*************************************************************************** * * * ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY * * * * Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy * * in the Astronomische Gesellschaft * * * * Number 45, April 11, 2001 * * * * Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick * * * *************************************************************************** Contents -------- 1. Conference Announcement: European Astronomy in the 20th Century 2. Conference Announcement: Cosmology through Time 3. Conference Announcement: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East 4. 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium 5. Conference announcement: Tycho Brahe and Prague 6. Further Conferences in 2001 7. Past Meetings Acknowledgements Imprint ........................................................................... Item 1 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement: European Astronomy in the 20th Century --------------------------------------------------------------- Special Colloquium on the History of Astronomy "European Astronomy in the 20th Century" in the framework of the Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting for 2001 J E N A M - 2001 10th European and 75th Annual Assembly of Astronomische Gesellschaft September 10-14, 2001, Munich, Germany First announcement and call for papers The European meeting of astronomers to be held in September 2001 in Munich will give the opportunity to review the development of astronomy in Europe during the last century. Emphasis will be made on the evolution of ideas, instruments and scientific results, although the history of institutions and biographies of astronomers may also be considered. The colloquium is being organized by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the Astronomische Gesellschaft, who invited other European astronomers to the SOC. Scientific Organizing Committee - SOC: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Potsdam, Germany, e-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de Dr. Izold Pustylnik, Toravere/Tartu, Estonia, e-mail: izold@aai.ee Dr. Helmut Steinle, Garching, Germany, e-mail: hcs@mpe.mpg.de Dr. Christiaan L. Sterken, Brussels, Belgium, e-mail: csterken@vub.ac.be Local Organizing Committee - LOC: Dr. Helmut Steinle Contact address: Dr. Helmut Steinle Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik Postfach 1312 85741 Garching Germany E-mail : hcs@mpe.mpg.de WWW : http://www.mpe.mpg.de/hcs/ Phone : (49) 89 30000 3374 Fax : (49) 89 30000 3569 Location: Campus of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, located well in the city centre of Munich. Time: Friday, September 14: 14.00-15.30 and 16.00-17.30 Saturday, September 15: 9.00-10.30 and 11.00-12.30 Arrival and Departure, Accommodation: See the according pages at the JENAM-20001 web site: http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/english/conferences/jenam01/ or ask for the Second Announcement of JENAM-2001 at car@mpa-garching.mpg.de In addition we want to warn you that following the meeting, the world-famous Oktoberfest starts and thus accommodation in and arround Munich may be very hard to find. So please make reservations as soon as possible! Call for Papers: Both oral and poster contributions will be accepted. However, oral papers have to address the main theme of the colloquium, whereas posters may also deal with other topics from the history of astronomy in general. The SOC reserves the right to accept the contributions and to decide on the type of the presentation (oral or poster). Oral Papers Any author must send an abstract until the deadline July 1, 2001 (deadline for oral abstracts). The abstracts have to be submitted electronically to the publication editor of Astronomische Gesellschaft, Dr. R. Schielicke (schie@astro.uni-jena.de), and to Dr. H. Steinle (hcs@mpe.mpg.de). Poster Papers Any poster author must send an abstract until the deadline July 13, 2001 (deadline for poster abstracts). The poster abstracts have to be submitted electronically to the publication editor of Astronomische Gesellschaft, Dr. R. Schielicke (schie@astro.uni-jena.de), and to Dr. H. Steinle (hcs@mpe.mpg.de). The abstracts have to submitted in LaTeX format. A Tex-Macro can be downloaded: http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/Astron_Ges/agamacro.tex Please contact the LOC if you are not able to submit your abstract in LaTeX. All abstracts of accepted talks and posters will be published in the Astronomische Gesellschaft Abstract Series and available through the ADS well before the conference. Registration and Registration Fees: For participants of the general JENAM-2001 conference who also want to attend this Special Colloquium, please see the JENAM-2001 web site or the JENAM-2001 Second Announcement (see above). Whether it will also be possible to attend this Special Colloquium alone is still under negotiation. Further information will be available in the second announcement. Financial Assistance: No financial support of any kind can be provided by the organizers of this Special Colloquium. Please see the JENAM - 2001 web site for possible financial assistance to participants of JENAM-2001 in general (please note the deadline: April 30). Events: We will try to organize tours to places of interest for historians of astronomy in Munich and surroundings, e.g. European Southern Observatory headquarters (ESO) Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich (USM) Deutsches Museum Benediktbeuern and J. Fraunhofer's glass production site ........................................................................... Item 2 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement: Cosmology through Time ----------------------------------------------- International Meeting Astronomical Observatory of Rome Monteporzio Catone, June, 17-21, 2001 COSMOLOGY THROUGH TIME / LA COSMOLOGIA NEL TEMPO (Ancient and Modern Cosmologies in the Mediterranean Area) SOC: Bertola, F., Bono, G., Bonoli, F., Buonanno, R., Capaccioli, M., Castellani, V., Cham-Cham, K., Fodera`-Serio, G., Malik, A., Panaino, A., Picchioni, S. LOC: Colafrancesco, S. (chair), Amendola, L., D'Alessio, F., Giobbi, G., Menci, N., Monaco, G. Organizers: Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, * Egyptian Embassy, Societa Astronomica Italiana, * Lybian Embassy, Universita` di Roma "Tor Vergata", Universite`Hassan II Ain-Chock - Casablanca, * Moroccan Embassy, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e L'Oriente, Associazione per l'Amicizia Italo-Araba, AlmaMed, ESCO * = Possible Co-Organizer Language ======== The Conference official language is English. Special sessions will be held in Italian. Aim of the Meeting ================== Nowadays, we regard cosmology as a modern science, but cosmological thoughts have been part of humanity throughout history. All cultures have a cosmology, because such questions have been asked by all peoples for as long as we have wondered at the stars. The explanations have varied from culture to culture, and from time to time, but all of them seek to impose an order upon the cosmos, so as to make it accessible to the human mind. This is just as true of scientific as of pre-scientific cosmologies. Astronomy has been one of the main scientific areas (the mother of sciences in the Arab tradition) to investigate physical laws using Mathematics since the beginning of early scientific developments. And yet, there is more to it. Astronomy, being the most immediate and useful area of Science at our disposal, had the power to link different civilizations, cultures and religions throughout the evolution of humankind. While Astronomy withered in Medieval Europe, it flourished in Islam. Renaissance astronomers learned from the texts of Islamic scholars who had preserved and transformed the Science of the Ancient Greek and Arab cultures. Modern Cosmology originates from this historical stage of cultural revolution which brought new scientific concepts into the mathematical framework of Islamic Astronomy. The Mediterranean area has been the cradle of modern Astronomy and Cosmology and still retains the connections between Ancient and Modern Cosmology. This meeting wants to re-discover these ties in the light of our current knowledge of the Universe, of the origin of time and space, in the spirit of the ancient travellers guided by the stars. IMPORTANT DATES: January 20th, 2001: First announcement March 1st, 2001: Second announcement April 2nd, 2001: Registration and Contribution through web May 2nd, 2001: Deadline for Hotel Booking May 15th, 2001: Final announcement and program CONTACT ADDRESS: Scientific Secretary Dr. Giuliana Giobbi Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monte Porzio Catone - Roma - Italy Fax +39-069447243 email: cosmo01@coma.mporzio.astro.it TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED: - Ancient Astronomy, Early Cosmology - The Role of Astronomy in the development of Cultures in the Mediterranean area - Astronomy, Astrology and Religions in the Early Epochs - Astronomy, Time and Travels - Historical and scientific outline - Ancient cosmologies Cosmologies of the Mesopotamic area Cosmologies of the ancient Egypt Cosmology of the Hebrews The vision of the Universe in ancient Greece - The origin of Cosmology and Astronomy in the Arab culture Traditional science in Arabia Astronomy, astrology and religion Mathematical astronomy and its techniques - Schools of Arab Astronomy Iraq and Iran Egypt, Syria, Yemen Maghreb The Impact of Arab culture in Spain - From Early to Modern Cosmology The Arab Heritage and the Origin of Modern Astronomy Medieval European Cosmologies Dante's Cosmology and Christian Cosmology - The origin of Modern Cosmology - Philosophy and the Structure of Scientific Knowledge - Scientific Revolutions and the idea of the World - The idea of the World after the advent of Quantum Mechanics: Quantum Physics and Cosmology - The pillars of Modern Cosmology - The Anthropic Principle and Modern Cosmology - Time, Space and Energy in Modern Cosmology - Cosmology, Astrology and Religions nowadays - Archeo-Astronomy in the Mediterranean area - Contemporary Astronomy and Cosmology in the Mediterranean area SPECIAL EVENTS: * V. Castellani - Conferenza Pubblica * S. Rossi Esser - Letture in italiano di poesie di Hildegarde von Bingen * Inaugurazione dell'AstroLab presso l'Osservatorio Astronomico CONTRIBUTIONS: Oral contributions are accepted by specialists of the topics listed above. A preliminary title and abstract are requested. Deadline for contributions: APRIL 2, 2001. REGISTRATIONS: Please fill in and send by e-mail the registration form at: http://www.mporzio.astro.it/cosmo2001/registration.html Deadline for registrations: APRIL 2, 2001. PROCEEDINGS & FEES: The Conference Proceedings will be published. Further informations about Registration fees, social events and other details will be provided in the second announcement. ACCOMODATION: Participants must take care of their own accomodation by choosing one of the hotels listed at http://www.mporzio.astro.it/cosmo2001/alberghi.html and book their room by fax using the form provided. The deadline for hotel booking is MAY 2, 2001. The Observatory does not answer for room availability after this date. Transport is only provided to and from the hotels in the list. TRANSPORT: Monteporzio is accessible by trains, local coaches and taxis. Details about how to reach the Observatory and maps of the area are provided at the following site: http://www.mporzio.astro.it/~giobbi/infomp.html Tentative list of Speakers ========================== Barbour, J. (UK) Belmonte Aviles J.A. (Spain) Bonoli, F. (Bologna) Buonanno, R. ( Universita' di Roma II "Tor Vergata") Capaccioli, M. (SAIt, OAC) Castellani, V. (Pisa) Cham-Cham, K. (Casablanca) Davies, P. (Australia) DeMeis, S. (Milano) Elamrani-Jamal (Casablanca) Guiderdoni B. (Paris) Hunger H. (Vienna) King D. (Francoforte) Kunitsz P. (Munich) Panaino, A. (Bologna) Picchioni, S. (Bologna) Pingree, D. (Brown Univ.) Rashed, R. (Paris) Saliba, G. (Columbia Univ.) Silk J. (Oxford UK) Treumann, R. (MPG Munich, Garmany) Vittorio, N. (II Universita' di Roma II "Tor Vergata") For further informations and questions, please contact the L.O.C. at the following address: cosmo01@coma.mporzio.astro.it Or visit the Web site at: http://www.mporzio.astro.it/cosmo2001/ ........................................................................... Item 3 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... Conference Announcement: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under One Sky: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East 25-27 June 2001, The British Museum. Archaeologically recovered materials from Egypt and Mesopotamia provide the earliest written sources of astronomy and mathematics known to us today. They reveal that already by the early second millennium BC advanced mathematical techniques had been developed to solve both practical and abstract problems. In the first millennium BC, Babylonian astronomers used developments of these mathematical methods to calculate planetary and lunar phenomena such as the dates of the first and last visibilities of the planets, and eclipses of the sun and moon. This conference will provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of recent work on the history of astronomy and mathematics in the Ancient Near East. In addition to technical discussions of the methods of the ancient science, sessions of the conference will be devoted to exploring the relationship between astronomy and celestial divination, the role of astronomy in establishing absolute chronologies, and the legacy of Ancient Near Eastern science in neighbouring cultures. For further information please contact one of the following: John Steele, Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, Tel: 0191-3742139, Email: j.m.steele@durham.ac.uk Annette Imhausen, Dibner Institute, 38 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA, Email: aimhausen@dibinst.mit.edu Christopher Walker, Department of the Ancient Near East, The British Museum, London, WC1B 3DG, Tel: 020-73238382, Email: c.walker@british-museum.ac.uk Or visit the conference web site: http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/~jms/UOS/Preview/index.html ........................................................................... Item 4 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium ------------------------------------ The 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium of the Scientific Instrument Commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science will take place at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, at the invitation of the Center for the History of Science from Monday 15th to Friday 19th October, 2001. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is an independent, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting the development of science. The Center for the History of Science, established in 1988, is an international research institute operating under the auspices of the Academy. Its purpose is to accomplish, stimulate and support research within the history of science. The sessions of the symposium will take place at the Academy. The Academy is situated near a subway station providing easy access. Some visits will be arranged for example to the Observatory Museum, where many of the instruments belonging to the Academy are on display. We will also visit the Nobel Jubilee Exhibition, which opens in the spring of 2001. Trips outside of Stockholm will take us to Uppsala and to the Baroque castle of Skokloster. Conference address: 20th International Scientific Instrument Symposium Center for History of Science Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Box 50005 SE-104 05 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46-(0)8-673 95 00 Fax: +46-(0)8-673 95 98 E-mail: sic2001@kva.se Web: http://www.cfvh.kva.se/sic2001.htm Organising committee: Olov Amelin, Inga Elmqvist, Tore Frangsmyr, Karl Grandin, Christina Hallden and Svante Lindqvist. The 20th Scientific Instrument Symposium in Stockholm is sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundations. ........................................................................... Item 5 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... Conference announcement: Tycho Brahe and Prague ----------------------------------------------- Tycho Brahe and Prague: Crossroads of European Science An International Symposium on the History of Science in Rudolphine period organized on the occasion of 400th anniversary of Tycho Brahe's death (Prague, 24 October 1601) First Announcement and Call for Papers The symposium will be organized by the Research Center for the History of Sciences and Humanities (RCHSH, founded by Charles University and Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) in Prague, 22-25 October 2001. The symposium will deal with the following topics: A) Tycho Brahe and 16th- and 17th-century astronomy B) Rudolphine Prague as a center of scientific and intellectual life C) Danish-Bohemian relations 1576 - 1648. Scientific Organizing Committee: O. Gingerich (Harvard Univ.) J. R. Christianson (Luther Coll., Iowa) J. Dobrzycki (Academy of Sciences, Warszaw) A. Hadravova (Academy of Sciences, Prague, LOC) Z. Hojda (Charles Univ., Prague) L. Konecny (Academy of Sciences, Prague) J. Petran (RCHSH, Prague) A. Ph. Segonds (Observatoire de Paris) M. Solc (Charles Univ., Prague, LOC) Local Organizing Committee: A. Kostlan (RCHSH, Prague) P. Hadrava (Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov) A. Hadravova (Academy of Sciences, Prague, SOC) J. Parez (Strahov library, Prague) M. Solc (Charles Univ., Prague, SOC) M. Svatos (Charles Univ., Prague) V. Urbanek (Academy of Sciences, Prague) For further information or suggestions, please contact: A. Kostlan Research Center for the History of Sciences and Humanities Legerova 61 120 00 Praha 2 Czech Republic e-mail: brahe@kav.cas.cz Web site with pre-registration form: http://stelweb.asu.cas.cz/tycho/ ........................................................................... Item 6 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... Further Conferences in 2001 --------------------------- Further conferences in the year 2001 were reported in previous issues of ENHA. For a complete list of all meetings announced see the following URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_meet.html April 27-28, 2001, Palo Alto, CA, USA Baroque Imaginary: The World of Athanasius Kircher, S. J. (1602-80) Place: Stanford University Contacts: Paula Findlen, e-mail: pfindlen@leland.stanford.edu June 11-16, 2001, Palermo, Italy Asteroids 2001: from Piazzi to the 3rd Millenium Contacts: Carlo Blanco, Universita di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Via S. Sofia, 78, I-95125 Catania, Italy, Phone +390957332245, Fax +39095330592, e-mail: cblanco@alpha4.ct.astro.it June 13-16, 2001, Paris, France Culture scientifique : les observatoires de Paris et de Palerme Contacts: D. Chalonge, Observatoire de Paris - DEMIRM, 61, avenue de l'Observatoire, PARIS, France, 75014, Phone 33-01-40-51-22-21, Fax 33-01-40-51-20-02, e-mail: chalonge@mesiob.obspm.fr July 8-14, Mexico City, Mexico XXIst International Congress of History of Science, Symposium "Astronomical Heritage of Non-European Cultural Areas" Contacts: Prof. S.M. Razaullah Ansari, c/o Physics Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India, Fax: ++91-571-400466, e-mail: Raza.Ansari@gmx.net ........................................................................... Item 7 ENHA No. 45, April 11, 2001 ........................................................................... Past Meetings ------------- January 7-8, 2001, San Diego, CA, USA 197th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society Session 1. HAD I: Boners of the Century Session 23. HAD II Contacts: Barvara Welther, e-mail: bwelther@cfa.harvard.edu http://www.aas.org/meetings/aas197/program/ February 10, 2001, Oakland, CA, USA Meeting of the Northern California History of Astronomy Luncheon and Discussion Association (NCHALDA) Further information: Norm Sperling, email: nsperling@california.com ........................................................................... Acknowledgements ---------------- For information we thank: S.M. Razaullah Ansari, Silvia Barbantani, Petr Hadrava, Norm Sperling, John Steele. ........................................................................... 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, Otterkiez 14, D-14478 Potsdam, Germany, 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" ***************************************************************************