Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage最新文献

DEPICTIONS OF A LUNAR ECLIPSE AND THE DAWN OF ASTROPHYSICS IN VAN GOGH’S PAINTINGS 梵高作品中月食的描绘与天体物理学的开端年代的画作

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2025-03-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.140-2807.2025.01.14

E. Corbelli

{"title":"DEPICTIONS OF A LUNAR ECLIPSE AND THE DAWN OF ASTROPHYSICS IN VAN GOGH&rsquo;S PAINTINGS","authors":"E. Corbelli","doi":"10.3724/sp.j.140-2807.2025.01.14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3724/sp.j.140-2807.2025.01.14","url":null,"abstract":"When visiting the Museum of Modern Art’s special exhibit “van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” (New York, USA, 2008) I was impressed by the artist’s effort to paint and write about landscapes and life scenes at night. At the same time a clear contrast emerged between the colorful <italic>Starry Night</italic> painting and the darkness or twilight in his earlier productions. Since then, while revisiting van Gogh’s paintings and reading his letters, I have come to the conclusion that his later work was not only driven by the poetry of the night but also by his awareness of the dawn of astrophysics in the nineteenth century. A change in the way the artist conceived the sky after his stay in Paris is evident, with the skies becoming more dynamic and rich in colors. In this paper I present and discuss elements in van Gogh’s masterpieces that refer to astronomical events visible from France in 1889 and 1890, such as a lunar eclipse and planetary conjunctions. I analyze emergent astrophysical concepts that may have inspired the depiction on canvas of stars with different structures and colors, as well as the large central swirl in the <italic>Starry Night</italic> painting. The general impression is that the artist had a fascination with and a profound attention to celestial phenomena, in addition to some knowledge of new wonders and discoveries of astrophysics in the nineteenth century.","PeriodicalId":42167,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage","volume":"28 1","pages":"240-256"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciengine.com/doi/pdfView/BAA3BF3734084C1881DF3F23A6E2ABDD","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147912383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA IN THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE KUMBA-QUIMBAYA INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF COLOMBIA 哥伦比亚kumba-quimbaya土著社区文化习俗中的天文现象

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.63

Daniela Sánchez-Giraldo, Edwin A. Quintero-Salazar

{"title":"ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA IN THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE KUMBA-QUIMBAYA INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF COLOMBIA","authors":"Daniela Sánchez-Giraldo, Edwin A. Quintero-Salazar","doi":"10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.63","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.63","url":null,"abstract":": The Quimbaya were a South American native people who inhabited the central region of Colombia, extinct due to the Spanish colonization. However, it was recently discovered that the Kumba-Quimbaya indigenous community, currently living in the village of La Iberia in the municipality of Riosucio, Caldas, is descendant of the ancient Quimbaya culture. This paper describes the implicit astronomical phenomena found in the cultural practices of the ancestral Kumba-Quimbaya people and characterizes the relationship between these practices and the daily activities of this community. This qualitative study relies on three ethnographic techniques to gather information: participant observation, field diaries, and interviews, which were conducted during visits to the community’s rural settlement. The information was systematized in a textual corpus and processed through content analysis. We identified 10 astronomical phenomena embedded within the cultural practices of this community. The phases of the Moon are used to schedule ceremonies and festivities, agricultural activities and within their traditional cuisine. We also identified the ritual use of geography through the observation of the location of the Sun and the Moon with respect to sacred mountains. Likewise, we evidenced the influence of a lunar calendar of their own in current social activities. This work allowed us to describe the relationship between astronomical phenomena and the daily activities of the community, such as rituals to improve their harvests, perform plantings, or anticipate climatic or seasonal changes. These findings contribute to the knowledge of the customs and traditions of the","PeriodicalId":42167,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135736357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

<italic>Meeting the Alien: An Introduction to Exosociology</italic>, by Andreas Anton and Michael Schetsche <斜体>《遇见外星人:外星社会学导论》</斜体>，作者:安德烈亚斯·安东和迈克尔·谢彻

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.72

Steven J. Dick

引用次数: 0

<italic>Joe Pawsey and the Founding of Austra-lian Radio Astronomy: Early Discoveries, from the Sun to the Cosmos</italic>, by W.M. Goss, Claire Hooker and Ronald D. Ekers. <斜体>乔·波西和澳大利亚射电天文学的建立:从太阳到宇宙的早期发现</斜体>作者:W.M.高斯、克莱尔·胡克和罗纳德·d·埃克斯。

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.73

Peter Robertson

引用次数: 0

<italic>China and the International Astronomical Union: Divorce, Separation and Reconcili-ation (1958–1982)</italic>, by Thierry Montmerle and Yi Zhou. <斜体>中国与国际天文学联合会:离婚、分离与和解(1958& nash;1982)</斜体>，作者:蒂埃里·蒙默勒和周毅。

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.76

Zuoyue Wang

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A STUDY OF THE OCCULTATIONS OF <italic>ROHIṆĪ</italic> (ALDEBARAN) IN CLASSICAL INDIAN ASTRONOMY < gt;ROHIṆĪ</italic>(毕宿五)在印度古典天文学中

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.66

K.S. Mahesh, K. Rupa, Padmaja Venugopal, S. Balachandra Rao

引用次数: 0

THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY EMPIRICAL DISPROOF OF PTOLEMAIC GEOCENTRISM 16世纪对托勒密地心说的实证反驳

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.65

Peter D. Usher, Enrico Massaro

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ON THE ZEISS TELESCOPE GIFTED BY ADOLF HITLER TO THE RANA OF NEPAL 图为阿道夫·希特勒赠送给尼泊尔拉纳的蔡司望远镜

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.67

R.C. Kapoor

引用次数: 0

THE ASTRONOMICAL ORIENTATION OF THE THAI PHRA THAT DOI SUTHEP TEMPLE IN RELATION TO THE ACRONYCHAL RISING OF ΑLPHA CORONA BOREALIS AND <italic>VISAKHA BUCHA</italic> DAY 泰国PHRA DOI SUTHEP TEMPLE的天文方位与ΑLPHA CORONA BOREALIS和>VISAKHA BUCHA</ italital>一天

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.68

Orapin Riyaprao, Korakamon Sriboonrueang, Siramas Komonjinda, Cherdsak Saelee

{"title":"THE ASTRONOMICAL ORIENTATION OF THE THAI PHRA THAT DOI SUTHEP TEMPLE IN RELATION TO THE ACRONYCHAL RISING OF &Alpha;LPHA CORONA BOREALIS AND &lt;italic&gt;VISAKHA BUCHA&lt;/italic&gt; DAY","authors":"Orapin Riyaprao, Korakamon Sriboonrueang, Siramas Komonjinda, Cherdsak Saelee","doi":"10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.68","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.68","url":null,"abstract":": Astronomical orientation of ancient sites can reveal astronomical wisdom utilized to resonate with the context of the maker, thus providing additional insight into that ancient culture. In this study, the orientation of Phra That Doi Suthep Temple, a sacred Buddhist temple that was founded during the prosperous period of the ancient Lanna Kingdom (in Chiang Mai, in present-day Thailand), was investigated, as well as its connection to the tradition that many Buddhists walk up the mountain to the temple on the eve of Visakha Bucha Day ( Vesak Day—the Full Moon day of Vishākhā month). The remaining traces of historical evidence, including ethnic astronomical practices, suggest that the alignment of the temple when it was founded may have been related to the constellation now known as Corona Borealis (CrB), where α CrB is the reference star for the Vishākhā Nakṣhatra . To investigate this deduction, we surveyed the temple’s orientation using a theodolite and GPS, to obtain the azimuth of 59.74 ± 0.07° (30.26 ± 0.07° north of east). We employed Stellarium , which is precession-corrected, to determine the azimuth of α CrB and simulated that back in time to match that of the temple, thus yielding the estimated planning years. The finding suggests that the temple might be oriented to the true acronychal rising of α CrB in AD 1537 ± 19 in order to manifest the Full Moon on Visakha Bucha Day (a traditional Buddhist calendar’s New Year’s Day), close to the time when King Mueangketklao of Lanna reconstructed the temple on 21 April 1538.","PeriodicalId":42167,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135735962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

<italic>The Moon in the Greek and Roman Imag-ination: Myth, Literature, Science and Philosophy</italic>, by Karen ní Mheallaigh. <斜体>希腊和罗马想象中的月亮:神话、文学、科学和哲学</斜体>Mheallaigh。

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Pub Date : 2023-09-01 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2023.09.75

Clifford Cunningham, William Sheehan

引用次数: 0