Shadows of the Circle: From Conic Sections to Planetary Motion (Second Edition)

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The ancient Greeks were the first to seriously ask for scientific explanations of the panorama of the heavens based on mathematical ideas. Ever since, mathematics has played a major role for human perception and description of the outside physical world, and in a larger perspective for comprehending the universe. This second edition pays tribute to this line of thought and takes the reader on a journey in the mathematical universe from conic sections to mathematical modelling of planetary systems.In the second edition, the four chapters in the first edition on conic sections (two chapters), isoperimetric problems for plane figures, and non-Euclidean geometry, are treated in four revised chapters with many new exercises added. In three new chapters, the reader is taken through mathematics in curves, mathematics in a Nautilus shell, and mathematics in the panorama of the heavens. In all chapters of the book, the circle plays a prominent role.This book is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers interested in the geometry of conic sections, including the historical background and mathematical methods used. It features selected important results, and proofs that not only proves but also 'explains' the results.