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Chapter 8 sets out the evidence for the growing prestige of, and demand, for, astrometeorological forecasts in the fifteenth century. It traces the establishment of chairs in astronomy and astrology in universities old and new across Europe, and looks at the forecasts issued by the holders. The rapid creation of annual almanacs, based on these forecasts, and the demand for affordable, printed copies, are outlined. The important works of Abraham Zacut, Regiomontanus, the Laet family, and Leonard Digges, are all discussed in detail. The numbers of printed editions, their price levels, and their success, are all considered as evidence of demand for updated, ever more accurate, versions of astrometeorology. Digges’ work is shown to have addressed a readership keen to make their own forecasts. The conclusion is that it was in the sixteenth century that astrometeorological weather forecasts reached their peak, even though changing intellectual fashions saw shifts in the great names claimed as founders of the science. Moreover this popularity was to last well into the seventeenth century.
How do planetary scientists analyze and interpret data from laboratory, telescopic, and spacecraft observations of planetary surfaces? What elements, minerals, and volatiles are found on the surfaces of our Solar System's planets, moons, asteroids, and comets? This comprehensive volume answers these topical questions by providing an overview of the theory and techniques of remote compositional analysis of planetary surfaces. Bringing together eminent researchers in Solar System exploration, it describes state-of-the-art results from spectroscopic, mineralogical, and geochemical techniques used to analyze the surfaces of planets, moons, and small bodies. The book introduces the methodology and theoretical background of each technique, and presents the latest advances in space exploration, telescopic and laboratory instrumentation, and major new work in theoretical studies. This engaging volume provides a comprehensive reference on planetary surface composition and mineralogy for advanced students, researchers, and professional scientists.
The practice of weather forecasting underwent a crucial transformation in the Middle Ages. Exploring how scientifically-based meteorology spread and flourished from c.700–c.1600, this study reveals the dramatic changes in forecasting and how the new science of 'astro-meteorology' developed. Both narrower and more practical in its approach than earlier forms of meteorology, this new science claimed to deliver weather forecasts for months and even years ahead, on the premise that weather is caused by the atmospheric effects of the planets and stars, and mediated by local and seasonal climatic conditions. Anne Lawrence-Mathers explores how these forecasts were made and explains the growing practice of recording actual weather. These records were used to support forecasting practices, and their popularity grew from the fourteenth century onwards. Essential reading for anyone interested in medieval science, Medieval Meteorology demonstrates that the roots of scientific forecasting are much deeper than is usually recognized.