Edmond Halley By Barbara Hooper Heckart Intro: The book gives a brief summary of what the book is going to be about. It describes Halley's Comet and shows its orbit.
Chapters 1 & 2: In these chapters, information about where Halley was born and about the time period he lives in is given (mid 1600's). There are details about his parents and about how he became interested in astronomy.
Chapters 3 & 4: The book talks about his studies at Oxford University. It also talks about Johannes Kepler, the person who said that the planets orbit in an oval, not a circle.
Chapters 5 & 6: These chapters talk about the forming of the "Royal Society." This was an organization, which included the top scientists who met to discuss the newest theories in science. They also talk about how Edmond Halley charted the stars in the Southern Hemisphere, which is something that had never been done before.
An image of Halley's Comet taken June 6, 1910.
English: Portrait of Edmond Halley painted around ...
Plaque in South Cloister of Westminster AbbeyThis would make traveling by sea much safer.
Chapters 7 & 8: The book describes Halley's visit to a fellow scientist that studies the skies. His name was Johannes Hevelias. Halley had to travel a great distance to reach Havelias' home. During the trip, Halley saw the Great Comet of 1682 (now known as Halley's Comet). After seeing this comet, He started to concentrate on studying comets. Edmond also gets married.
Chapters 9 & 10: In these chapters, Edmond Halley tries to prove that Johannes Kepler's theories of the motion of planets are true. He goes to Isaac Newton and asks him his opinion. He also talks Isaac into publishing a book about the mathematical principles of philosophy, which would help other scientists who were studying in this area. There is also a description about the composition of comets. Edmond also discovered that the comet had an orbit and predicted it would come back in 1758. He was correct in this assumption.
Chapters 11 & 12: These chapters describe how Edmond Halley was not only a scientist of the stars, but that he studied many other fields. There is a description of a voyage in which Edmond was the commander and the experiments that were done on board the ship.
Chapters 13 & 14: In these chapters, they describe how Halley's last few years were spent and in what ways he is remembered.
Bust of Edmond Halley in the Museum of the Royal G...
Edmond Halley
Photograph of the grave of Edmund Halley at St. Ma...