transportation, flights come to the South Bend from a number of major cities. Persons arriving via Chicago can take the United Limo Bus, which runs from the United Terminal at O'Hare Airport directly to the Notre Dame campus. Round-trip fare is $57. For a schedule and reservations, call United Limo at (800)833-5555. For those driving, ample parking is available. A campus map and parking information will be sent in the CCE information packet. To supply periodically updated information and a downloadable registration form, Matt Dowd has prepared a webpage for the workshop: http://www.nd.edu/~histast4/ndvinfo/ The sixty-five historians of astronomy who attended the Fourth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop, held at Notre Dame in July, 1999, praised the lively and informed sessions, the comfortable and informal atmosphere, and the reasonable room rates. [Based on a message sent by Steven J. Dick to HASTRO-L.] ........................................................................... Item 5 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... SEAC 2001: Annual Meeting of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stockholm, August 27-30, 2001 Program and general information Date and location: SEAC 2001 will be held 27-30 August 2001, at the Old Observatory in the centre of Stockholm. The observatory is now a museum run by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is within easy reach of hotels, restaurants, cafes, pizzerias, etc., many with moderate to low prices. Theme for the conference: Symbols, calendars and orientations: legacies of astronomy in culture The theme for the present conference capitalises on the opportunity to provide deeper acquaintance with the early Swedish evidence for astronomical knowledge: rock art representations of celestial phenomena and also symbolic and functional orientations to celestial events, some of which give information about early ritual calendars. At the same time the conference, as usual, remains open for papers on new and on-going projects. Preliminary program: Three keynote talks are planned relating to Swedish archaeology and history of astronomy. Aside from the keynote talks, each paper will be allotted 25 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for questions. Sunday, 26 August: arrival in Stockholm Monday, 27 August: registration 8:30-10:00 with coffee morning session 10-13 lunch 13-14 afternoon session 14-19, with break for coffee reception Tuesday, 28 August: morning session 9-13, with break for coffee excursion to the Royal Burial Mounds at Old Uppsala 13-19, with lunch Wednesday, 29 August: morning session 9-13, with break for coffee lunch 13-14 afternoon session 14-19, with break for coffee Thursday, 30 August: morning session 9-13, with break for coffee lunch 13-14 afternoon session 14-16, followed by coffee SEAC business meeting 16-18 Friday and Saturday, 31 August-1 September: two-day optional excursion to Norrkoping and Falbygden to see examples of Swedish rock art and megalithic tombs Proposed topics for sessions (suggestions for other topics are welcomed by the local organising committee): - Theoretical and methodological perspectives - Influence of astronomy in art - Megalithic tombs and their astronomical relationships - Ritual calendars - Origins of the constellations - Reports on new and continuing research Travel: All major European airlines fly into Arlanda Airport, which is 45 kilometres north of Stockholm. Ryan Air is a low-price alternative. Buses leave frequently for the train station in Stockholm and, on request, the bus drivers will order a taxi to be waiting at the station. Current fares are SEK 60 for bus fare and SEK 160 for bus and taxi within central Stockholm. Taxi fare from Arlanda to any of the hotels or hostels which will be recommended by the LOC is SEK 350. This means that a taxi shared by two or more persons is a good alternative to the bus. Train fare into Stockholm from Arlanda is SEK 120. Lodging: An effort will be made to offer hotels and hostels with moderate prices. These will be announced in November when prices have been set for 2001. Registration deadlines: The deadlines are 31 March 2001 for early registration (with reduced registration fee) and 4 May 2001 for final registration. Registration forms will be provided in November when hotel prices for 2001 can be offered. Registration fees: To cover the cost of refreshments, the excursion to Old Uppsala and minor expenses, there will be a registration fee of 400 Swedish crowns (SEK) for members from western European countries. Fees paid before 30 March 2001 are reduced to SEK 350. No fee will be required of members from countries which make them eligible for reduced membership rates. All accompanying persons will be charged a fee of SEK 400. Final date for registration and payment of fees is 4 May 2001. Grants: We hope to be able to offer a few grants to postgraduate students from western Europe and to students/colleagues from eastern Europe. More information will follow in the autumn. Submission of abstracts: The selection of papers will be made on the basis of an extended abstract of 500-1000 words. These are to be submitted preferably by Friday, 30 March 2001 and at the latest by Friday, 4 May 2001 which is also the final date for registration. The language of the conference is English. Publication of the Proceedings: The Proceedings will be edited by the LOC. We hope to be able to allot 12 pages to the keynote speakers and 8 pages to the other conference participants. 1 December 2001 is a firm deadline for manuscripts. Guide lines will be published later. All articles will be refereed. Local Organising Committee: Mary Blomberg, Department of archaeology and ancient history, Uppsala university, e-mail: mary.blomberg@antiken.uu.se Goran Henriksson, Astronomical Observatory, Uppsala university, e-mail: goran.henriksson@astro.uu.se Peter Blomberg, Department of archaeology and ancient history, Uppsala university, e-mail: mary.blomberg@antiken.uu.se More information is available at the website http://mikrob.com/SEAC2001/ [Based on the website. Thanks to Mary Blomberg for drawing my attention to this.] ........................................................................... Item 6 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... Symposium on Michael Maestlin - short announcement -------------------------------------------------- On October 11-13, 2000, the Facultaty of Physics of the University of Tuebingen in Germany organizes a symposium on Michael Maestlin with papers presented by F. Rex, J. Hamel, M. Schramm, G. Grasshoff, F. Seck, J. Smolka, G. Betsch, K. Reich, V. Bialas, and M. Wischnath. A tour through the town will lead the participants to places from the life and work of Maestlin and his contemporaries. For the programme, see the extended announcement in EMA Nr. 52, 6. Oktober 2000, Item 2 (http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/aa/ema/). For more information, contact: Dr. G. Betsch, Furtbrunnen 17, D-71093 Weil i.S., Germany, Tel. 07157-64059, E-Mail: Gerhard.Betsch@t-online.de ........................................................................... Item 7 ENHA No. 44, October 6, 2000 ........................................................................... The Herbert C. Pollock Award ---------------------------- (From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 52, 6. Oktober 2000, Item 6.) The Herbert C. Pollock Award was established by the Dudley Observatory to honor the long service of Dr. Pollock as a member and past President of the Dudley Observatory Board of Trustees. The purpose of the Award is to provide encouragement and support for an innovative project in the history of astronomy or astrophysics, to be undertaken by a faculty member, research associate, or postdoctoral associated with a college, university, nonprofit research institution or observatory located in North America. Applications from persons meeting the other requirements, who are not currently affiliated with any institution will also be considered. Lists of past winners of the Pollock Award and their project titles may be found on the next page. Special consideration will be given to proposals that involve the use of the Dudley Observatory Archives, the Dudley Collection of early astronomical works housed at Union College or the Benjamin A. Gould, Jr. library held by Dudley Observatory. The Award consists of a maximum of $5,000 to be distributed in the year of the Award. A recipient of the Pollock Award may not reapply for a new award for three years. Application Procedures The application should include the following parts: 1.) A descriptive title with a brief account of the project, not to exceed four pages. The description should permit a selection committee of historians and other scholars to judge what is proposed and how completion of the project would contribute to historical knowledge. 2.) A one-page nontechnical "executive summary" of the project to be evaluated by non-historians. 3.) A budget showing how the Award funds would be spent, together with a description of the applicant's current funding and the funding agency, if any, for present work. - No Overhead Charges will be permitted. 4.) A biographical sketch and personal bibliography - not to exceed four pages. 5.) The names and affiliations of two scientists or other scholars who may be contacted by the Selection Committee, should the need arise, as well as the name of the applicant's supervisor or Department Chair. Letters of support should not be included with the application. The complete application must be received by Dudley Observatory by December 4, 2000. Applications should be mailed to: Dudley Observatory Suite 201 107 Nott Terrace Schenectady, New York 12308 USA Selection Procedures The Pollock Award Selection Committee will make recommendations to the Board of Trustees of the Dudley Observatory following review of the applications. The recipient of the Pollock Award will be announced in January, 2001. Fliers giving details for the Award will be available by the end of September, and will be sent to all who request them. To be added to our mailing list, contact George Wise, Administrator, Dudley Observatory, at Dudley@union.edu. For further information contact Dudley Observatory: Suite 201 107 Nott Terrace Schenectady, New York 12308 USA Phone: (518) 382-7583 Fax: (518) 382-7584 e-mail: dudley@union.edu URL: www.dudleyobservatory.org [Based on http://www.dudleyobservatory.org/pollock_award.htm . Thanks to Steve McCluskey who forwarded a message by Nancy Langford to HASTRO-L.] ........................................................................... Acknowledgements ---------------- For providing information for the newsletter I am indebted to Gerhard Betsch, Mary Blomberg, and Jean-Francois Gauvin. ........................................................................... Imprint ------- Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA) Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick All items without an author's name are editorial contributions. Articles as well as information for the several sections are appreciated. Subscription for ENHA is free. Readers and subscribers are asked for occasional voluntary donations to the working group. Copyright Statement: The Electronic Newsletters for the History of Astronomy may be freely re-distributed in the case that no charge is imposed. Public offer in WWW servers, BBS etc. is allowed after the editor has been informed. Non-commercial reproduction of single items in electronic or printed media is possible only with the editor's permission. Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of Astronomy: URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/astoria.html Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany, Tel.: +49(0)6592 2150, Fax: +49(0)6592 985140 Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam, Germany, Tel.: +49(0)331 316 618, E-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.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 200 100 20 Please sign with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte" ***************************************************************************