Fire in the Sky
Fire in the Sky
Out of Print
Comets and meteors are spectacular and awe-inspiring natural phenomena, which are among nature's most compelling icons. Since the beginning of recorded time, they have mesmerized people, not least among them artists and astronomers. Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries produced a larger number and greater variety of representations of comets and meteors than any other country. The development of new technologies, and the burgeoning interest of the general public in science and art, dovetailed with the inherent British interest in nature and a strong literary tradition of comet and meteor symbolism. This beautifully illustrated book examines the link between these works and the achievements of British science in the wake of Newton and Halley. This book will be stimulating to anyone interested in the art or astronomy of comets.
- Topic of widespread and current interest, especially following Hale-Bopp; comets link us to the origins of the solar system
- Beautifully illustrated: over 100 illustrations, two colour sections
- Unique book, no other book considers the subject matter
Reviews & endorsements
"Art historian Roberta Olson and astronomer Jay Pasachoff have combined to produce a lushly illustrated and very readable book that merges the engaging story of the development of English 18th and 19th century comet astronomy with the art that those astronomical discoveries either produced or inspired. The result is a feast for both the eye and the mind." Meteoritics
"...this book is not only eminently readable, erudite and full of insight, but also skillfully weaves together the conversion of comets from mere celestial wanderers to objects of considerable astrophysical interest, the development of the public's interest in comets, and the advances in art as paintings and prints eventually competed with chromolithographs and photographs. The authors and publishers must be congratulated on bringing this fascinating symbiosis between science, politics and art to the attention of a wider public." New Scientist
"My first reaction to this book...was 'What a fascinating subject!'; my second to admire the apparent thoroughness and scholarship with which the authors had approached their interdisciplinary subject, and the delightful way in which the publishers had enabled them to illustrate their chosen field in a comprehensive manner." The Observatory
"...skillfully weaves together the conversion of comets from mere celestial wanderers to objects of considerable astrophysical interest, the development of the public's interest in comets, and the advances in art as paintings and prints competed with chromolithographs and photographs. The authors and publishers must be congratulated for bringing this fascinating symbiosis between science, politics and art to the attention of a wider public." New Scientist
"Fire in the Sky is a truly amazing book. The book's smooth transitions from science to art are done with skill and grace. This book will be very useful for innovative teachers who have an understanding of art and science (or both). An elementary school teacher could develop an innovative curriculum for merging science and art in the fourth and fifth grades; students could be mesmerized and their learning expanded by such a technique. Anyone who enjoys astronomy should have Fire in the Sky in their library." Paul K. Grogger, Science Books & Films
"Art historians, amateur and professional astronomers, and the general public will find Fire in the Sky a feast of celestial images." Orion S 288
"Overall, this is a beautifully produced book, with many fine illustrations which few astronomers will have seen before...Olson and Pasachoff have produced an interesting and at times provocative commentary..." Astronomy Now
"...this book's biggest attraction is...the lavish meal of full-colour images it contains." The Times Higher Education Supplement
"More than 160 reproductions of paintings, photographs, and art-objects with comets and meteors as their subjects stud this book's pages...Fire in the Sky's illustrations chronicle the development of British visual art concerning comets and meteors from the late Renaissance to our own century. Across the same period, Olson and Pasachoff trace the transformation of human understanding of meteors and comets, from a superstitious regard of them as volatile omens of disaster or propitious births to the modern understanding of them as predictable mechanisms in the clockwork universe." Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin
Product details
November 1999Paperback
9780521663595
383 pages
254 × 202 × 20 mm
1.016kg
135 b/w illus. 30 colour illus.
Unavailable - out of print June 2010
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Prelude: the beginning of telescopic astronomy and the background of British astronomy and artistic traditions
- 2. The heavens on fire: the eighteenth century
- 3. The comet-crazed century opens
- 4. The triumph of realism
- 5. Donati's comet, the watershed
- 6. The origin of comet (and meteor) photography
- 7. The triumph of the imagination
- 8. Comets and the new century
- Epilogue: comets and the new millennium
- Appendices
- List of illustrations
- Bibliography
- Index.
