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, the complete program of sessions at the 2006 meeting in Prague, the 2009 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2012 meeting in Beijing. Also a list of History of Astronomy journals with links.
• Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy
  An integrated web portal for the Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative, presented by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO.
• 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 30,000+ 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.
• Royal Society Publishing
  To celebrate its 350th anniversary in 2010 the Royal Society of London is making available special issues of some of its current publications, as well as sixty trailblazing articles from the past with modern commentaries
• Dutch History of Science Web Centre
  “a portal for researchers, students and others with a serious interest in the history of Dutch science from earliest times down to the present day,” this site contains publications, bibliographies, biographies, and more. Some of it is in English.
• Virtual Catalog of National Libraries
  Includes many Euopean and American libraries, plus some electronic full texts, provided by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

• Online Books

• Open-Access Text Archive
  Many out-of-copyright books may now be downloaded free.
• Google Books
  A great many digitized books, but only portions for those still under copyright. Advanced search allows you to limit your search to books with full view only. Example: Full books on astronomy.
• Gallica
  Digitized books from the National Library of France.
• The University of Michigan Historical Mathematics Collection
  About 1000 math books from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs
  Nearly 600 math books.
• Museo Galileo
  A virtual museum and digital collections include ancient mathematics, Galileo, and others, mostly in Italian or Latin.
• German National Library
  
• European Cultural Heritage Online
  More than 300,000 high resolution images of historical sources, with collections in history of cosmology, history of mechanics, history of science, the scientific revolution, etc.
• 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.
• Astronomy Books in the Dresden Digital Library
  Includes more than 200 items on 16th/17th-century astronomy, astrology, and books on astronomical instruments. Search on "astro*" to see a list.
• Astronomy books in Swiss libraries
  
• Scientific books collected by the ETH-Bibliothek, dating from the middle of the 15th century to the end of the 19th century.
• Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts
  This site at UCLA offers a simple and straightforward means to discover medieval manuscripts available on the web.
• Wilbour Hall
  This site, a memorial to the former History of Mathematics Department at Brown University by Joseph G. Leichter, contains scans of many ancient astronomical texts.
• NASA History Series Publications
  Many books covering the history of the space program have been put online. NASA Technical Reports are also available. These contain over 200,000 full-text online documents and over 500,000 images and videos.

• Online Articles

• Bibliographies
• ARIBIB
  The ARI Bibliographical Database for Astronomical References (ARIBIB) of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut (Heidelberg) is the complete electronic version of the Astronomischer Jahresbericht, which listed the world’s astronomical publications from 1899–1968 and Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts, which covered the period 1969–2000.
• Google Scholar
  Broad search capabilites. The advanced version allows you to be more precise.
• The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
  Bibliographic databases containing more than 9.6 million records. Search journals by volume or year or search the whole database by author, subject, etc. Full-text search is powerful.
• Recent Publications Relating to the History of Astronomy
  Compiled by Library of Congress librarian Ruth Freitag from 1988 to 2001, with one later addition.
• Scientific Instrument Commission Bibliography
  Lists the titles of books, pamphlets, catalogues and articles on or connected with historical scientific instruments.
• An Analytic Bibliography of online Neo-Latin Texts
  Links to more than 27,000 texts in Latin written during the Renaissance and later that are freely available to the general public on the Web.
• Full text
• The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
  Contains Astronomical Journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysical Journal, Astronomische Nachrichten, Icarus, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, The Observatory, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and many, many more, including publications of observatories. Everything is free, thanks to NASA. NEW: Try streamlined search or search full text with ADS Labs.
• Annual Reviews of Astronomy & Astrophysics
  All articles available for a fee. Those from 1995 and earlier are free via ADS.
• Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
  Digitized publications of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 1700 - 1900 (in German)
• Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society Archives
  All issues from 1891 to 1991 are available free thanks to a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
• Gallica
  Contains full text of Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences and Revue Scientifique for many years, and many other journals as well. Free.
• Institute of Physics Journals
  Many journals, including the Astronomical Journal since 1998, the Journal of Physics, and Chinese, European, and Russian journals. Mostly recent, but historic issues of some, such as Journal of Scientific Instruments and Transactions of the Optical Society. Costly.
• Nature Archive
  All articles back to 1869 may be purchased.
• Physical Review Online Archive (PROLA)
  Includes Physical Review Letters, Reviews of Modern Physics, etc. All articles since 1893 are available for a fee.
• Physics Today archive
  Full contents back to Volume 1 in 1948. Some articles are free.
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences archive
  All articles back to 1915 are available at no cost.
• Quarterly Journal of Mathematics archive
  Nearly all articles from 1930 to date are available for a fee.
• Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Digital Library
  Selected articles from such journals as the Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Amsterdam (KNAW).
• Royal Society of London journals
  Philosophical Transactions, Proceedings, Biographical Memoirs, etc. All articles back to 1665 are available here for a fee, but Proceedings of the Royal Society from 1800 to 1937 and Philosophical Transactions from 1887 to 1937 are free on Gallica, and many out-of-copyright articles are free on the HathiTrust Digital Libary.
• Science magazine archive
  Nearly all articles from 1880 to date are available for a fee.
• SpringerLink
  Includes more than 160 journals, 7 book series, and nearly 3000 books in physics and astronomy. Some are “Open Access” (free), but most are costly.
• Wiley Interscience Journals in Physics and Astronomy
  Includes Annalen der Physik, Annals of the New York Academy of Science, Astronomische Nachrichten, Astronomy & Geophysics, and a number of others. Note that some are costly here but free on ADS.

• History of Science Journals

• Annals of Science
  All back articles are available for a fee.
• Antiquity
  A quarterly review of World Archaeology. Archive may be browsed. Abstracts are free; articles may be purchased.
• Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture
  The Journal of the Center for Archaeoastronomy, published annually. Tables of contents available free on the site. Articles more than one year old may be purchased on the site.
• The British Journal for the History of Science
  Published for the British Society for the History of Science. All articles back to 1962 (and of its predecessor to 1955) are available for a fee.
• Centaurus: An International Journal of the History of Science and its Cultural Aspects
  The official journal of the European Society for the History of Science. All back articles are available for a fee.
• DIO: The International Journal of Scientific History
  Published online with printed copies available to libraries. All back issues available free.
• Indian Journal of History of Science
  Published quarterly. A cumulative index from 1966 to 2000 is available online.
• Isis
  Sponsored by the History of Science Society, it contains history of science, medicine, and technology, and their cultural influences. All articles are available—at a cost. Tables of contents and searching are free.
• Journal for the History of Astronomy
  The JHA, published quarterly. Tables of contents available free on the site. Most articles three years old and older are available free on ADS.
• Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage
  The JAHH, published three times per year. All content back to 1998 is now available free on this site and also on ADS. Since 2012 the journal is published in electronic format only, but it is possible to download and print entire issues as well as individual papers from the JAHH site.
• Newsletter for the History of Science in Southeastern Europe
  Free.
• Nuncius: Journal of the Material and Visual History of Science
  Now published online. All articles back to 1983 are available for a fee.
• Revue d’histoire des sciences
  Above site contains articles from 2011–2012 free and earlier ones for a hefty fee, but articles from 1947 through 2006 are available free through Persee.

• Biographical Information

• The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers
  Articles are now available through institutional or personal subscription only.
• Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
  Alphabetical listing of more than 1500 Biographical Memoirs available online in pdf format. Some of these and others may be read online in html: Search for the person of interest. Free.
• Index of obituaries of members of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  Most are in ADS.
• Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society
  Obituaries published from 2001 to one year ago are now free. Those from 1932 to the present may be purchased online.
• AAS Obituary Index
  Links to all obituaries published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. The obituaries are in ADS and are free.
• 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 more than 100 astronomers honored since 1898 by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
• The Galileo Project
  Information on the life and work of Galileo Galilei and his contemporaries.

• Specific Topics

• Transit of Venus
  Information about transits from 1639 through 2012, by Astronomers without Borders.
• Eclipse-Maps.com
  Site by Michael Zeiler contains many historical eclipse maps.
• The History of the Telescope & the Binocular
  by Peter Abrahams.
• Albert Einstein – Chief Engineer of the Universe
  A virtual exhibition of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, produced in 2005.
• 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.
• History of Radio Astronomy
  Outline of resources on the site of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. See also the NRAO Archives and historical images.
• Early History of Radio Astronomy
  by Woodruff T. Sullivan, III, author of several books on the subject. Includes links to more sources.
• Starry Messenger
  Some aspects of the early history of astronomy, drawing on the collection of instruments and books at the University of Cambridge, mostly from medieval times through Kepler.
• Carnegie Institution Year Books
  All of the year books of the Carnegie Institution for Science (formerly the Carnegie Institution of Washington) are available online. They include reports of the Mount Wilson Observatory.

• Other Organizations in History of Astronomy

• American Physical Society Forum on the History of Physics
  The Forum on the History of Physics, a member unit of the American Physical Society, was founded in 1980 to bring together physicists, historians, and other members of APS with an interest in the history of their subject and the impact of that history on culture, education, and physics research itself.
• Antique Telescope Society
  The Antique Telescope Society, Inc. is organized and operated exclusively for educational and/or scientific purposes. The purpose of the Society is to unite colleagues interested in antique telescopes, binoculars instruments, books, atlases and related items, and to promote the membership's interests in astronomical history and discovery, the history of optics, and the preservation and use of the antique instruments through stewardship and education.
• Biennial History of Astronomy Workshops at the University of Notre Dame
  While not formally an organization, this group holds conferences during the summer of every odd-numbered year.
• British Society for the History of Science
  The main organisation in the British Isles working to bring together people with an interest in the histories of science, technology and medicine and their changing relationship with society.
• History of Science Society
  The History of Science Society is the world's largest society dedicated to understanding science, technology, medicine, and their interactions with society in historical context.
• Inter-Union Commission on the History of Astronomy
  The Inter-Union Commission on the History of Astronomy is a joint Commission of the IAU and the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, Division of Science and Technology (IUHPS/DHST). The ICHA was founded in 2001 in order to create a Commission that involves and represents all historians of astronomy–including scholars who, being primarily historians rather than astronomers, are not members of the IAU. All members of C41 are, ipso facto, members of the ICHA.
• ISAAC, the International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture
  A professional organization established in 1996 to promote the academic development of archaeoastronomy, including ethnoastronomy.
• SEAC, the European Society for Astronomy in Culture
  A professional association of scientists working in the field of Astronomy in Culture or Anthropological Astronomy, including the interdisciplinary disciplines of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy.
• Society for the History of Astronomy
  Founded in 2002 as the UK’s national society dedicated to the history of astronomy.

• Additional Lists of Sources

• 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.
• Scientific Instrument Commission References
  Provides links to reference material and other sources of information related to scientific instruments
• History of Astronomy
  by Wolfgang R. Dick. Although not updated much recently, this remains the most complete website devoted to the history of astronomy.
• Women in Astronomy: An Introductory Resource Guide to Materials in English
  by Andrew Fraknoi for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
• The History of Radio Astronomy: A Bibliography 1898-1983
  by Sarah Stevens-Rayburn of the NRAO.



Historical Astronomy Division   |    American Astronomical Society


by JST
email: joe.tenn@sonoma.edu