Solar System Astronomy in America Communities, Patronage, and Interdisciplinary Science, 1920–1960

This book examines how American scientists collaborated to better understand the solar system.

Between 1920 and 1960 astronomers began working with scientists in other fields in order to better understand the nature of the solar system. Researchers made wide-ranging attempts to solve such problems as the nature of lunar and terrestrial craters, the origin of comets and meteors and the birth of the solar system. While often tinged with controversy, this work provided the foundation for planetary science in the space age. Exploiting archival material, this book, first published in 1996, investigates this emerging interdisciplinary scientific community and its influence on astronomy, meteorology, geology and geophysics. It examines how studies in planetary science were influenced by shifts in institutional mandates, new research techniques, and Cold War government-military funding. Above all, the book explores an important branch of what is now called the environmental sciences.

List of illustrations; Preface; Introduction; 1. American astronomy in the foundation era (1920–40); 2. Planetary atmospheres and military patrons (1945–55); 3. Astronomers, geochemists, and astro-chemistry (1945–55); 4. Consensus, then controversy: interdisciplinary turmoil (1950–7); 5. Astronomers and geologists: uneasy alliances (1920–60); 6. Patronage and American astronomy: turmoil and transition (1952–60); Conclusion; Appendices; List of Abbreviation; References; Index.

A history of how scientists in various fields collaborated from 1920 to 1960 to better understand the solar system, this book examines such areas as the origin of comets, the nature of planets, and the significance of impact collisions on Earth's history.