John C. Barentine's Books

Mystery of the Ashen Light of Venus

Investigating a 400-Year-Old Phenomenon

By: John C. Barentine

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Mystery of the Ashen Light of Venus

Investigating a 400-Year-Old Phenomenon

By: John C. Barentine

The “Ashen Light” of Venus—a ghostly emission of light from the night side of our nearest planetary neighbor—is among the last unsolved mysteries of astronomical history. In the four centuries since the phenomenon was first reported, highly reputable visual observers of Venus have recorded seeing the Ashen Light, while others have spent a lifetime searching for it without once being convinced that they ever saw it. Is the Ashen Light a trick of the eye? The result of a defective lens? A real scientific event? Occasional references to the Ashen Light are scattered across the literature, yet no work to date has synthesized these records. This book therefore digs deep into the history of the mystery and our latest attempts to understand it, sifting through the clues that might explain whether it is caused by physics, is conjured up by the eye or brain, or a combination of both. This baffling story will appeal to amateur astronomers, hobbyists, and lay readers interested in joining the debate about one of the most elusive observable phenomena ever recorded in the night sky.

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Page Count

265

Publisher

Springer Nature

Published Date

ISBN 10

3030727157

ISBN 13

9783030727154

Uncharted Constellations

Asterisms, Single-Source and Rebrands

By: John C. Barentine

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Uncharted Constellations

Asterisms, Single-Source and Rebrands

By: John C. Barentine

This book compiles an array of interesting constellations that fell by the wayside before the IAU established the modern canon of constellations. That decision left out lesser known ones whose history is nevertheless interesting, but at last author John Barentine is giving them their due. This book is a companion to "The Lost Constellations", highlighting the more obscure configurations. The 16 constellations found in this volume fall into one or more of three broad categories: asterims, such as the Big Dipper in Ursa Major; single-sourced constellations introduced on surviving charts by a cartographer perhaps currying the favor of sponsors; and re-brands, new figures meant to displace existing constellations, often for an ideological reason. All of them reveal something unique about the development of humanity's map of the sky.

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Page Count

227

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

3319276190

ISBN 13

9783319276199

The Lost Constellations

A History of Obsolete, Extinct, or Forgotten Star Lore

By: John C. Barentine

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The Lost Constellations

A History of Obsolete, Extinct, or Forgotten Star Lore

By: John C. Barentine

Casual stargazers are familiar with many classical figures and asterisms composed of bright stars (e.g., Orion and the Plough), but this book reveals not just the constellations of today but those of yesteryear. The history of the human identification of constellations among the stars is explored through the stories of some influential celestial cartographers whose works determined whether new inventions survived. The history of how the modern set of 88 constellations was defined by the professional astronomy community is recounted, explaining how the constellations described in the book became permanently “extinct.” Dr. Barentine addresses why some figures were tried and discarded, and also directs observers to how those figures can still be picked out on a clear night if one knows where to look. These lost constellations are described in great detail using historical references, enabling observers to rediscover them on their own surveys of the sky. Treatment of the obsolete constellations as extant features of the night sky adds a new dimension to stargazing that merges history with the accessibility and immediacy of the night sky.

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Page Count

506

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

3319227955

ISBN 13

9783319227955

Book's by John C. Barentine

Mystery of the Ashen Light of Venus

Mystery of the Ashen Light of Venus

Uncharted Constellations

Uncharted Constellations

The Lost Constellations

The Lost Constellations

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