Bernard R. Goldstein

Email: brg@pitt.edu

Mailing Address:
RS/2604 CL
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA

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Astronomical and Astrological Themes
from Antiquity to Early Modern Times
Bernard R. Goldstein

 
The 28 essays in this collection were published between 1985 and 2005. I am grateful to the publishers for permission to make these essays available on the web. A set of 24 papers that appeared between 1964 and 1983 was reprinted in the Variorum series in 1985 with the title, Theory and observation in ancient and medieval astronomy.

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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I. ANTIQUITY AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

1. “On The Babylonian Discovery of the Periods of Lunar Motion”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 33 (2002), 1–13.

2. “Ancient and Medieval Values for the Mean Synodic Month”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 34 (2003), 65–74.

3. “Saving the Phenomena: The Background to Ptolemy’s Planetary Theory”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 28 (1997), 1–12.

4. “The Making of Astronomy in Early Islam”, Nuncius: Journal of the History of Science, 1 (1986), 79–92.

5. “Astronomy and the Jewish Community in Early Islam”, Aleph, 1 (2001), 17–57.

 
II. MEDIEVAL ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY

1. “Astronomy in the Medieval Spanish Jewish Community”, in Between Demonstration and Imagination: Essays in the History of Science and Philosophy Presented to John D. North, edited by L. Nauta and A. Vanderjagt. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Pp. 225–241.

2. “Astronomy and Astrology in the Works of Abraham Ibn Ezra”, Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, 6 (1996), 9–21.

3. “A Prognostication Based on the Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in 1166 [561 A.H.]”, in Studies in the history of the exact sciences in honour of David Pingree, edited by C. Burnett et al. Leiden: Brill, 2004. Pp. 735–757.

4. “The Blasphemy of Alfonso X: History or Myth?”, in Revolution and Continuity: Essays in the History and Philosophy of Early Modern Science, edited by P. Barker and R. Ariew. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1991. Pp. 143–153.

5. “Lunar Velocity in the Middle Ages: A Comparative Study”, in From Baghdad to Barcelona: Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences in Honour of Prof. Juan Vernet, edited by J. Casulleras and J. Samsó. Barcelona: Instituto “Millás Vallicrosa”, 1996. Pp. 181–194.

6. “Star Lists in Hebrew”, Centaurus, 28 (1985), 185–208.

7. “Colors of Eclipses in Medieval Hebrew Astronomical Tables”, Aleph, 5 (2005), 11–34.

8. “Preliminary Remarks on Judah ben Verga’s Contributions to Astronomy”, in The Practice of Mathematics in Portugal: Proceedings of the International Meeting in Óbidos [Portugal], 16–18 November 2000, edited by L. Saraiva and H. Leitão. Coimbra: Coimbra University Press, 2004. Pp. 63–90.

9. “The Astronomical Tables of Judah ben Verga”, Suhayl, 2 (2001), 227–289.

 
III. LEVI BEN GERSON IN PERSPECTIVE

1. “The Physical Astronomy of Levi ben Gerson”, Perspectives on Science, 5 (1997), 1–30.

2. “A New Set of Fourteenth Century Planetary Observations”, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 132 (1988), 371–399.

3. “Levi ben Gerson’s Theory of Planetary Distances”, Centaurus, 29 (1986), 272–313.

4. “The Pre-Telescopic Treatment of the Phases and Apparent Size of Venus”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 27 (1996), 1–12.

5. “Levi ben Gerson and the Brightness of Mars”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 27 (1996), 297–300.

6. “Levi ben Gerson’s Preliminary Remarks for a Theory of Planetary Latitudes”, Aleph, 2 (2002), 15–30.

7. “Levi ben Gerson’s Astrology in Historical Perspective”, in Gersonide en son temps, edited by G. Dahan. Louvain and Paris: Peeters, 1991. Pp. 287–300.

8. “Before the Sun in the Church”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 32 (2001), 73–77.

 
IV. ASTRONOMY IN EARLY MODERN TIMES

1. “Remarks on Gemma Frisius’s De Radio Astronomico et Geometrico”, in From Ancient Omens to Statistical Mechanics: Essays on the Exact Sciences presented to Asger Aaboe, edited by J. L. Berggren and B. R. Goldstein. Copenhagen: University Library, 1987. Pp. 167–179.

2. “Historical Perspectives on Copernicus’s Account of Precession”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 25 (1994), 189–197.

3. “Copernicus and the Origin of his Heliocentric System”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 33 (2002), 219–235.

4. “What’s New in Kepler’s New Astronomy?”, in The Cosmos of Science: Essays of Exploration, edited by J. Earman and J. D. Norton. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997. Pp. 3–23.

5. “Kepler and Hebrew Astronomical Tables”, Journal for the History of Astronomy, 32 (2001), 130–136.

6. “Galileo’s Account of Astronomical Miracles in the Bible: A Confusion of Sources”, Nuncius: Journal of the History of Science, 5 (1990), 3–16.