Historical Astronomy Division

Some History of Astronomy Online Resources

• General

• Commission 41 of the International Astronomical Union
  The History of Astronomy Commission site includes a newsletter, information about the four working groups, and the complete program of sessions at the 2006 meeting in Prague.
• American Institute of Physics Center for History of Physics
  This site includes the Niels Bohr Library and Archives, the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives with its 25,000+ historic photos, the very valuable International Catalog of Sources, and information about numerous oral history interviews.
• Archives of the History of Astronomy Discussion Group (HASTRO-L)
  You must join the listserve to search the archives, but you can do so from this page and then be part of an online community of several hundred astrohistorians worldwide.

• Online Articles and Books

• The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System
  Bibliographic databases containing more than 5 million records. Includes full-text scans of much of the astronomical literature of the past century.
• Online Journals of the Royal Society
  Full Royal Society journals archive back to 1665.
• ARIBIB
  The ARI Bibliographical Database for Astronomical References (ARIBIB) of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (Heidelberg) will in the near future provide a nearly complete online bibliography of the astronomical literature from the earliest times up to the year 2000.
• Open-Access Text Archive
  Many out-of-print books may now be downloaded free.
• Gallica
  Digitized books from the National Library of France.
• Fondos Digitalizados de la Universidad de Sevilla
  Digitized books, primarily from the 16th century, provided by the library of the University of Seville.
• Ancient Astronomy and Astrology Resources on LacusCurtius
  Out-of-print translations retyped and posted by Bill Thayer, includes Allen’s Star Names as well as ancient sources.

• Journals

• Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture
  The Journal of the Center for Archaeoastronomy, published annually.
• Journal for the History of Astronomy
  The JHA, published quarterly.
• Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  The JAH², published three times per year.

• Biographical Information

• The Galileo Project
  Information on the life and work of Galileo Galilei and his contemporaries.
• Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
  Alphabetical listing of more than 400 Biographical Memoirs available online.
• Index of obituaries appearing in Royal Astronomical Society publications
  Where to find obituaries published since 1868.
• Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society
  With links to all obituaries published since 1932.
• AAS Obituary Index
  Obituaries published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, with links to those available online.
• The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
  Extensive biographies and essays on historical topics. The definition of mathematicians is sufficiently elastic to include Edwin Hubble, and the topics include mathematical astronomy.
• The Bruce Medalists
  Photos, brief biographies, and extensive bibliographies of approximately 100 astronomers honored since 1898 by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

• Specific Topics

• The History of the Telescope & the Binocular
  by Peter Abrahams.
• The Shapley-Curtis Debate in 1920
  A number of articles and bibliographies related to the famous “debate” on the Scale of the Universe.
• A Brief History of High Energy Astronomy
  Provided by High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), includes dates of missions, and even ancient astronomy-related events.
• Cosmic Journey: A History of Scientific Cosmology
  by Norriss S. Hetherington & W. Patrick McCray, presented by the AIP Center for History of Physics.

• Additional Lists of Sources

• History of Astronomy
  by Wolfgang R. Dick. Although not updated much recently, this remains the most complete website devoted to the history of astronomy.
• Resources for the History of Physics & Allied Fields
  Lengthy list of links provided by the AIP Center for History of Physics.
• Internet Bibliographies on the History of Astronomy and Astronomical Instruments
  A collection of links compiled by Robert H. van Gent.
• History of Science Links
  by Robert A. Hatch; not up-to-date, but comprehensive.
• Google Directory: Science: Astronomy: History



Historical Astronomy Division   |    American Astronomical Society


by JST
email: joe.tenn@sonoma.edu