* Astronomy

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RE: 1919 Eclipse

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Probably the most important eclipse in the history of science occurred on 29 May 1919. Just six months after the end of World War I, British astronomers used it to test a new idea that came from Germany in 1915.
The proposition was that gravity affected light, space and time itself, and as a result the Sun would deflect starlight passing by it. Changes in the apparent direction of stars in the sky, seen close to the Sun during a total eclipse, could confirm the idea.
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Today Oxford University scientists are joining in a special celebration of the first test of Albert Einstein's theory of gravity on the remote African island where the ground-breaking experiment took place.
29 May is the 90th anniversary of the first test of Albert Einstein's new theory of gravity: a test that paved the way for the gravitational lensing technique now used by astronomers to search for mysterious dark matter and dark energy.

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In 1919, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) launched an expedition to the West African island of Príncipe, to observe a total solar eclipse and prove or disprove Einsteins General Theory of Relativity. Now, in a new RAS-funded expedition for the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009), scientists are back.

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Einstein and Eddington Part 1

Einstein and Eddington Part 2

Einstein and Eddington Part 3

Einstein and Eddington Part 4

Einstein and Eddington Part 5

Einstein and Eddington Part 6

Einstein and Eddington Part 7

In the Spring of 1914, with Europe on the brink of war, no one had heard of an obscure German physicist called Albert Einstein. A British astronomer, Arthur Eddington, realised that Einsteins theories could unlock whole new ways of thinking about time and space. Despite the danger of being labelled traitors, the two men began a unique correspondence. An eclipse in Africa provided an opportunity to prove Einsteins theories to the world. Eddington, an unlikely hero, set out on a journey that would change peoples perceptions of the universe forever.

Stars David Tennant as Arthur Eddington and Andy Serkis as Albert Einstein.

Einstein and Eddington Part 8

Einstein and Eddington Part 9

Einstein and Eddington Part 10

Einstein and Eddington Part 11

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In May 1919, British scientist Arthur Eddington embarked on an historic expedition to the island of Principe, off the west African coast, to observe a total solar eclipse.

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Einstein and Eddington (1/ )

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Einstein and Eddington (8/10)

Einstein and Eddington (9/10)

Einstein and Eddington (10/10)

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Eclipse - Eddington

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Negative photo of the 1919 solar eclipse

Relativity and the 1919 eclipse

Probably the most important eclipse in the history of science occurred on 29 May 1919. Just six months after the end of World War I, British astronomers used it to test a new idea that came from Germany in 1915.

The proposition was that gravity affected light, space and time itself, and as a result the Sun would deflect starlight passing by it. Changes in the apparent direction of stars in the sky, seen close to the Sun during a total eclipse, could confirm the idea.

The announcement of favourable results in London on 8 November 1919 signalled the replacement of Newton's theory of gravity by the theory of general relativity. Its originator, a 40-year old Berliner called Albert Einstein, at once became the most famous scientist in the world.

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Title: Not Only Because of Theory: Dyson, Eddington and the Competing Myths of the 1919 Eclipse Expedition
Authors: Daniel Kennefick
(Version v2)

The 1919 Eclipse Expedition to test the light-bending prediction of General Relativity remains one of the most famous physics experiments of the 20th century. However, in recent decades it has been increasingly often alleged that the data-analysis of the expedition's leaders was faulty and biased in favour of Einstein's theory. Arthur Stanley Eddington is particularly alleged to have been prejudiced in favour of general relativity. Specifically it is claimed that some of the data, which would have favoured the so-called Newtonian prediction, was thrown out on dubious grounds. This paper argues that a close examination of the views of the expedition's organisers, and of their data analysis, suggests that they had good grounds for acting as they did, and that the key people involved, in particular the astronomer Frank Watson Dyson, were not biased in favour of Einstein. It also draws attention to a modern re-analysis of the most important eclipse plates which, though overlooked until now, tends to strongly support the thesis of this paper.

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