Meteorology

Featured exhibit items for meteorology.

Exhibit Items

	Treasury of Optics al-Haytham, Ibn (1572) The frontispiece depicts a variety of optical phenomena: Reflection. Refraction. Perspective. The rainbow. Burning mirrors.
1	Works of Hesiod Hesiod, (1559) In Works and Days, the poet Hesiod, a roughly contemporary of Homer, compiled guidelines for conducting life and forecasting the weather according to the stars.
2	Meteorology, 1556 Aristotle, (1556) In a discussion of optical effects of the atmosphere, Aristotle here addresses the formation of a halo around the Moon. This is one of the most interesting uses of mathematics in all of Aristotle’s writings.
5	On the Snowflake, or the Six-Angled Crystal Kepler, Johann (1611) Kepler’s contributions reached far beyond the realm of astronomy, to meteorology, mathematics, geology, mineralogy and crystallography. Kepler published this 24-page pamphlet, a study of the snowflake, as a New Year’s greeting for a friend.
6	Essays on Natural Experiences, 1666 Accademia del Cimento, (1666) The Academy of the Lynx (Accademia dei Lincei) dissolved after the death of its founder, Prince Federigo Cesi. In its place, Grand Duke Ferdinand II established the Academy of Experiment in Florence, which carried further the research program of Galileo.
8	On Meteorology Descartes, René (1637) This essay on meteorology contains Descartes’ explanation of the optics of the rainbow and his law of refraction. Descartes’ ambitious aim was to produce a new body of writings that would completely displace the Aristotelian corpus.
9	Treatise on the Equilibrium of Fluids Pascal, Blaise (1663) To clarify the ability of the barometer to measure the pressure of the atmosphere, Pascal left a barometer at a low elevation in the town of Clermont, in Auvergne, while taking another with him as he climbed the Puy-de-Dôme.
10	A Prognostication Everlasting of Right Good Effect Digges, Leonard (1605) This sun-centered cosmic section representes the first published defense of Copernicus in England, printed in a work of meteorology.
11	The Star-Splitter Frost, Robert (1923) In a comical ballad called “The Star-Splitter,” Robert Frost described a man outdoors splitting firewood after the first frost of autumn: “You know Orion always comes up sideways.
11	Tornadoes: What they are and how to observe them Finley, John P. (1887) This is the first book written in English devoted to tornados. Finley served in the US Army Signal Service, which was tasked with weather forecasting in 1870. Finley’s study of tornados led him to issue unofficial tornado forecasts.