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Massasoit Reads: Community Book Discussion: April- Astrophysics in a Hurry

Join the Massasoit librarians for monthly book discussions, highlighting different genres and issues raised. Reading the book is not a prerequisite for attending the discussion.

Mark Your Calendar

WHEN: April 18th, 2018

TIME: 2:00-3:00 pm

WHERE: Casual library seating area, near back windows

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The term astrophysics appeared in the 1860s, when spectrum analysis was applied to the study of the sun and stars.

  • The earliest use of the term has been attributed to Johann Carl Friedrich Zöllner of Leipzig in 1865, but the Greenwich astronomer Edwin Dunkin introduced the “astro-physicist” to the public in 1869, as an astronomer who examined the spectra of celestial objects and compared these to spectra revealed by gases in terrestrial laboratories.
  • The earliest elucidation of astrophysics in its contemporary form came in the 1880s, as the theoretical and observational study of the physical condition of the sidereal universe.
  • As the definition broadened, of course, the roots of astrophysics moved further back into history, at least to Newton.

Devorkin, David H., and David H. DeVorkin. "Astrophysics." Reader's Guide to the History of Science, edited by Arne Hessenbruch, Routledge, 1st edition, 2000. Credo Reference, https://ezproxymso.helmlib.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/routhistscience/astrophysics/0?institutionId=2317. Accessed 04 Apr. 2018.

Discussion Leader

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Rachel Zyirek
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Contact:
Brockton Library
SC201
508 588 9100 x1933