The Growth and Development of Astronomy and Astrophysics in India and the Asia-Pacific Region : ICOA-9, Pune, India, 15-18 November 2016

This book discusses the study of astronomy in different cultures, applied historical astronomy and history of multi-wavelength astronomy, and the genesis of recent research. It contains peer-reviewed papers gathered from the International Conference on Oriental Astronomy 9 (ICOA-9) held at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, India. It covers the areas like megalithic and other prehistoric astronomy, astronomical records in ancient texts, astronomical myths and architecture, astronomical themes in numismatics and rock art, ancient astronomers and their instruments, star maps and star catalogues, historical records and observations of astronomical events, calendars, calendrical science and chronology, the relation between astronomy and mathematics, and maritime astronomy. This book will be a valuable complement to a future generation of students and researchers who develop an interest in the field of Asian and circum-Pacific history of astronomy. Front Matter ....Pages i-lx Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Towards the Restoration of the Jantar Mantar Observatory Instruments at Delhi: Calibration and Observations with the Jaiprakas and Ram Yantra (Nandivada Rathnasree, Lavanya Nemani, Pritpal Sandhu, Pulkit Agarwal, Sonia Munjal, Megha Rajoria et al.)....Pages 3-13 On the Accuracy of some Ancient Indian Astronomical Instruments (M. S. Sriram, S. Venkatesh)....Pages 15-27 A Quantitative Study of Accuracies in Positions of Star Markers on Historical Astrolabes (Nandivada Rathnasree, Patrick Das Gupta, Anurag Garg)....Pages 29-56 The First Astronomical Use of the Telescope in India (R. C. Kapoor)....Pages 57-66 Structural Changes of the Sun-and-Stars Time-Determining Instrument (Sang Hyuk Kim, Byeong-Hee Mihn)....Pages 67-76 Front Matter ....Pages 77-77 Comets, Historical Records and Vedic Literature (Patrick Das Gupta)....Pages 79-89 Stars as Recorded in Indian Texts (B. S. Shylaja, R. Venketeswara Pai)....Pages 91-98 The Identification of Nakshatra Junction Stars from Precession Calculations (Upasana Neogi, Mayank Vahia)....Pages 99-105 The Effect of Modern Sky Chart Software on Star Names (Hani Muhammad Dalee)....Pages 107-122 Front Matter ....Pages 123-123 Transits and Occultations in Indian Astronomy (S. Balachandra Rao, Padmaja Venugopal, K. Rupa)....Pages 125-142 The Reliability of the Records of Observed Solar Eclipses in India and Comparison with Contemporaneous Eclipse Data from Other Countries (Kiyotaka Tanikawa, Mitsuru Sôma, B. S. Shylaja, Mayank Vahia)....Pages 143-155 On Stone Inscriptions from Bāgalakoṭe and Śivamogga Districts of Karnāṭaka (Geetha Kydala Ganesha, B. S. Shylaja)....Pages 157-163 An Historical Perspective on Lunar Occultations of Stars: Periodicity and Circumstances (K. Rupa, Padmaja Venugopal, S. Balachandra Rao)....Pages 165-172 The Role of Eclipses and European Observers in the Development of ‘Modern Astronomy’ in Thailand (Wayne Orchiston, Darunee Lingling Orchiston, Martin George, Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, Lars Gislén, Suzanne Débarbat et al.)....Pages 173-216 Front Matter ....Pages 217-217 Derivation of the Inclination of Mars’ Orbit in the Almagest (Mitsuru Sôma)....Pages 219-224 The Yogyādi-Vākyas: A Numerical Table for Computing the Longitude of the Sun (R. Venketeswara Pai)....Pages 225-237 Indian Astronomical Tables of the Saura Paddhati – In Historical Perspective (Padmaja Venugopal, K. Rupa, S. Balachandra Rao)....Pages 239-246 On the Lenth of the Year After Varāhamihira’s PanchaSiddhantika (D. Narasimha)....Pages 247-254 Analysis of Asu (阿修) and Gaoyue (高月) Recorded in the Indian Calendar, Jiuzhi-Li (九執暦) (Eun Hee Lee)....Pages 255-262 Ragoonatha Charry and His ‘Scientific’ Pañcāṅga (T. V. Venkateswaran)....Pages 263-296 Our History in Our Traditions: A Reminder (K. Sinha)....Pages 297-304 Front Matter ....Pages 305-305 K.D. Naegamvālā: The Founder of the First Astrophysical Observatory in India (S. M. Razaullah Ansari)....Pages 307-324 The Emergence of Radio Astronomy in Asia: Opening a New Window on the Universe (Wayne Orchiston, Govind Swarup)....Pages 325-383 Front Matter ....Pages 385-385 Astrology and Astronomy in Iran: A Statistical Survey (Seyedamir Sadatmoosavi)....Pages 387-394 On the Transfer of Technology and Knowledge in Iran During the Naseri Period (1848–1896) (Carmen Pérez González)....Pages 395-420 Front Matter ....Pages 421-421 Astronomy of Some Indian Tribes (Ganesh Halkare, Mayank Vahia, Wayne Orchiston)....Pages 423-431 From Megaliths to Temples: Astronomy in the Lithic Record of South India (Srikumar M. Menon)....Pages 433-461 Astronomical Symbols on Indian Punchmarked Coins? (Terry Hardaker, Mayank Vahia, Nisha Yadav)....Pages 463-467 Astronomical Aspects of Sukuh Temple, a Fifteenth Century Hindu Temple in Indonesia (A. K. Rodhiyah, T. Hidayat)....Pages 469-480 The Alignment of the East Outer City Gate at the Ancient Chinese City of Shimao (Lyu Yufei, Sun Zhouyong, Shao Jing)....Pages 481-527