The Story of Astronomy

Description

Origins of astronomy -- From Babylon to Ancient Greece -- Almagest -- Astronomy in the dark ages -- Copernican revolution -- Chasing the paths of the planets -- Galileo-the great telescope maker -- Jeremiah Horrocks-father of English astronomy -- Clockwork universe -- english and French rivalry -- Finding longitude -- William Herschel-gazing deeper into space -- Understanding the forces of nature -- Albert Einstein-relativity redefines astronomy -- Hubble universe -- From microcosm to macrocosm -- Beyond the visible spectrum -- Black holes, quasars and the universe -- Stephen Hawking-exploring the boundaries of space -- Astronomy in the space age -- Big bang and the creation of the universe -- Dark matter and dark energy -- Planets, moons and the search for life.;From the ancient origins of astronomy to the Copernican revolution, and from Galileo to Hawking's research into black holes, The Story of Astronomy charts the discoveries of some of the greatest minds in human history, and their attempts to unveil the secrets of the stars. Peter Aughton's trademark narrative style is to the fore, demystifying some of the biggest breakthroughs in the history of science, and packed full of fascinating nuggets such as why we have 60 minutes in an hour, how the Romans bodged the invention of the leap year and when people really discovered the Earth wasn't flat (a thousand years before Columbus). And explaining in the most straightforward and compelling of ways what Newton, Einstein, Hubble and Hawking really achieved. Origins of astronomy -- From Babylon to Ancient Greece -- Almagest -- Astronomy in the dark ages -- Copernican revolution -- Chasing the paths of the planets -- Galileo-the great telescope maker -- Jeremiah Horrocks-father of English astronomy -- Clockwork universe -- english and French rivalry -- Finding longitude -- William Herschel-gazing deeper into space -- Understanding the forces of nature -- Albert Einstein-relativity redefines astronomy -- Hubble universe -- From microcosm to macrocosm -- Beyond the visible spectrum -- Black holes, quasars and the universe -- Stephen Hawking-exploring the boundaries of space -- Astronomy in the space age -- Big bang and the creation of the universe -- Dark matter and dark energy -- Planets, moons and the search for life.