Imaging the Heavens: The Scientific and Cultural Significance of the Norman Lockyer Observatory Image Archive

想象天空：诺曼·洛克耶天文台图像档案的科学和文化意义

• 批准号: 2718892
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2718892
• 关键词: Imaging; Heavens; Scientific; Cultural; Significance

The departure from the use of the human eye and hand-drawn illustration in astronomy at the end of the nineteenth century reflects not only the technological advances of the fin de siècle but a wider cultural shift towards rationalism. Public interest in science had grown in proportion to new technological capabilities, and as the human eye gave way to the photographic plates in the observatories of the late Victorian period, it appeared as if society's new-found emphasis on objectivity had changed the study of the stars irrevocably. My research questions revolve around the cultural relevance of this change in the context of late Victorian visual culture. In his 1877 book Astronomy, Norman Lockyer characterises the relationships between planets, solar systems, and galaxies by comparing them to the relationships between parishes, counties, countries, and continents. This parochial presentation of basic astronomy, embellished by hand-drawn illustration, is very different to the astral images Lockyer would be analysing and presenting from 1880 onwards. The scientific ramifications of the photographs allowed the amateur astronomer an authority over his productions. More technically sound photographic emulsions had enabled Lockyer to begin documenting a theory of stellar evolution. These otherworldly scientific images may provide an interesting avenue through which to view the amateur scientist as an important figure in the development of Victorian visual culture. In addition to the spectrum plates and astronomical images, I intend to include observation notes, Lockyer's letters, and research papers, as well as Lockyer's ephemera from the University of Exeter Archives. Cross-referencing these with other collections, such as Harvard's Photographic Plate Collection, will provide an insight into the broader historical context of fin de siècle astronomy.Traditionally, studies in Victorian visual culture have been deeply divided by specific disciplines, and this is something I would like to challenge in my analysis of the spectrum plates. In terms of the methodology I will be employing, this will not lie in any one strand of critical theory, because the special nature of my primary sources demands a multifaceted approach. Therefore, my study of the NLO archives will bring in elements of historicism, visual analysis, and make use of the textual skills I have acquired whilst studying literature. I will examine the tension inherent in that fact that Lockyer's theories of stellar evolution were groundbreaking but flawed, and that this story of scientific discovery is told within the technology of the NLO. The physical attributes of objects in the NLO archives, such as spectrum plates, are significant to the historical aspect of the project, and have not been extensively written on. Ideally, I would like my project to take note of the continuing relevance of the NLO in the South-West as well as its significance to the scientific community in the early twentieth century. Research must be completed in the field for this project, so I will visit the NLO in Sidmouth as well as archives in Exeter.

19世纪末，天文学不再使用人眼和手绘插图，这不仅反映了世纪末的技术进步，也反映了更广泛的文化转向理性主义。公众对科学的兴趣随着新技术的发展而增长，随着维多利亚时代晚期天文台的照相底片取代了人眼，社会对客观性的新重视似乎已经不可避免地改变了对恒星的研究。我的研究问题围绕着维多利亚晚期视觉文化背景下这种变化的文化相关性。在1877年出版的《天文学》一书中，诺曼·洛克耶将行星、太阳系和星系之间的关系与教区、县、国家和大陆之间的关系进行了比较。这种对基础天文学的狭隘介绍，加上手绘插图的点缀，与洛克耶从1880年开始分析和展示的星体图像大不相同。这些照片的科学意义使这位业余天文学家对他的作品有了权威。技术上更可靠的感光乳剂使洛克耶开始记录恒星演化理论。这些超凡脱俗的科学图像可能提供了一个有趣的途径，通过它来看待业余科学家作为维多利亚视觉文化发展的重要人物。除了光谱板和天文图像，我打算包括观察笔记，洛克耶的信件和研究论文，以及埃克塞特大学档案馆的洛克耶的蜉蝣。通过与其他收藏品（如哈佛的摄影底片收藏品）的交叉比对，可以深入了解世纪末天文学的更广泛的历史背景。传统上，维多利亚时代的视觉文化研究被具体的学科划分得很深，这是我在分析光谱底片时想要挑战的。就我将采用的方法论而言，这将不在于任何一个批判理论链，因为我的主要来源的特殊性质需要一个多方面的方法。因此，我对NLO档案的研究将引入历史主义，视觉分析的元素，并利用我在学习文学时获得的文本技巧。我将研究这一事实所固有的张力，即洛克耶的恒星演化理论是开创性的，但有缺陷的，而这个科学发现的故事是在NLO的技术中讲述的。NLO档案中的物体的物理属性，如光谱板，对该项目的历史方面很重要，并且没有被广泛地写上。理想情况下，我希望我的项目注意到NLO在西南部的持续相关性以及它对世纪初科学界的重要性。该项目的研究必须在实地完成，因此我将参观西德茅斯的NLO以及埃克塞特的档案馆。