Solar System Maps: From Antiquity to the Space Age

353 Pages·2014·111.97 MB·English

by  Nick Kanas (auth.)

Solar System Maps
From Antiquity to the Space Age
Nick Kanas
Solar System Maps
From Antiquity to the Space Age
Published in association with
Praxis Publishing
Chichester, UK
Professor Emeritus Nick Kanas M.D.
University of California
San Francisco
U.S A.
SPRINGER-PRAXIS BOOKS IN POPULAR ASlRONOMY
ISBN: 978-1-4614-0895-6 ISBN 978-14614-0896-3 (eBook)
om: 10.1007/978-1-4614-0896-3
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About the Author
Nick Kanas is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San
Francisco, where he directed the group therapy trainiug program. For over 20 years, he has
conducted research in group therapy and, for over 20 years after that, conducted space
related research with the European Space Agency and NASA. He was a Principal
Investigatur of NASA-funded research on astronauts and cosmonauts for over 15 of these
years, with over 200 professional publications. Dr. Kanas has been writing and conducting
research in space-related activities since 1969 and, in 1971, was the senior author of a
NASA technical monograph entitled Behavioral, Psychiatric and Sociological Problems
of Long-Duration Space Missions (NASA TM X-58067). He is currently the co-author of
a Springer textbook entitled Space Psychology and Psychiatry, which was given the 2004
International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award, is now in its second
edition, and has been translated into Chinese. In 1999, he received the Aerospace Med
ical Association's Longacre Award and, in 2008, received the International Academy of
Astronautics Life Science Award. Dr. Kanas is currently a member and past trustee of the
International Academy of Astronautics.
Dr. Kanas has collected antiquarian star maps for over 30 years and has given a number
of talks on celestial cartography to amateur and professional groups at the Adler Planetar
ium, the Lick Observatory, the International Conference on the History of Cartography at
Harvard, International Map Collectors Society Conferences in Wellington and Vienna, the
Society for the History of Astronomy Meeting in Birmingham, and the Flamsteed Astro
nomical Society Meeting in Greenwich. He has published articles on celestial cartography
in magazines and journals including Sky & Telescope, Imago Mundi, and the Journal oft he
International Map Collectors Society and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
in London. An amateur astronomer for over 50 years and an avid reader of science fiction,
Dr. Kanas has presented talks on space psychology and on celestial mapping at several
regional and WorldCon science-fiction conventions, published two articles on space psy
chology in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine, and written a book for upcoming
publication Springer's new Science and Fiction series entitled The New Martians: A Scien
tific Novel. He has also written another map-related book for Praxis/Springer entitled Star
Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography, which is now in its second edition.
Contents
Foreword .......................................................................................................................... xi
Preface ............................................................................................................................ xiii
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ xvii
List of figures ................................................................................................................. xix
List of tables................................................................................................................ xxvii
1 World Views and tbe Solar System .......................................................................... 1
1.1 Paradigm Shifts and World Views .................................................................. 2
12 Circles in the Sky ............................................................................................ 4
1.2.1 Projections of the Earth's Circles ................................................... 4
1.2.2 The Armillary Sphere ..................................................................... 7
1.3 Cosmos and Solar System: The Geocentric Spheres ...................................... 8
1.4 The View from Mars ..................................................................................... 14
2 Eartb-Centered World Views in Classical Europe ............................................... 15
2.1 Greek World Views ....................................................................................... 15
2.1.1 Early Greek Philosophers ............................................................. 15
2.1.2 Pythagoras and His Followers ...................................................... 17
2.1.3 Plato ............................................................................................... 18
2.1.4 Eudoxus ........................................................................................ 19
2.1.5 Aristotle ........................................................................................ 20
2.1.6 Eratosthenes and the Alexandria Library ...................................... 21
2.1.7 The Eccentric Model .................................................................... 21
2.1.8 Apollonius and the Epicycle Model ............................................. 22
2.1.9 Hipparchus .................................................................................... 26
2.1.10 The Stoics ..................................................................................... 27
2.1.11 Claudius Ptolemy .......................................................................... 27
22 The Greek Constellations ............................................................................. 30
viii Contents
2.3 Roman World Views ..................................................................................... 37
2.3.1 Pliny the Elder .............................................................................. 37
2.32 Neopiatonists ................................................................................ 37
3 Non.European World Views .................................................................................. 39
3.1 Prehistoric Man and Megalithic Britain ....................................................... 40
3.2 Sub·SaharaAfrica ......................................................................................... 43
3.3 Egypt ............................................................................................................. 46
3.4 Mesopotamia ................................................................................................ 50
3.5 India .............................................................................................................. 53
3.6 China ............................................................................................................. 58
3.7 AustraIia and Polynesia ................................................................................ 63
3.8 The Americas ................................................................................................ 66
4 Earth·Centered World Views in the Middle Ages and Renaissance ................... 75
4.1 The Fall of Rome and the early middle ages in Europe ............................... 75
4.2 Islamic World Views ..................................................................................... 76
4.3 Byzantine World View .................................................................................. 80
4.4 Classical Greek Astronomy returns to Europe ............................................. 82
4.4.1 Entry in the West from the Muslims ............................................. 82
4.42 Iohannes de Sacrobosco ............................................................... 83
4.4.3 Entry in the East from the Byzantines .......................................... 85
4.5 Contributions from Central Europe .............................................................. 86
4.5.1 Georg Peurbach ............................................................................ 86
4.5.2 Regiomontanus ............................................................................. 86
4.5.3 Hartmann Schedel... ...................................................................... 87
4.5.4 Peter Apian ................................................................................... 89
5 Snn·Centered and Hybrid World Views ............................................................... 93
5.1 Paradigm Shift: Heliocentrism with Circular Orbits .................................... 93
5.1.1 The Pre·Copernicans .................................................................... 93
5.1.2 Nicholas COperoicus ..................................................................... 94
5.2 Persistence of the Geocentric World View: Ioseph Moxon .......................... 97
5.3 Geoheliocentric Hybrids ............................................................................. 100
5.3.1 Martianus Capella ....................................................................... 100
5.3.2 Tycho Brahe ................................................................................ 100
5.3.3 Giovanni Battista Riccioli .......................................................... 103
5.4 Early Supporters of the Copernican System: Thomas Hood ...................... 104
5.5 Paradigm Shift: The Elliptical Orbits of Iohannes Kepler ......................... 105
5.5.1 Kepler's Early Contributions ...................................................... 105
5.5.2 Elliptical Orbits and Later Work ................................................. 107
5.5.3 Somnium, Science Fiction, and Life on the Moon ...................... 108
5.6 Paradigm Shift: The Telescope and Galileo ............................................... 110
5.6.1 Whither the Spyglass? ................................................................ 110
5.6.2 Galileo Galilei: A Brief Biography ............................................. 112
Contents ix
5.7 World View Comparisons ........................................................................... 113
6 No Center: An Unbounded Universe and the Plurality of Worlds ................... 117
6.1 Open Spaces and Many Planets .................................................................. 117
6.1.1 Thomas Digges ........................................................................... 117
6.1.2 Giordano Brooo .......................................................................... 120
6.1.3 Rene Descartes ........................................................................... 122
6.1.4 Christiaan Huygens ..................................................................... 122
6.1.5 Newton ........................................................................................ 125
6.1.6 Plurality of Worlds after Newton ................................................ 126
62 Paradigm Shift: The New Universe ............................................................ 128
6.2.1 Advances in Telescope Tecbnology ............................................ 128
6.2.2 Emergence of Astrophotography ................................................ 130
6.2.3 The Classification of Deep-Sky Objects ..................................... 131
6.2.4 Deep-Sky Objects From Galileo's Time to 1900 ........................ 135
6.2.5 Deep-Sky Objects and the 20th Century .................................... 138
7 Our Expanding Solar System: Planets and Moons ............................................ 141
7.1 Galileo's Telescopes and Sidereus Nuncius ................................................ 142
7 2 Moon ........................................................................................................... 143
7.2.1 Naked-Eye Observations ............................................................ 143
7.2.2 Galileo ........................................................................................ 143
7.2.3 Thomas Harriot ........................................................................... 144
7.2.4 The Need for an Accurate Lunar Map ........................................ 146
7.2.5 Johannes Hevelius and the First Lunar Atlas .............................. 147
7.2.6 Riccioli and the Double Moon Dilemma .................................... 151
7.2.7 Later Developments in Lunar Cartography ................................ 151
7.3 Sun .............................................................................................................. 159
7.4 Mercury ...................................................................................................... 161
7.5 Venus .......................................................................................................... 164
7.6 Mars ............................................................................................................ 166
7.6.1 Planetary Body ........................................................................... 166
7.6.2 Giovanni Schiaparelli and the Canals of Mars ........................... 169
7.6.3 Percival Lowell and Life on Mars .............................................. 173
7.6.4 The Canals Debunked ................................................................. 176
7.6.5 Moons of Mars ............................................................................ 179
7.7 Jupiter ......................................................................................................... 179
7.7.1 Planetary Body ........................................................................... 179
7.7.2 Moons of Jupiter ......................................................................... 180
7.8 Saturn .......................................................................................................... 184
7.8.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 184
7.8.2 Moons of Saturn ......................................................................... 187
7.9 Uranus ......................................................................................................... 189
7.9.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 189
7.9.2 Moons ofUranus ........................................................................ 191
x Contents
7.10 Neptune ....................................................................................................... 191
7.10.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 191
7.102 Moons of Neptune ...................................................................... 191
8 Onr Expanding Solar System: Pluto, Asteroids, and the Far Reaches ............ 193
8.1 Pluto and the Search for Planet X ............................................................... 193
8.1.1 Planetary Body ........................................................................... 193
8.12 Charon ........................................................................................ 195
8.2 Vulcan: The Planet of Romance ................................................................. 195
8.3 Asteroids ..................................................................................................... 196
8.4 Comets ........................................................................................................ 199
8.4.1 Stansilaw Lubieniecki's Theatrum Cometicum .......................... 202
8.42 Edmond Halley's Comet... .......................................................... 202
8.4.3 Charles Messier's Catalog .......................................................... 206
8.4.4 Origin of Comets ........................................................................ 208
8.5 Oort Cloud .................................................................................................. 208
8.6 Gerard Kuiper and the Kuiper Belt ............................................................ 209
8.7 Paradigm Shift: Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) ............................................ 212
8.7.1 Objects Still within the Kuiper Belt ........................................... 212
8.7.2 Scattered Disk Objects ................................................................ 214
8.7.3 Centaurs ...................................................................................... 216
8.8 Pluto's Fall from Grace and the Rise of Dwarf Planets .............................. 216
8.9 The Meteor Family ..................................................................................... 217
8.10 Transits and Occultations ........................................................................... 218
8.11 Eclipses ....................................................................................................... 224
8.12 Paradigm Shift: Exoplanets ........................................................................ 227
9 Popularizing the Solar System in the Early United States ................................ 231
9.1 Astronomy in Colonial and Early America ................................................ 231
9.2 Almanacs .....................................................................................................2 32
9.3 Astronomy Books for Students .................................................................. 234
9.4 Astronomy Books for Adults ...................................................................... 235
9.5 General Geography Books ......................................................................... 241
9.6 Early American Maps of the Solar System. ................................................ 241
9.7 OM. Mitchel .............................................................................................. 243
9.8 The Growth of Observational Astronomy in the United States .................. 246
10 Space Age Images of the Solar System ................................................................ 247
10.1 Today's Solar System: An Overview .......................................................... 247
10.2 Moon ........................................................................................................... 252
10.3 Sun .............................................................................................................. 255
10.4 Mercury ...................................................................................................... 257
10.5 Venus .......................................................................................................... 259
10.6 Mars ............................................................................................................ 263
10.6.1 Planetary Body ........................................................................... 263
Contents xi
10.6.2 Life on Mars ............................................................................... 269
10.6.3 Moons of Mars ............................................................................ 269
10.7 Jupiter ......................................................................................................... 270
10.7.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 270
10.7.2 Moons of Jupiter ......................................................................... 274
10.8 Saturn .......................................................................................................... 278
10.8.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 278
10.8.2 Moons of Saturn ......................................................................... 279
10.9 Uranus ......................................................................................................... 284
10.9.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 284
10.9.2 Moons ofUranus ........................................................................ 285
10.10 Neptune ...................................................................................................... 286
10.10.1 Planetary Body and Ring System ............................................... 286
10.10.2 Moons of Neptune ...................................................................... 288
10.11 Pluto and the Kuiper Belt ........................................................................... 289
10.11.1 Planetary Body ........................................................................... 289
10.11.2 Moons of Pluto ........................................................................... 290
10.11.3 KuiperBelt ................................................................................. 291
10.12 Asteroids ..................................................................................................... 291
10.13 Comets ........................................................................................................ 291
Notes ............................................................................................................................... 295
Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 311
Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 321
Index ............................................................................................................................... 325