Tag Archives: history

A Star by Any Other Name, and a Galilean Interlude

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

I started writing about stars, names, designations and how we got to a point where Sirius is also known as BD-16°1591, ADS 5423 and GJ 244. That started me thinking about telescopes, Galileo, Aristotle and Dante. One Star, Many Names: … Continue reading →

Posted in Discursive Detours | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Dark Ages: A New Book, an Old Idea and a Quick Post

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

I saw another The New York Times item in my Google News feed this morning: “Scholars Cringe at the Term ‘Dark Ages.’ Dan Jones Explains Why. The New York Times • Yesterday As I said Monday, I don’t and won’t … Continue reading →

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Old St. Peter’s, Visigoths and a Henry

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome isn’t nearly as old as it looks. Architects in ancient Rome often covered large interior spaces with barrel vaults and semicircular arches, although they hadn’t invented either. Someone started using arches and vaults, probably in … Continue reading →

Posted in A Tale of Two Churches: St. Peter's, Rome, Series | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Sifting Through the Ash Heap of History

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

Petrarch called Rome “a rubbish heap of history.” That’s what Ferdinand Gregorovius says Petrarch wrote in a letter, at any rate. “…Petrarch, who was then in Avignon, wrote on this occasion his patriotic epistle in Latin verses to Aeneas Tolomei … Continue reading →

Posted in Golden Ages, Series | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A Trilobite With a Hyper-Compound Eye

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Brian H. Gill

It’s barely over two weeks since scientists at the University of Cologne published what they’d learned about a trilobite’s unique eye. Their research vindicated an amateur paleontologist’s observations, and very likely will raise more questions than it answers. That’s par … Continue reading →

Posted in Science News | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments