Doctoral Dissertation Research: John Herschel's Southern Hemisphere Astronomy

博士论文研究：约翰·赫歇尔的南半球天文学

• 批准号: 0080570
• 负责人: Michael Crowe
• 金额: $ 0.58万
• 依托单位: University of Notre Dame
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-01-01 至 2001-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0080570&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; John; Herschel

This dissertation improvement research project will analyze the scientific, cultural and political context of the nineteenth-century astronomical expedition made by John Herschel to Cape Town, South Africa. In particular this research project will focus on the reduction, publication, distribution and reception of those southern hemisphere observations, known as the Cape Results. What is the relevance of Herschel's voyage to history and to the science of astronomy? An analysis of the publication, distribution, and reception of the results of Herschel's southern hemisphere astronomical observations will further inform our understanding of what science meant to different individuals and groups in the nineteenth century. This project will situate Herschel's voyage and astronomical observations within the expansionist ambitions of the early nineteenth-century British Empire. Additionally, this research will consider the relevance of Herschel's observations to current observational astronomy. Many of his southern hemisphere observations would later go into his 1864 General Catalogue, the predecessor to the New General Catalog of nebulae and star clusters, which is still used today. Funding will support travel to archives around Cambridge and London for three months.

这篇论文改进研究项目将分析约翰·赫歇尔19世纪到南非开普敦进行的天文探险的科学、文化和政治背景。这一研究项目将特别侧重于减少、公布、分发和接受这些南半球观测结果，即CAPE结果。赫歇尔的历史之旅与天文科学有何关联？对赫歇尔的南半球天文观测结果的出版、分发和接收的分析将进一步帮助我们理解科学对19世纪不同的个人和群体意味着什么。这个项目将把赫歇尔的航行和天文观测置于19世纪早期大英帝国扩张的野心中。此外，这项研究还将考虑赫歇尔的观测与当前观测天文学的相关性。他对南半球的许多观测后来都被编入了他1864年的《总星表》，这是今天仍在使用的《新星云和星团总星表》的前身。资金将支持前往剑桥和伦敦周围的档案馆旅行三个月。