ENGLISH

The Moon that Wasn’t: The Saga of Venus’ Spurious Satellite

By Helge Kragh

Book information

Publisher
Birkhäuser
Year
2008
ISBN
9783764389093, 3764389095, 9783764389086, 3764389087
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
4 MB (3990623 bytes)
Series
Science Networks Historical Studies, v. 37
Pages
xii, 199 p. : ill\210
Time added
2013-01-24 20:00:00

Description

First spotted in 1645, the non-existing moon was observed more than a dozen times until late eighteenth century. Although few astronomers believed in the existence of the moon after about 1770, it continued to attract attention for another century. This book details the history of one of astronomy's many spurious objects, the satellite of Venus. Preface.- 1. Introduction.- 2.- A moon or not? A century of confusion.- 3. From climax to anticlimax.- 4. Contemporary analysis and criticism.- 5. A spurious but persistent satellite.- 6. Closure: the discussion of the 1880s.- 7. Conclusion, and a note on the satellites of Uranus.- 8. Appendix: Biographical sketches.- Bibliography

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