Susanne M Hoffmann - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Susanne M Hoffmann
Codices Manuscripti & Impressi (Erg.), 2023
Was genau dachte sich Lacaille, als er dieses Sternbild 1756 erfunden hat? Leider hat er es nicht... more Was genau dachte sich Lacaille, als er dieses Sternbild 1756 erfunden hat? Leider hat er es nicht aufgeschrieben; wir können nur aus dem Kontext mutmaßen. Die Vorschläge reichen von der Uhr in seiner provisorischen Sternwarte in Kapstadt bis zur Idee Harrisons für den Longitude-Act (ohne eine konkrete der möglichen Uhren abzubilden). Wir stellen in diesem Aufsatz die Interpretationsmöglichkeiten zusammen.
Codices Manuscripti & Impressi (Erg.), 2023
Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra ist einer der bedeutendsten Funde der Bronzezeit in Mitteleuropa. So... more Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra ist einer der bedeutendsten Funde der Bronzezeit in Mitteleuropa. So klar auch das Bild definitiv astronomischen Inhalts ist und mithin von einem hohen Kenntnisstand der mitteldeutschen Kultur zeugt, so schwierig scheint die Auslegung von Zweck und genauem Inhalt des astronomischen Bildes. In Ermangelung von ähnlichen Funden aus Mitteleuropa werden daher astronomische Kenntnisse anderer Kulturen vergleichend herangezogen. Die hier vorgestellten Fakten zu frühen griechischen und mittelbabylonischen Quellen verwerfen die bisherige Interpretation der Scheibe als Darstellung einer Kalender-Schaltregel, gestehen ihr aber eine symbolische Form zur Vorhersage des jahreszeitlichen Wetters zu.
Codices Manuscripti et Impressi (Erg.), 2023
Das Kompendium MUL.APIN enthält insgesamt sieben Schaltregeln, damit der Mondkalender nicht zu se... more Das Kompendium MUL.APIN enthält insgesamt sieben Schaltregeln, damit der Mondkalender nicht zu sehr aus den (sonnengesteuerten) Jahreszeiten herausläuft. Die erste Regel ist am Anfang abgebrochen und wir diskutieren hier, was die richtige Ergänzung ist.
JIL: Journal of Islamic Law
This article analyzes changes in the reference system of the Jewish Calendar. Initially, the Jewi... more This article analyzes changes in the reference system of the Jewish Calendar. Initially, the Jewish Calendar reference was based on the movement of the Sun. However, the calendar system used by the Jewish community worldwide now refers to two celestial objects, the Sun and the Moon. This study is literature research with a qualitative approach and uses the Book of Enoch and the Sefer Yetzirah as primary sources. The authors found that the first reference system of the Jewish Calendar, which was based on the movement of the Sun (Solar), follows the description in the Book of Enoch and the Sefer Yetzirah. These two books explain the calendar system used by Prophet Idris to Prophet Moses. The Solar Calendar reference system was later replaced with the Lunar Calendar in the second century BCE. Six centuries later, the Jewish Calendar returned to using a Solar Calendar combined with the Lunar Calendar, known as the Lunisolar Calendar. The latest reference system is a mathematical calenda...
VizieR Online Data Catalog, Oct 1, 2020
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalo... more This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalogue" of the early astronomical compendium of MUL.APIN. After a careful re-reading of the text, the authors suggest an interpretation not as a "catalogue" but as an explanatory list. In some cases, this has led to new interpretations concerning the identification of certain celestial objects and the meaning of certain terms and divine names. Consequently, we propose that the deities associated with asterisms can be used to group the astronomical entities and thus help to unveil the frame of reference used in MUL.APIN, which is subdivided on a finer scale than previously realized. In the appendix, we present a tabular layout of the text of MUL.APIN and its translation.
VizieR Online Data Catalog, Sep 1, 2020
Astronomische Nachrichten, Jul 1, 2020
Astronomische Nachrichten, 2020
The Astrophysical Journal, Aug 20, 2020
VizieR Online Data Catalog, Oct 1, 2020
Astronomische Nachrichten, 2020
Peptide Science — Present and Future
64th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale – 12th Melammu Symposium 2018, 2023
This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalogue" of t... more This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalogue" of the early astronomical compendium of MUL.APIN. After a careful re-reading of the text, the authors suggest an interpretation not as a "catalogue" but as an explanatory list. In some cases, this has led to new interpretations concerning the identification of certain celestial objects and the meaning of certain terms and divine names. Consequently, we propose that the deities associated with asterisms can be used to group the astronomical entities and thus help to unveil the frame of reference used in MUL.APIN, which is subdivided on a finer scale than previously realized. In the appendix, we present a tabular layout of the text of MUL.APIN and its translation.
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, 2017
The orthogonal grid of latitudes and longitudes on a spherical Earth dates back to Ptolemy’s book... more The orthogonal grid of latitudes and longitudes on a spherical Earth dates back to Ptolemy’s book on Geography in the second century, and the suggestion to determine the longitude of a traveller dates back to the fourth century. Nevertheless, determining one’s own position while travelling remained a problem for two millennia. The solution was technically performed by the Harrison H4 clock in the eighteenth century, but the idea to measure longitudes by time had always been considered a computing exercise. In this paper, we discuss this classical exercise and the question whether and why it had not been applied. Primarily, we recall this example given by different authors and we will recognize differences in their values. Consequently, we will ask about their sources to trace the transfer and transformation of knowledge, since we will finally have to conclude that their descriptions of the measurement were not based on observations but rather that the numerical values were constructed. We further examine the accuracy of the method, investigating if ancient data were sufficient to apply it at all. Summarizing, we can only wonder why scientists for so many centuries praised the method’s elegance without collecting the data and applying the method.
Choice Reviews Online, 2006
Codices Manuscripti & Impressi (Erg.), 2023
Was genau dachte sich Lacaille, als er dieses Sternbild 1756 erfunden hat? Leider hat er es nicht... more Was genau dachte sich Lacaille, als er dieses Sternbild 1756 erfunden hat? Leider hat er es nicht aufgeschrieben; wir können nur aus dem Kontext mutmaßen. Die Vorschläge reichen von der Uhr in seiner provisorischen Sternwarte in Kapstadt bis zur Idee Harrisons für den Longitude-Act (ohne eine konkrete der möglichen Uhren abzubilden). Wir stellen in diesem Aufsatz die Interpretationsmöglichkeiten zusammen.
Codices Manuscripti & Impressi (Erg.), 2023
Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra ist einer der bedeutendsten Funde der Bronzezeit in Mitteleuropa. So... more Die Himmelsscheibe von Nebra ist einer der bedeutendsten Funde der Bronzezeit in Mitteleuropa. So klar auch das Bild definitiv astronomischen Inhalts ist und mithin von einem hohen Kenntnisstand der mitteldeutschen Kultur zeugt, so schwierig scheint die Auslegung von Zweck und genauem Inhalt des astronomischen Bildes. In Ermangelung von ähnlichen Funden aus Mitteleuropa werden daher astronomische Kenntnisse anderer Kulturen vergleichend herangezogen. Die hier vorgestellten Fakten zu frühen griechischen und mittelbabylonischen Quellen verwerfen die bisherige Interpretation der Scheibe als Darstellung einer Kalender-Schaltregel, gestehen ihr aber eine symbolische Form zur Vorhersage des jahreszeitlichen Wetters zu.
Codices Manuscripti et Impressi (Erg.), 2023
Das Kompendium MUL.APIN enthält insgesamt sieben Schaltregeln, damit der Mondkalender nicht zu se... more Das Kompendium MUL.APIN enthält insgesamt sieben Schaltregeln, damit der Mondkalender nicht zu sehr aus den (sonnengesteuerten) Jahreszeiten herausläuft. Die erste Regel ist am Anfang abgebrochen und wir diskutieren hier, was die richtige Ergänzung ist.
JIL: Journal of Islamic Law
This article analyzes changes in the reference system of the Jewish Calendar. Initially, the Jewi... more This article analyzes changes in the reference system of the Jewish Calendar. Initially, the Jewish Calendar reference was based on the movement of the Sun. However, the calendar system used by the Jewish community worldwide now refers to two celestial objects, the Sun and the Moon. This study is literature research with a qualitative approach and uses the Book of Enoch and the Sefer Yetzirah as primary sources. The authors found that the first reference system of the Jewish Calendar, which was based on the movement of the Sun (Solar), follows the description in the Book of Enoch and the Sefer Yetzirah. These two books explain the calendar system used by Prophet Idris to Prophet Moses. The Solar Calendar reference system was later replaced with the Lunar Calendar in the second century BCE. Six centuries later, the Jewish Calendar returned to using a Solar Calendar combined with the Lunar Calendar, known as the Lunisolar Calendar. The latest reference system is a mathematical calenda...
VizieR Online Data Catalog, Oct 1, 2020
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press eBooks, Feb 2, 2023
This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalo... more This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalogue" of the early astronomical compendium of MUL.APIN. After a careful re-reading of the text, the authors suggest an interpretation not as a "catalogue" but as an explanatory list. In some cases, this has led to new interpretations concerning the identification of certain celestial objects and the meaning of certain terms and divine names. Consequently, we propose that the deities associated with asterisms can be used to group the astronomical entities and thus help to unveil the frame of reference used in MUL.APIN, which is subdivided on a finer scale than previously realized. In the appendix, we present a tabular layout of the text of MUL.APIN and its translation.
VizieR Online Data Catalog, Sep 1, 2020
Astronomische Nachrichten, Jul 1, 2020
Astronomische Nachrichten, 2020
The Astrophysical Journal, Aug 20, 2020
VizieR Online Data Catalog, Oct 1, 2020
Astronomische Nachrichten, 2020
Peptide Science — Present and Future
64th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale – 12th Melammu Symposium 2018, 2023
This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalogue" of t... more This contribution is dedicated to the astronomical meaning of the so called "star catalogue" of the early astronomical compendium of MUL.APIN. After a careful re-reading of the text, the authors suggest an interpretation not as a "catalogue" but as an explanatory list. In some cases, this has led to new interpretations concerning the identification of certain celestial objects and the meaning of certain terms and divine names. Consequently, we propose that the deities associated with asterisms can be used to group the astronomical entities and thus help to unveil the frame of reference used in MUL.APIN, which is subdivided on a finer scale than previously realized. In the appendix, we present a tabular layout of the text of MUL.APIN and its translation.
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, 2017
The orthogonal grid of latitudes and longitudes on a spherical Earth dates back to Ptolemy’s book... more The orthogonal grid of latitudes and longitudes on a spherical Earth dates back to Ptolemy’s book on Geography in the second century, and the suggestion to determine the longitude of a traveller dates back to the fourth century. Nevertheless, determining one’s own position while travelling remained a problem for two millennia. The solution was technically performed by the Harrison H4 clock in the eighteenth century, but the idea to measure longitudes by time had always been considered a computing exercise. In this paper, we discuss this classical exercise and the question whether and why it had not been applied. Primarily, we recall this example given by different authors and we will recognize differences in their values. Consequently, we will ask about their sources to trace the transfer and transformation of knowledge, since we will finally have to conclude that their descriptions of the measurement were not based on observations but rather that the numerical values were constructed. We further examine the accuracy of the method, investigating if ancient data were sufficient to apply it at all. Summarizing, we can only wonder why scientists for so many centuries praised the method’s elegance without collecting the data and applying the method.
Choice Reviews Online, 2006
Nuncius Hamburgensis, 2021
Proceedings of Conference on Applied and Computational Historical Astronomy
Franckh Kosmos Verlag, 2021
For each of the 88 official constellations: the history and a note on mythology.
Autorin rekonstruiert den nicht überlieferten Himmelsglobus des Hipparch von Nicäa digital und re... more Autorin rekonstruiert den nicht überlieferten Himmelsglobus des Hipparch von Nicäa digital und recherchiert die Herkunft seiner Daten und Quellen. Mithilfe der Fehleranalyse im Datensatz untersucht sie Bezüge zu babylonischen und griechischen Messverfahren und eventuell bei Messungen oder durch Kopierprozesse entstandene Fehler. Zwar ist Hipparch laut Aussage von Ptolemaios im Almagest für seine genauen Beobachtungen bekannt, allerdings muss er nicht zwingend alle Daten selbst beobachtet haben. Hierfür könnte er auch Quellen früher babylonischer und griechischer Astronomen genutzt haben. Daher startet die Autorin die Analyse mit MUL.APIN, interpretiert den GU-Text und den shitqulu-Text neu und diskutiert unter anderem die Schriften von Euklid, Eratosthenes, Arat und Hypsikles. Abschließend stellt die Autorin die Texte und Datenwerke in eine chronologische Ordnung und entwirft damit eine neue Geschichte der Astrometrie im -1. Millennium.
Entdecken Sie die Sternbilder am Nord- und Südhimmel, wie man sie in einer sternklaren Nacht bewu... more Entdecken Sie die Sternbilder am Nord- und Südhimmel, wie man sie in einer sternklaren Nacht bewundern kann. Jede fotografische Sternkarte besitzt eine transparente Folienseite, auf der Sternbildlinien, Sternnamen und die schönsten Himmelsobjekte markiert sind. Axel Mellinger und Susanne Hoffmann haben aus 51 Sternfeldaufnahmen diesen einzigartigen Atlas erstellt. Durch den Einsatz leistungsfähiger Computer und eigens für diese Aufgabe entwickelter Software konnten alle Einzelaufnahmen zu einem Gesamtpanorama vereint, "entzerrt" und schließlich in 30 Himmelsausschnitte unterteilt werden. Außerdem: ausführliche Beschreibungen der Sternbilder und über 140 Himmelsobjekte für Fernglas und Fernrohr.
by Gudrun Wolfschmidt, Susanne M Hoffmann, Petra Hyklova, Oliver Schwarz, Erik Høg, Harald Gropp, Andreas Schrimpf, Reinhard Schielicke, Walter Stephani, Martin Solc, and HHM Zeder
Booklet of Abstracts. Astronomy in the Baltic- Astronomie im Ostseeraum. , Sep 2015
Kolloquium (Tagung) des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft. C... more Kolloquium (Tagung) des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte in der Astronomischen Gesellschaft. Colloquium of the Working Group History of Astronomy in the Astronomical Society. Astronomy in the Baltic - Astronomie im Ostseeraum, organisiert von Gudrun Wolfschmidt. Kiel, 13.-14. September 2015.
Contributions by Carsten Busch, Roger Ceragioli, Dietmar Fürst, Rob H. van Gent, Harald Gropp, Rahlf Hansen, Eike-Christian Harden, Erik Høg, Susanne M. Hoffmann, Petra Hyklová, Irena Kampa, Olaf Kretzer, Paul Kunitzsch, Dietrich Lemke, Heiner Lichtenberg, Rita Meyer-Spasche, Markus Mugrauer, Dagmar Neuhäuser, Ralph Neuhäuser, Elvira Pfitzner, Christine Rink, Reinhard E. Schielicke, Andreas Schrimpf, Oliver Schwarz, Martin Solc, Walter Stephani, Regina Umland and David Walker.
Studien zur Konstruktionsgeschichte des größten Brachymedials der Welt
The first tablet of MUL.APIN begins with a long list of names of asterisms (most of them constell... more The first tablet of MUL.APIN begins with a long list of names of asterisms (most of them constellations, some single stars) which are associated with certain deities. Our investigation is based on the text as reconstructed by Hunger and Pingree (1989) and currently re-edited by Hunger and Steele. Our presentation aims at conceptualizing and visualizing the Babylonian sky based on a careful re-reading of the text and discusses the problems of some conventional translations. Furthermore, the deities linked to asterisms will be examined more closely than in the past. The resulting textual interpretations have led to new suggestions, which are illustrated via a 3D model and compared with previous visual representations of asterisms. The combination of a philological approach with astronomical computation holds potential for improving our understanding of Babylonian uranography and its historical development.
All figures, maps and displayed globes are based on data of the ancient text discussed. They are ... more All figures, maps and displayed globes are based on data of the ancient text discussed. They are visualizations of those texts, programming, screen shots etc. all done by Susanne M Hoffmann, only using a routine for the precession of stars by Graßhoff/ Rinner (2010), reworked and developed by Gordon Fischer (2014). All figures, maps and displayed globes are based on data of the ancient text discussed. They are visualizations of those texts, programming, screen shots etc. all done by Susanne M Hoffmann, only using a routine for the precession of stars by Graßhoff/ Rinner (2010), reworked and developed by Gordon Fischer (2014). Coordinates of stars given by the Almagest (dating +138) and according to Hipparchus (dating ca.-128), reconstructed (SMH, 2014). White: all 9110 stars of the Bright Star Catalog with magnitudes brighter than 4.2 mag MUL.APIN ziqpu stars Outlook Up to now my studies concerned the genesis and development of frames of reference in the ancient world. Further investigations will focus on ziqpu-stars and normal stars and the tablets giving at least longitudes or distances of those stars one to the next. The results therefore concern the history of constellations, the transfer of the zodiac from Mesopotamia to Greece and Together with other scholars I hope to create a database on places and historical times/ epochs where the texts stem from. possible ways of data transfer from one of those two cultures to the other. This database will lead to a better understanding of the development, transfer and transformation of knowledge from early Babylonian origins of mathematical This is a lifelong project for a historian because philologists continuously find and publish new material: new clay tablets, astronomy in MUL.APIN through the Babylonian astronomical diaries, maybe influenced by early Greek astronomy which has been triggered by learning from new new papyri, new translations of known texts … maybe even new drawings and sculptures. Babylonian Hellenistic mathematical astronomy. Later we hope to answer the question who had learned what from whom.
In ancient Babylonia and Greece astronomical methods served for measuring time and time measureme... more In ancient Babylonia and Greece astronomical methods served for measuring time and time measurements probably served for determining the positions of stars. The ancient concept of spacetime had been different from ours but nevertheless served well for the process of the development of orthogonal spacial coordinate systems in ancient astronomy and geography.
Although there is no celestial map preserved from ancient Greece or Mesopotamia, there are severa... more Although there is no celestial map preserved from ancient Greece or Mesopotamia, there are several hints pointing to uranographies in both cultures. One of the most interesting questions is how those ancient astronomers measured the positions of celestial objects and the answer in many cases is time.
The poster presents a comparison of Greek and Babylonian frames of reference and together with my talk it shows the evidence the frames of reference provide for the measurement of time with the celestial sphere as well as the measurement of distances on the celestial sphere by time.
Two pictures - explained and discussed in the poster session - mapping the areas of Babylonian an... more Two pictures - explained and discussed in the poster session - mapping the areas of Babylonian and Greek constellations and a few notes to compare those maps.
How did constellations develop in Mesopotamia? Which constellations were taken over to or transf... more How did constellations develop in Mesopotamia?
Which constellations were taken over to or transformed into Greek astronomical tradition?
How did constellations develop in Mesopotamia? Which constellations were taken over to or transfo... more How did constellations develop in Mesopotamia? Which constellations were taken over to or transformed into Greek astronomical tradition?
Our modern coordinate systems root in ancient astronomy. The first coordinate system preserved is... more Our modern coordinate systems root in ancient astronomy. The first coordinate system preserved is the data in ecliptical coordinates in the Almagest Star Catalogue (150 CE) featuring longitude and latitude for each star. In any earlier texts in Greek and Babylonian mathematical astronomy we find different positioning systems for stars: some of them use the local horizon as frame of reference, some use the shapes of constellations in a broad variety of culturally different constellation outlines. At least, after analysing many texts in copies of ancient Greek manuscripts and Babylonian clay tablets we can tell a story of development from the early and raw Babylonian equatorial system in MUL.APIN (ca. 1200 BCE) to the detailed ecliptical system in the Almagest.
Typisch für Ernst-Peter Fischer ist sein Plauderstil und das breite Fachwissen, nachdem er Physik... more Typisch für Ernst-Peter Fischer ist sein Plauderstil und das breite Fachwissen, nachdem er Physik, Biologie und Mathematik studiert hat. Leider zeigt er auch exemplarisch eine konzeptuelle Schwäche der Disziplin "Wissenschaftsgeschichte" auf, in dem er sich habilitierte, nämlich, dass wenige Vertreter wie Lehrstuhlinhaber und Forscher dieses Fach selbst nicht studiert haben. So wird die Literatur in diesem Genre leider oft mit Publizistik verwechselt und strotzt von fachlichen Ungenauigkeiten (bis hin zu Fehlern) aufgrund des Halbwissens der Autoren. Fischer behauptet beispielsweise auf S.15-17 beharrlich, dass der Satz "Die Nacht ist der Schatten der Erde" erst ab dem 16. Jahrhundert und der Weltbildrevolution des Kopernikus geschrieben werden konnte. Das ist falsch, denn dass die Erde einen Schatten wirft, liegt weder an ihrer Stellung im All noch der Frage, ob sie ruht oder sich dreht und um die Sonne bewegt, sondern einzig an ihrer Kugelgestalt. Die Kugelgestalt war aber bereits seit der Antike bekannt und sogar schon bei Aristoteles finden wir den Hinweis auf den Schatten dieser Himmelskörperkugel, den sie bis zum Mond wirft (im Fall von Mondfinsternissen z.B.) und Aristoteles führt diese Erkenntnis auf seine Altvorderen zurück, so dass die Entstehung der Nacht also bereits im Altertum korrekt erklärt werden konnte. Auch die mythologische Verkleidung der Gedichte Hesiods, die die religiösen Weltbilder der frühen griechischen, babylonischen und ägyptischen Kultur widerspiegelt, kann Fischer nicht korrekt kontextuieren-ein Armutszeugnis für einen ehemaligen Professor, der sich in Wissenschaftsgeschichte habilitiert hat.
Die Tagung des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte der Astronomischen Gesellschaft 2015 in Kiel v... more Die Tagung des Arbeitskreises Astronomiegeschichte der Astronomischen Gesellschaft 2015 in Kiel veranlasste uns, den AKAG, zu einer Rückschau auf die einflussreiche "Kieler Schule", die von Albrecht Unsöld gegründet worden war. Mir war die Ehre aufgetragen worden, diesen Artikel zu recherchieren und mit den Infromationen einiger Interviews von Zeitzeugen (Oral History) zu bereichern.
teaches about Mauretania, the landscape, cultural impressions & stories, gives seven very short l... more teaches about Mauretania, the landscape, cultural impressions & stories, gives seven very short lections in astronomy
brief history, Verabschiedung von Dieter B Herrmann als Direktor
here I collect the typos that are possibly misleading