Book ID: CBB975374044

Making Stars Physical: The Astronomy of Sir John Herschel (2018)

unapi

Case, Stephen (Author)


University of Pittsburgh Press


Publication Date: 2018
Physical Details: 352 pages
Language: English

Making Stars Physical offers the first extensive look at the astronomical career of John Herschel, son of William Herschel and one of the leading scientific figures in Britain throughout much of the nineteenth century. Herschel’s astronomical career is usually relegated to a continuation of his father, William’s, sweeps for nebulae. However, as Stephen Case argues, John Herschel was pivotal in establishing the sidereal revolution his father had begun: a shift of attention from the planetary system to the study of nebulous regions in the heavens and speculations on the nature of the Milky Way and the sun’s position within it. Through John Herschel’s astronomical career—in particular his work on constellation reform, double stars, and variable stars—the study of stellar objects became part of mainstream astronomy. He leveraged his mathematical expertise and his position within the scientific community to make sidereal astronomy accessible even to casual observers, allowing amateurs to make useful observations that could contribute to theories on the nature of stars. With this book, Case shows how Herschel’s work made the stars physical and laid the foundations for modern astrophysics.

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Reviewed By

Review Barbara J. Becker (2019) Review of "Making Stars Physical: The Astronomy of Sir John Herschel". Journal for the History of Astronomy (pp. 109-111). unapi

Review Ian S. Glass (2019) Review of "Making Stars Physical: The Astronomy of Sir John Herschel". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 617-618). unapi

Review Lee T. Macdonald (2019) Review of "Making Stars Physical: The Astronomy of Sir John Herschel". Annals of Science: The History of Science and Technology (pp. 227-230). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB975374044/

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Authors & Contributors
Snyder, Laura J.
Ruskin, Steven. W.
Green Musselman, Elizabeth
Case, Stephen
William Rone Vieira
Case, Stephen R.
Concepts
Astronomy
Biographies
Solar system; planets
Science and politics
Science and literature
Poetry and poetics
Time Periods
19th century
18th century
20th century, early
Places
Great Britain
United States
British Isles
Institutions
Cambridge University
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