Biennial History of Astronomy Workshops at the University of Notre Dame


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ND IX

Ninth Biennial History of Astronomy Workshop

Notre Dame, Indiana

July 8 – 12, 2009

 

 

 

Final Schedule

All activities are in the auditorium of the CCE in McKenna Hall unless otherwise noted

 

Abstracts (complete list; alphabetical by last name)

 

Wednesday, July 8

8:00-9:00 pm            Public Lecture

                                    Location: Digital Visualization Theater, Jordan Hall of Science

                                         ÒGalileoÕs Moon or Galilean Lunacy? A Modern Detective Story

                                                Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

 

9:00-10:30 pm         Welcoming Reception with refreshments and cash bar

                                    Location: Main Hall, Jordan Hall of Science

 

 

Thursday, July 9

8:30-9:00 am            Opening and Introductions

9:00 am-12:00 pm   Session: Philosophy of Astronomy

  (w/ 30-min break)   Organizers: Steven J. Dick, NASA, and Michael J. Crowe, University of Notre Dame

                                         Introductory Remarks, Steve Dick

 

                                         ÒWonder, Awe, and the Starry Sky Above: How the History of Astronomy Raises Issues for PhilosophersÓ

                                                George Gale, University of Missouri – Kansas City

 

                                         ÒÔBut this is wondrous strange!Õ Constructing an Agenda for the Philosophy of AstronomyÓ

                                                Don Howard, University of Notre Dame

 

                                         ÒThe Great Pluto Debate: What is a Planet?Ó

                                                Owen Gingerich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

 

                                         ÒPhilosophy of Astronomy: Some Issues from the Extraterrestrial Life DebateÓ

                                                Michael Crowe, University of Notre Dame, and Steve Dick, NASA

 

                                         ÒEddingtonÕs Worldview and EddingtonÕs Science as a Problem in Philosophy of AstronomyÓ

                                                Matt Stanley, New York University

 

                                         Concluding Remarks, Steve Dick        

 

12:00-12:50 pm       Lunch Part I

12:50-1:50 pm         Special Session

Location: Digital Visualization Theater, Jordan Hall of Science

     ÒMaking Time: The Story of the Notre Dame Longitude DialÓ

            William Andrewes, Independent Scholar, and Keith Davis, University of Notre Dame

 

1:50-2:30 pm            Lunch Part II

2:30-4:00 pm            Work in Progress Papers

Chair: Gregory Macklem, University of Notre Dame

     ÒUraniaÕs ÔProgressÕ: WomenÕs Shifting Roles in Observational Astronomy from the Late Seventeenth to

   Early Nineteenth CenturiesÓ

Voula Saridakis, Lake Forest College

                       

                                         ÒMeridian Circles and Transit Circles in Nineteenth-Century U.S. ObservatoriesÓ

                                                Trudy E. Bell, Science Journalist and Independent Scholar

 

                                         ÒBeyond the Aspheric-Plate Camera: Bernhard SchmidtÕs Final InventionÓ

                                                Roger Ceragioli, University of Arizona

 

4:00-4:30 pm            Break

4:30-5:30 pm            Session: Automatic Telescopes

                                    Organizer: Peter Abrahams, Independent Scholar                                

                                         ÒAn Overview of Automatic TelescopesÓ

                                                Peter Abrahams, Independent Scholar

 

                                         ÒAutomatic Telescopes at Indiana UniversityÓ

                                                R. Kent Honeycutt, Indiana University

 

5:30-7:30 pm            Break

                       

7:30 pm                     Reception at Marv BoltÕs home

                                    Note: Map will be provided in conference packet

                                    25690 Cleveland Road, South Bend, Indiana 46628

 

 

Friday, July 10         Fieldtrip to Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum

Please note that there is a one-hour time difference between local (Notre Dame - EDT) time and Chicago (Adler - CDT) time.

Chicago is one hour earlier  (e.g., 7:00 (CDT) at the Adler is 8:00 (EDT) at Notre Dame).

 

8:45 am (EDT)           Bus boarding begins at Notre Dame Bookstore

 

9:00 am                      Departure from Notre Dame

 

10:00 am (CDT)        Arrive in Chicago at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum

 

10:00-10:30  am       Welcoming Remarks, Universe Theater

 

10:30-12:00 pm       Free time to visit Museum galleries and shows

 

12:00-1:15 pm         Lunch at GalileoÕs Cafe

 

1:15-1:30 pm            Group photo, Front steps of Museum (weather permitting)

 

1:30-3:00 pm            Session: Contemporary telescopes that address age-old questions

 (w/ 30-min break)    Organizer and Chair: Marv Bolt, Adler Planetarium

                                         ÒUn-twinkling the StarsÓ

                                                Michael Smutko, Adler Planetarium and Northwestern University

 

                                         ÒCompleting the Copernican Revolution: Exploring the Boundaries of the Solar SystemÓ

                                                Lindsay Bartolone, Adler Planetarium

 

                                         ÒAs Stars Fade in Bright Skies, Virtual Telescopes Reopen the HeavensÓ

                                                Mark SubbaRao, Adler Planetarium

 

3:00-3:30 pm            Break

 

3:30-5:00 pm            Session: New tools for exploring history of astronomy

                                    Organizer and Chair: Bruce Stephenson, Adler Planetarium

                                         ÒExploring Historic Astronomical Sites in Second LifeÓ

                                                Chuck Beuter, Independent Scholar

 

                                         ÒUsing Conservation Techniques to Answer Historical QuestionsÓ

                                                Tom Fuller, Northwest Conservation

 

                                         ÒThe Materials of Early TelescopesÓ

                                                Marv Bolt, Adler Planetarium

 

5:00-5:30 pm            Break

 

5:30-6:45 pm            Dinner, Lobby of Webster Institute

 

6:45 pm                     Board bus to return to Notre Dame

 

7:00 pm                     Departure from Adler Planetarium

 

10:00 pm (EDT)         Arrive at Notre Dame Bookstore

 

 

Saturday, July 11

9:00-10:30 am          Work in Progress Papers

                                    Chair Matt Dowd, University of Notre Dame

                                         ÒThe Universe of Stars as Revealed to Galileo by Sensory Experience with the TelescopeÓ

                                                Christopher Graney, Jefferson Community & Technical College

                       

                                         ÒMagnificationÓ

                                                Yaakov Zik and Giora Hon, University of Haifa

 

                                         ÒTelescopium: An Exhibition in MarseilleÓ

                                                James Caplan, Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille-Provence

 

10:30-11:00 am       Break

11:00-12:30 pm       Work in Progress Papers

                                    Chair: Christina Turner, University of Notre Dame

                                         ÒHistorical Astronomy of the Caucasus: The Sources from the Republic of GeorgiaÓ

                                                Jefferson Sauter, James Cook University; Irakli Simonia, Ilia Chavchavadze University and James Cook  

University; F. Richard Stephenson, University of Durham and James Cook University; Wayne 

Orchiston, James Cook University

 

ÒÔI am almost certainÉÕ: William Huggins and the First Attempts to Measure Stellar Motion in the Line of

      SightÓ

                                                Barbara Becker, University of California, Irvine

 

                                         ÒItÕs About the EvidenceÓ

                                                Michael Michaud, Independent Scholar

 

12:30-2:00 pm         Lunch            

2:00-3:00 pm            Hands-On Session

                                         ÒSimple LensesÓ

                                                Dayle L. Brown, Author

 

3:00-3:30 pm            Break

 

3:30-5:00 pm            Session: Aspects of Astronomy During the Cold War

                                    Organizer: David DeVorkin, National Air and Space Museum

                                         ÒR.R. McMath as an Engine of Change in American AstronomyÓ

                                                Rudi Lindner, University of Michigan

 

                                         ÒA Gift of the Cold War: The Making of Space AstronomyÓ

                                                Robert Smith, University of Alberta

 

                                         ÒConsortia vs. National Facilities: C.P. SnowÕs Two Cultures RevisitedÓ

                                                David DeVorkin, National Air and Space Museum

 

5:00-6:00 pm            Free Time

6:00-6:30 pm            Reception (Cash Bar)

                                    Location: Morris Inn

                       

6:30 pm                     Banquet

                                    Location: Morris Inn

                                       Welcoming Remarks

                                       Banquet Lecture

                                         ÒInside NASA History: Personal ReminiscencesÓ

                                                Steve Dick, NASA

 

Evening                      Observing Session at University of Notre Dame Observatory in Jordan Science Hall

                                     

 

Sunday, July 12

9:00-10:30 am          Session: Episodes in the Nineteenth-Century Popularization of Astronomy

                                    Organizer: Craig B. Waff, Air Force Research Laboratory History Office

                                         ÒPopularization and Pedagogy: Insights from Early Nineteenth-Century TextbooksÓ

                                                Jordan D. MarchŽ II, Lakeland College

 

ÒOrator to the Stars: An Investigation of the Scope, Content, Style, and Influence of Ormsby MacKnight

    MitchelÕs Public Astronomical Lecturing Activity (1842-1860)Ó

Craig B. Waff, Air Force Research Laboratory History Office

 

                                         ÒAstronomy at the Fair: An Untapped Source on the History of Popular AstronomyÓ

                                                Robert J. Havlik, University of Notre Dame

 

10:30-11:00 am       Break

 

11:00-12:00 pm       Business Meeting

                                         Includes discussion of nature of future workshops

 

 

Generous support for the conference is provided by the Graduate Program in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame, the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts (ISLA) in the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame, along with the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum.

 

 

 

Workshop Chairs: Matt Dowd, mdowd1@nd.edu; Marv Bolt, mbolt@nd.edu; David DeVorkin, DeVorkinD@si.edu

Local Organizers: Christina Turner, cturner2@nd.edu, Matt Dowd, mdowd1@nd.edu