Book Catalog – Celestial Related

This book allows you not only to identify the tiny specks of light glittering above but how you can use them to find a greater splendor with the naked eye, binoculars, or with a telescope. Also, for me, it gives a greater intimacy to some brighter stars in the sky when you read how the ancients viewed them when they glimpsed the same night sky.

In astronomy, as in other sciences, the only firm conceptions are those obtained from direct observation. Prof. Todd’s book marks a new departure by showing how the fundamental principles of the subject may be studied with the aid of tangible objects, somewhat as in physics and chemistry. The result is most successful. No book with which we are familiar contains a clearer account of astronomical geography, and none show so well how to observe celestial movements or illustrate astronomical phenomena with simple appliances. The pupil who learns astronomy through Prof. Todd’s book will have an actual idea of the motions and measurements of the heavenly bodies instead of abstract conceptions concerning them.

Agnes Mary Clerke first published A Popular History of Astronomy in 1885. The work was received with widespread acclaim and brought Clerke an international reputation as a science writer. The History surveys the progress made in astronomy during the nineteenth century. It is split chronologically into two parts, dealing with the first and the second half of the century. Part 1 focuses on the career of the astronomer William Herschel and the development of sidereal astronomy; part 2 deals with the discovery of spectrum analysis and the progress of knowledge about sunspots and the magnetic disturbances which cause them. Clerke’s work, a classic example of Victorian popular scientific literature, stands alongside Grant’s earlier History of Astronomy in its success in popularising the subject. The work is important today for scholars researching the history of the discipline and its place in educated Victorian society.

The present work is not a compendium of astronomy or an outline course of popular reading in that science. It has been prepared as a textbook, and the author has purposely omitted from it much matter interesting as well as important to a complete view of the science, and has endeavored to concentrate attention upon those parts of the subject that possess special educational value. From this point of view matter which permits of experimental treatment with simple apparatus is of peculiar value and is given a prominence in the text beyond its just due in a well-balanced exposition of the elements of astronomy, while topics, such as the results of spectrum analysis, which depend upon elaborate apparatus, are in the experimental part of the work accorded much less space than their intrinsic importance would justify.

Every student of astronomy is familiar with this well-known textbook, and it is not too much to say that it is as well used this side of the Atlantic as it is on the other. Written for a general course in colleges and schools, and meant to supply that amount of information upon the subject which may fairly be expected of “every liberally educated person,” it is only natural that too great an attention to details must give way to more general statements.

The necessity for a new edition of “An Introduction to Astronomy” has furnished an opportunity for entirely rewriting it. As in the first edition, the aim has been to present the great subject of astronomy so that a person who has not had extensive scientific training can easily comprehend it.  It has been assumed that the reader has no intention of becoming an astronomer, but that he has an interest in the wonderful universe that surrounds him, and that he has arrived at such a stage of intellectual development that he demands the reasons for whatever conclusions he is asked to accept.

Are the Planets Inhabited? Is a classic astronomy essay by E. Walter Maunder. The first thought men had concerning the heavenly bodies was an obvious one: they were lights. There was a greater light to rule the day; a lesser light to rule the night; and there were the stars. In those days there seemed an immense difference between the earth upon which men stood, and the bright objects that shone down upon it from the heavens above. The earth seemed to be vast, dark, and motionless; the celestial lights seemed to be small, and moved, and shone. Men and women, gifted with feeling, intelligence, and character, look upward from its surface and watch the shining members of the heavenly host. Are none of these the home of beings gifted with like powers, who watch in their turn the movements of that shining point which is our world?

“Astronomical Instruments And Accessories” is one of the major works by William Gaertner that represents a catalogue of different devises used by astronomers, mostly optical instruments, such as telescopes. The catalogue provides a detailed information for each item and can be useful for those interested in astronomy.

Written at the beginning of the 20th century, the most enjoyable thing about this book is the enthusiasm of the author. He is seriously in love with astronomy and wants to communicate that love to the reader. At the time he was writing this, the mechanics of the universe were pretty well understood and his information about distances, orbits, eclipses and sizes of objects was pretty much as it is now. 

The book itself contains incidentally a good deal of matter concerned with the Astronomy of the past, introducing which has been found necessary in order to make clearer the Astronomy of our time.

Garrett Serviss wrote with a firm understanding of the science of the period. He was also graced with a delightful imagination and unequaled power of poetic expression in describing the wonders and mysteries of the universe.

The object which the Author and Publisher of this little work have proposed to themselves, has been the production, at a moderate price, of a useful and reliable guide to the amateur telescopist. The work also treats of the construction of telescopes, the nature and use of star-maps, and other subjects connected with the requirements of amateur observers.

An attempt has been made in these pages to trace the evolution of intellectual thought in the progress of astronomical discovery, and, by recognizing the different points of view of the different ages, to give due credit even to the ancients. Something of each of these is essential, however, for tracing the progress of thought and knowledge which it is the object of this History to describe.

These are great lectures that help generate a lot of interest in the subject. If you are a student of astronomy, you must read this once. Highly recommended. Even if you are a wee bit interested in Astronomy, this is a must-read. Very interesting and informative.

Geography In the awakened interest in the common-school subjects during recent years, geography has received a large share. The establishment of chairs of geography in some of our greatest universities, the giving of college courses in physiography, meteorology, and commerce, and the general extension of geography courses in normal schools, academies, and high schools, may be cited as evidence of this growing appreciation of the importance of the subject. 

The chief charm of Astronomy, with many, does not live in the wonders revealed to us by the science, but in the lore and legends connected with its history, the strange fancies with which in old times it has been associated, the half-forgotten myths to which it has given birth. In our own times also, Astronomy has had its myths and fancies, its wild inventions, and startling paradoxes.

The point of view of this book is a human interest in the other worlds around us. It presents the latest discoveries among the planets of the solar system and shows their bearing upon the question of life on those planets.

Sir Oliver Lodge was a British physicist, writer and physics professor in Liverpool who developed some patents for early radio. This book, published in 1893, deals with pioneers in astronomy from observers and experimenters to mathematicians and theorists. The book is a fascinating read because it gives the current understanding of the heavens, and one can get an appreciation of the fantastic increase of scientific development and understanding in such a short time, especially compared to the works of the Hubble telescope, planetary probes, computer computation and man space flights, things that could not even be conceived a hundred years ago.

Serviss’ descriptions are just lovely, and though over a century old, this book is still very worth reading by modern stargazers. In conclusion, the author wishes for his readers as great a pleasure in the telescope’s use as he himself has enjoyed.

The Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has been published regularly since 1889, as part of the ASP’s mission to advance the science of astronomy and disseminate astronomical information. This journal provides an outlet for astronomical scientific results and serves to keep readers in touch with current astronomical research. It contains refereed research and instrumentation papers, invited reviews, and dissertation summaries.

This book has been written not only to reveal some of the highest achievements of the human mind, but also to let the heavens declare the glory of the Divine Mind. In the author’s judgment, there is no gulf that separates science and religion, nor any conflict where they stand together. And it is fervently hoped that anyone who comes to a better knowledge of God’s works through reading this book, may come to a more intimate knowledge of the Worker.

Sir George Darwin believed that a simple presentation of Hill’s method, in which the analysis was cut short while the fundamental principles of the method were shewn, might be acceptable to students of astronomy. In this belief we heartily agree. The lectures might also with advantage engage the attention of other students of mathematics who have not the time to enter a completely elaborated lunar theory. They explain the essential peculiarities of Hill’s work and the method of approximation used by him in the discussion of an actual problem of nature of great interest. It is hoped that sufficient detail has been given to reveal completely the underlying principles and not be too tedious for verification by the reader.

The author has yielded to what he could not but regard as the too flattering judgment of the publishers. Having done this, it became incumbent to do what he could to justify their good opinion by revising the material and bringing it up to date. Interest rather than unity of thought has determined the selection.

A fascinating biography of one of Europe’s greatest astronomers, William Herschel, detailing his life in Germany and arrival in England and his intense working relationship with his sister Caroline Herschel.

This work amounts in fact to a sketch of the history of astronomical discovery under the heads of the different departments of that science to which allusions are made in the great epic of the sublimest of our poets. The author justly remarks that the choicest passages in “Paradise Lost” are associated with these allusions; his primary object has been their exposition and illustration, and his enthusiasm has led him to include a wealth of matter in carrying this out, which his readers will not regret. Milton lived in a critical period of astronomical progress. The discoveries of Galileo and Kepler had shown the great probability of the truth of the Copernican system; but Newton had not yet placed that system upon an irrefragable basis. Hence, “in describing the natural phenomena witnessed by our first parents, he adheres to the doctrine of the Ptolemaic system,” whilst it is clear from many passages, particularly from the discourse between Adam and the angel in the eighth book, that he saw and appreciated the simplicity and beauty of the Copernican theory, on which he had doubtless conversed with Galileo, the “Tuscan artist,” when on his travels in his younger days.

This book is very informative. Initially, it put forth the notion that the Hebrews were not sky watchers in the Magi sense. They were not recorders of celestial events. But as the book progresses, it shows that certain book of the Bible reflect extensive knowledge of astronomy. In one portion of the book, it takes the word Kimah and shows how that word relates to the Seven Sisters, in the Hebrew Bible.

In this book, first published in 1638, Wilkins defended the Copernican and Galilean idea that the Earth is a planet by establishing analogies with the Moon. Following Galileo, Wilkins argued that if the Moon moves through the heavens and yet bears similarities with the Earth, such as mountains and oceans, then one should not discount the possibility that the Earth also is a heavenly body. Following Kepler, Wilkins also considered whether the Moon is inhabited and whether it might be possible to reach it by flight.

Astronomers claim it that their science is not only the oldest; but that it is the most highly developed of the sciences. It should be so; since no other science has ever received such support from royalty; from the state and from the private individual. However this may be; in recent years astronomers have had granted to them greater opportunities for carrying on large pieces of work than have been entrusted to men in any other department of pure science.

The Gradual Acceptance of the Copernican Theory of the Universe is a classic science study that does not belong in astronomy, but in that of the history of thought; for it is an endeavor to trace the changes in people’s beliefs and conceptions regarding the universe, as the dissolution of superstition worked these resulting from the scientific and rationalist movements. The opening chapter is intended to do only to review briefly the astronomical theories up to the age of Copernicus, in order to provide a background for the better comprehension of the work of Copernicus and its effects.

The Martyrs of Science, by David Brewster, is a classic science biography collection that tells of the lives of great astronomers such as Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler who challenged the doctrine of the church in the 16th century and endured the consequences in the advancement’s name of science.

The present Volume is intended as a sequel to my two former volumes in the Newnes Series of “Useful Stories,” entitled respectively the “Story of the Solar System,” and the “Story of the Stars.” It has been written not only as a necessary complement, so to speak, to those works, but because public attention is already being directed to the forthcoming total eclipse of the Sun on May 28, 1900. This eclipse, though only visible as a partial one in England, will be totally no further off than Portugal and Spain. Considering also that the line of totality will pass across a large tract of country forming part of the United States, it may be inferred that there will be an enormous number of English-speaking spectators of the phenomenon. It is for these that this little book has been written. For the guidance of those who may be expected to visit Portugal or Spain, a temporary Appendix has been prepared, giving a large amount of information showing how those countries can be best reached, whether by sea or overland, from the shores of England.

An Irish astronomer and talented mathematician, Sir Robert Stawell Ball was also a prolific writer of popular astronomy. As a young man, Ball conducted observations of nebulae using Lord Rosse’s telescope – at the time the largest in the world. His Story of the Heavens displays the same fascination with the beauties and mysteries of the sky, providing a detailed survey of the history and contemporary situation of the solar system, and speculating about the possibility of life on other planets. Originally published in 1885, when Ball was Andrews Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin and Royal Astronomer of Ireland, this beautifully illustrated volume covers all eight planets, the Sun, and double stars, distant suns, comets, and the Milky Way. Extremely popular in its time, this book remains relevant today for its historical account of astronomy as a science.

The present work fills a manifest need, and Prof. Darwin is right in thinking “that there are many who would like to understand the tides, and will attempt to do so, provided the exposition be sufficiently simple and clear.” His dictum, that “a mathematical argument is, after all organised common sense,” is indisputable, but so far from making the task undertaken in any way easier, it really emphasises the enormous difficulty. But Prof. Darwin has avowedly taken pains to render an intricate subject intelligible, and they will agree it he has achieved an unqualified success.

The effort of the distinguished Statesman who has invested Astronomy with new beauties is the latest and one of the most brilliant of his compositions and is already wholly out of print, though scarcely a month has elapsed since the date of its delivery. The account of the proceedings at Albany during the Ceremonies of Inauguration is brief, but accurate, and is respectfully submitted to the consideration of the reader.

The ability of the author of this work to give a lucid exposition of an abstruse subject is a matter of common knowledge; and hence the fact that the book contains two of his lectures delivered at the London Institution last November is sufficiently commendation. However, be this as it may, we have no hesitation in saying there could hardly be a clearer explanation of Prof. George Darwin’s theory of tidal evolution than that contained in the work before us. The hypothesis being accepted, every feature of the past and future condition of our satellite is described most comprehensively. It is first shown how, when the earth was rotating on its axis with an enormous velocity, the tidal action set up by the sun caused a portion to become detached and form our satellite. The employment of the term “conservation of spin” facilitates considerably the demonstration of the fact that as by tidal action the spin of the earth decreases—as our day lengthens—so must the dimensions of the moon’s orbit be increased, and the length of the month therefore become proportionally greater. The application of Prof. Darwin’s theory to other members of our system is also inquired into; and although the author does not go back to the first stage in the evolution of celestial species, he shows that tidal evolution extends the hypothesis that does so. The book is replete with information, and by the general scientific reader will be found exceedingly interesting.