This book brings readers on an astronomical journey through the ages, offering a history of how our species has recorded and interpreted the night sky over time. From cave art to parchment scribe to modern X-ray mapping of the sky, it chronicles the ever-quickening development of tools that informed and at times entirely toppled our understanding of the natural world.
Our documentation and recording techniques formed the bedrock for increasingly complex forays into astronomy and celestial mechanics, which are addressed within these chapters. Additionally, the book explores how nature itself has recorded the skies in its own way, which can be unraveled through ongoing geological and archaeological studies.& bsp;
Jonathan Powell is a native of South Wales. With an interest in astronomy and related subjects since the late 1970's, Jonathan has written for UK national astronomical magazines, and broadcast on the topic at both the regional and national level for BBC Radio, dating back to 1985. Jonathan also took part in a BBC Radio 4 documentary series on meteorites. He has been secretary of his local astronomical society for the past 20 years and is the British Astronomical Association's 'Campaign for Dark Skies' county officer. A former member of the Association for Astronomy Education - which encouraged and promoted astronomy among the young - he also headed up 'SpaceQuest,' an educational lecture tool, which toured schools with a two hour presentation on astronomy. His publications include three articles in
Astronomy Now magazine. He has written a book about castles in South and West Wales,
Fortress Wales, and articles on observational astronomy published in astronomical society newsletters. His two published books include
Cosmic Debris and
Rare Astronomical Sights and Sounds.