The Sun in the Church - Cathedrals as Solar Observatories

Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. This book tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished, providing a magnificent corrective to long-standing oversimplified accounts of the hostility between science and religion.

About the author

J. L. Heilbron, formerly Professor of History and the Vice Chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley, is a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, University of Oxford. He was awarded the George Sarton Medal by the History of Science Society in 1993 for his contributions to the field.

Summary

Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. This book tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished, providing a magnificent corrective to long-standing oversimplified accounts of the hostility between science and religion.

Product details

• Authors: J. L. Heilbron, J.L. Heilbron
• Publisher: University Presses
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.04.2001
• EAN: 9780674005365
• ISBN: 978-0-674-00536-5
• Dimensions: 171 mm x 248 mm x 28 mm
• Weight: 771 g
• Illustrations: 8 color illustrations in an 8 page insert, 43 halftones, 75 geometric line illustrations, 12 digital line illustrations, 15 tables
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Physics, astronomy > Astronomy; RELIGION / Christianity / Catholic, European History, HISTORY / Europe / Italy, ARCHITECTURE / Buildings / Religious, Italy, Religious buildings, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church, Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods, SCIENCE / Space Science / Astronomy, Architecture: religious buildings