Related papers: A possible Harappan Astronomical Observatory at Dh…
This work explores a possible course of evolution of mathematics in ancient times in India when there was no script, no place-value system, and no zero. Reviewing examples of time-reckoning, large numbers, sacrificial altar-making, and…
G.V.Juggarow was one of the early pioneers of observational astronomy in India who built his own observatory in 1840 at Vizagapatnam. His legacy was continued by his son-in-law A.V.Nursing Row till 1892, his daughter till 1894, Madras…
Anthropic reasoning often begins with the premise that we should expect to find ourselves typical among all intelligent observers. However, in the infinite universe predicted by inflation, there are some civilizations which have spread…
The Chandra X-ray Observatory has completed a remarkable twenty years in orbit. A large part of the science program of Chandra during this time has involved the study of stars and their planetary systems. This primer aims to give the reader…
The government of South Africa has identified astronomy as a field in which their country has a strategic advantage and is consequently investing very significantly in astronomical infrastructure. South Africa now operates a 10-m class…
We review the orbital dynamics exhibited by the first extra-solar planetary system discovered, Upsilon Andromedae. This system is unique in combining all of the surprising architectural features displayed individually by extrasolar…
For more than 50,000 years, Indigenous Australians have incorporated celestial events into their oral traditions and used the motions of celestial bodies for navigation, time-keeping, food economics, and social structure. In this paper, we…
This is a historian's view of how modern astronomy data can be used to discuss the shifting historical worldview of Late Antiquity. In this article an attemp is made to construct an approximate model of how the cycles of astronomical…
It has already been empirically verified that for many Bronze Age monuments erected in Scotland between 1400-900 BC, there was a concerted effort on behalf of the builders to align their monuments to astronomical bodies on the horizon. It…
This paper aims at presenting a brief overview of astronomical exchanges between the Eastern and Western parts of the Islamic world from the 8th to 14th century. These cultural interactions were in fact vaster involving Persian, Indian,…
A new instrument with a dual-beam H-alpha Doppler system is being developed at the Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO) in order to improve the quality and quantity of data on quiet, activated and erupting filaments and prominences on the Sun,…
The largest centre for astronomical and astrological study in the fifteenth century was the University of Cracow, which always was under special care of Jagiellonians. The use of astronomy and astrology at Jagiellonian courts in the…
After several years of intensive technological development Virtual Observatory resources have reached a level of maturity sufficient for their routine scientific exploitation. The Virtual Observatory is starting to be used by astronomers in…
Song and dance are a traditional means of strengthening culture and passing knowledge to successive generations in the Torres Strait of northeastern Australia. Dances incorporate a range of apparatuses to enhance the performance, such as…
We use standard tools of Archaeoastronomy to approach the study of orientations, possibly astronomical, of a group of colonial Christian churches. We present preliminary results of the analysis of the precise spatial orientation of nearly…
Sundials and gnomons pointing out dates and times are a beautiful reminder of how we understand the movement of the Sun and use it to structure day and year. They also encapsulate the basic astronomical knowledge and concepts of the…
By c. 3000 BC, in the late Neolithic, there had been a significant change in the way people materialized their cosmology across Scotland with the introduction of free-standing stones. These were erected almost until the end of the Bronze…
During the first few centuries CE, the centre of the known world gradually shifted from Alexandria to Constantinople. Combined with a societal shift from pagan beliefs to Christian doctrines, Antiquity gave way to the Byzantine era. While…
Astronomers have come to recognize the benefits of photonics, often in combination with optical systems, in solving longstanding experimental problems in Earth-based astronomy. Here, we explore some of the recent advances made possible by…
In the last decade of the 19th century Maharaja Takhtasingji Observatory was built at Poona (1888-1912) under the supervision of K.D.Naegamavala, with the grant from Maharaja of Bhavnagar (from where the name Bhavnagar Telescope must have…