History of Astronomy

Group Brainstorming Session: Powers of 10 and the Eames in Astronomy

2027 will be the fiftieth anniversary of the iconic Powers of 10 video, widely used in astronomy education.  The video's creators, artists and designers Charles and Ray Eames, engaged with astronomy and space in many other ways throughout their work, including designing several exhibits on the history of astronomy.  In this session, Sarah Reynolds will give an overview of some of the Eames' work in the history of astronomy, then we'll watch the short powers of 10 video and a brief oral history video of Owen Gingerich talking about his work with Charles Eames on Eames' Copernicus exhibition.  We will then open the floor for discussion and brainstorming about ways the 50th anniversary might provide a good collaborative opportunity to consider the Eames' legacy in the history of astronomy.  

Research Tools and Resources for the History of Astronomy

What research tools and resources have you found most helpful in your work in history of astronomy?  How do you use them?  What new resources and tools are out there?  What resources and tools would you most like to see developed and used more?  In this session, we invite group members to bring their own ideas and expertise on everything from archives and digital collections to apps, software, and AI to share about and demonstrate (when possible) to the group.  

Disability and the History of Astronomy

Astronomy has a long history of operating at, and even beyond, the limits of human ability.  In the introduction to the 2024 Osiris volume on “Disability and the History of Science”, editors Mara Mills, Jaipreet Virdi and Sarah F. Rose note that efforts to analyze and quantify the influence of individual human observers in astronomical studies “contributed in fundamental, if surprising, ways to the development of the modern category of disability.”  In addition to generating awareness of the important contributions made by astronomers recognized as disabled, using disability as an analytical framework allows for new consideration of the embodiedness of scientists and their work.  As Jessica Martucci has pointed out, it can also expand our recognition of the supportive networks and technologies that enable scientific work.  

In this meeting, we’ll discuss questions and ideas raised by disability studies for the history of astronomy.  We invite everyone to bring their own areas of expertise and related examples to share into our discussion.  

Main readings for discussion:

• Mills, Mara, Jaipreet Virdi, and Sarah V. Rose (2024).  “Disability, Epistemology, Sciencing,” Osiris 39, 1-24.  https://doi.org/10.1086/730401

• Martucci, Jessica (2024).  “The Supercrip in the Lab: Seeking Disabled Scientists in the History of Science”, Osiris 39, 205-220.  https://doi.org/10.1086/730408   

Additional (optional) related reading and resources:

• Determann, J.M. (2023). Stairway to Heaven. Chapter 5 in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy: A Modern History. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46113-2_5

• Schaffer, Simon (1988).  Astronomers Mark Time: Discipline and the Personal Equation. Science in Context, 2(1), 115–145. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026988970000051X

• Martucci, Jessica (2019).  “Disability and the Myth of the Independent Scientist.”  Distillations [Science History Institute magazine].  https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/disability-and-the-myth-of-the-independent-scientist/

• Mills, Mara, Jaipreet Virdi, and Sarah F. Rose, “Disability History,” Encyclopedia of the History of Science (March 2025) https://doi.org/10.34758/rn83-ez22  [Adapted from the Osiris introduction, with some extensions and follow-up.]

*Note: While the readings will be temporarily posted for members here, because access statistics can be valuable for authors, publishers, and libraries, we encourage you to use the citations and links above to access them through your institution if possible.  Members of the History of Science Society can access the full Osiris volume 39 on “Disability and the History of Science” through the “Member’s Access” link on the HSS website: https://hssonline.org/page/journalaccess

Share-A-Thon!  

We're kicking off the year with a "Bring Your Own Reading" Share-a-thon.  What history of astronomy material have you been reading lately?  Primary sources?  Research articles?  Books?  Come prepared to tell us about it and share a link or citation!  

Due to illness, we've had to postpone Gabriela Rădulescu's session related to Soviet and Armenian astronomy for a future date.  Instead we will have a session following up on the recent History of Science Society meeting, with a couple presenters sharing their talks and those who attended discussing what topics and themes they found interesting at the conference. 

Presenting Talks (list will be updated as we get confirmations): 

• Beatrice Honey Steele, University of Exeter, "How a Brigade can Tackle an Eclipse": Norman Lockyer, the Royal Navy, and the 1900 Eclipse Expedition 

• Jeffrey Kotyk, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), The Lunar Apogee and Nodes in Premodern East Asian Astronomy

No need for any reading in advance, but if you want to see what was happening at the HSS meeting, you can check out the program here: https://hssonline.org/resource/resmgr/annual_meeting/2025_new_orleans/2025_print_program_10_10.pdf

Education and Intersecting Populations in the History of Astronomy

With complementary goals in the establishment, circulation, and expansion of knowledge, the histories of science and education are strongly interrelated.  While astronomy has long been carried out in connection with educational goals and institutions, in recent centuries education has played an especially important role in mediating the intersection of different populations within astronomy: the public, the professional, the amateur, the enthusiast, the artisan, the worker, the popularizer, etc.  Educational philosophies and pedagogical theories have both influenced and been influenced by new understandings of what science is, what it does, who participates in it, and who it is for.  

Sarah Reynolds will give a brief presentation on her work-in-progress on the interaction between science and education in history, then lead discussion on two articles from a recent book that demonstrate such interactions in the case of Eise Eisinga, the 18th-century Dutch wool manufacturer and merchant who constructed an elaborate functional orrery on the ceiling of his home.  

This month’s readings are all open access, and may be accessed directly through the links below.  

Main readings for discussion: 

1. Dijkstra, Arjen. “Eise Eisinga’s World: The Profile of a Devotee to Astronomy between Enlightenment and Romanticism,” Chapter 3 in Cultivating and Communicating Natural and Technical Knowledge around 1800: Devotees of Science, edited by Nikolaj Bijleveld, Arjen Dijkstra and Samuel Gessner, Amsterdam University Press, 2025, pp. 47-78. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048556014-003

2. Dijksterhuis, Fokko Jan. “The Third Book of Wisdom: Eisinga, the Planetarium, and Eighteenth-Century Learning,” Chapter 10 in Cultivating and Communicating Natural and Technical Knowledge around 1800: Devotees of Science, pp. 267-290. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048556014-010

Additional readings and resources: 

3. Bijleveld, Nikolaj, Dijkstra, Arjen and Gessner, Samuel. “Devotees of Science: An Introduction,” Chapter 1 (Introduction) in Cultivating and Communicating Natural and Technical Knowledge around 1800: Devotees of Science, pp. 7-22. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048556014-001   [This chapter defines and clarifies what the book refers to as “devotees of science” and how such people played an important role in 18th century science and astronomy.] 

4. Sections 1-4 of Mody, C.C.M. “Where Do, and Should, Science and Science Education Happen?”, Science & Education (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-025-00651-2.  [Thought-provoking article discussing the hybrid roles and dispersed practice of science and science education, and the consequences of these for contemporary teaching about the nature of science.] 

5. Berkel, Klaas van. “The Changing Landscape of Science in Eighteenth-Century Europe,” Chapter 2 in Cultivating and Communicating Natural and Technical Knowledge around 1800: Devotees of Science, pp. 25-46. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048556014-002.  [This chapter provides a more extensive background on the changes occurring in educational institutions and the role of various scientific developments in societal interests in education in the eighteenth-century.]  

6. Website of the Koninklijk (Royal) Eise Eisinga Planetarium: https://www.eisinga-planetarium.nl/en/

7. UNESCO World Heritage site for the Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker.  https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1683/

Narratives on the Marginalization of Astrology

For our first discussion, we will be looking at two articles on the marginalization of astrology. When, how, and why did astrology go from being considered a viable knowledge system to a pseudo-science? Recent work has revisited this question, providing an overview of different factors for astrology’s marginalization and showing how explanations have moved from an emphasis on intellectual factors to social/institutional influences and back again. This will be the first meeting of our working group, so please come prepared to briefly introduce yourself and what brings you to the group! 

Sources to discuss:

Michelle Aroney, “Reassessing the Marginalization of Astrology in the Early Modern World,” The Historical Journal (2023), 66, 1152–1176 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X23000328

H. Darrel Rutkin, “How to Accurately Account for Astrology’s Marginalization in the History of Science and Culture: The Central Importance of an Interpretive Framework,” Early Science and Medicine (2018), 23, 217–243 https://doi.org/10.1163/15733823-00233P02

Further reading:

Rienk Vermij and Hiro Hirai, “The Marginalization of Astrology: Introduction” Early Science and Medicine (2017), 22, 405–409 [intro to special issue] https://doi.org/10.1163/15733823-02256P01

Peter Wright, “Astrology and Science in Seventeenth-Century England,” Social Studies of Science (1995), 5/4, 399–422 https://www.jstor.org/stable/284805

Lynn Thorndike, “The True Place of Astrology in the History of Science,” Isis (1955), 46/3, 273–278 https://www.jstor.org/stable/226346

*Note: While the readings will be temporarily posted here, because access statistics can be valuable for authors, publishers, and libraries, we encourage you to use the citations and links above to access them through your institution if possible.