Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Astrophysics" in English language version.
The great majority of astronomers working in the early nineteenth century were not interested in stars as physical objects. Far from being bodies with physical properties to be investigated, the stars were seen as markers measured in order to construct an accurate, detailed and precise background against which solar, lunar and planetary motions could be charted, primarily for terrestrial applications.
Eddington had realized that there would be a mass loss if four hydrogen atoms combined to form a single helium atom. Einstein's equivalence of mass and energy led directly to the suggestion that this could be the long-sought process that produces the energy in the stars! It was an inspired guess, all the more remarkable because the structure of the nucleus and the mechanisms of these reactions were not fully understood.
The great majority of astronomers working in the early nineteenth century were not interested in stars as physical objects. Far from being bodies with physical properties to be investigated, the stars were seen as markers measured in order to construct an accurate, detailed and precise background against which solar, lunar and planetary motions could be charted, primarily for terrestrial applications.
The great majority of astronomers working in the early nineteenth century were not interested in stars as physical objects. Far from being bodies with physical properties to be investigated, the stars were seen as markers measured in order to construct an accurate, detailed and precise background against which solar, lunar and planetary motions could be charted, primarily for terrestrial applications.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)Eddington had realized that there would be a mass loss if four hydrogen atoms combined to form a single helium atom. Einstein's equivalence of mass and energy led directly to the suggestion that this could be the long-sought process that produces the energy in the stars! It was an inspired guess, all the more remarkable because the structure of the nucleus and the mechanisms of these reactions were not fully understood.
The great majority of astronomers working in the early nineteenth century were not interested in stars as physical objects. Far from being bodies with physical properties to be investigated, the stars were seen as markers measured in order to construct an accurate, detailed and precise background against which solar, lunar and planetary motions could be charted, primarily for terrestrial applications.