| PAGE |
| Preface | v |
| CHAPTER I. |
| Primitive Astronomy, §§1-18 | 1-20 |
| §1. | Scope of astronomy | 1 |
| §§2-5. | First notions: the motion of the sun: the motion and phases of the moon: daily motion of the stars | 1 |
| §6. | Progress due to early civilised peoples: Egyptians, Chinese, Indians, and Chaldaeans | 3 |
| §7. | The celestial sphere: its scientific value: apparent distance between the stars: the measurement of angles | 4 |
| §§8-9. | The rotation of the celestial sphere: the North and South poles: the daily motion: the celestial equator: circumpolar stars | 7 |
| §§10-11. | The annual motion of the sun: great circles: the ecliptic and its obliquity: the equinoxes and equinoctial points: the solstices and solstitial points | 8 |
| §§12-13. | The constellations: the zodiac, signs of the zodiac, and zodiacal constellations: the first point of Aries (?), and the first point of Libra (?) | 12 |
| §14. | The five planets: direct and retrograde motions: stationary points | 14 |
| §15. | The order of nearness of the planets: occultations: superior and inferior planets | 15 |
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| §16. | Measurement of time: the day and its division into hours: the lunar month: the year: the week | 17 |
| §17. | Eclipses: the saros | 19 |
| §18. | The rise of Astrology | 20 |
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| CHAPTER II. |
| Greek Astronomy (from about 600 b.c. to about 400 a.d.), §§19-54 | 21-75 |
| §§19-20. | Astronomy up to the time of Aristotle. The Greek calendar: full and empty months: the octaeteris: Meton’s cycle | 21 |
| §21. | The Roman calendar: introduction of the Julian Calendar | 22 |
| §22. | The Gregorian Calendar | 23 |
| §23. | Early Greek speculative astronomy: Thales and Pythagoras: the spherical form of the earth: the celestial spheres: the music of the spheres | 24 |
| §24. | Philolaus and other Pythagoreans: early believers in the motion of the earth: Aristarchus and Seleucus | 25 |
| §25. | Plato: uniform circular and spherical motions | 26 |
| §26. | Eudoxus: representation of the celestial motions by combinations of spheres: description of the constellations. Callippus | 27 |
| §§27-30. | Aristotle: his spheres: the phases of the moon: proofs that the earth is spherical: his arguments against the motion of the earth: relative distances of the celestial bodies: other speculations: estimate of his astronomical work | 29 |
| §§31-2. | The early Alexandrine school: its rise: Aristarchus: his estimates of the distances of the sun and moon. Observations by Timocharis and Aristyllus | 34 |
| §§33-4. | Development of spherics: the Phenomena of Euclid: the horizon, the zenith, poles of a great circle, verticals, declination circles, the meridian, celestial latitude and longitude, right ascension and declination. Sun-dials | 36 |
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| §35. | The division of the surface of the earth into zones | 37 |
| §119. | The Sidereus Nuncius: observations of the moon | 150 |
| §120. | New stars: resolution of portions of the Milky Way | 151 |
| §121. | The discovery of Jupiter’s satellites: their importance for the Coppernican controversy: controversies | 151 |
| §122. | Appointment at the Tuscan court | 153 |
| §123. | Observations of Saturn. Discovery of the phases of Venus | 154 |
| §124. | Observations of sun-spots by Fabricius, Harriot, Scheiner, and Galilei: the Macchie Solari: proof that the spots were not planets: observations of the umbra and penumbra | 154 |
| §125. | Quarrel with Scheiner and the Jesuits: theological controversies: Letter to the Grand Duchess Christine | 157 |
| §126. | Visit to Rome. The first condemnation: prohibition of Coppernican books | 159 |
| §127. | Method for finding longitude. Controversy on comets: Il Saggiatore | 160 |
| §128. | Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World. Its preparation and publication | 162 |
| §129. | The speakers: argument for the Coppernican system based on the telescopic discoveries: discussion of stellar parallax: the differential method of parallax | 163 |
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| §130. | Dynamical arguments in favour of the motion of the earth: the First Law of Motion. The tides | 165 |
| §131. | The trial and condemnation. The thinly veiled Coppernicanism of the Dialogue: the remarkable preface | 168 |
| §132. | Summons to Rome: trial by the Inquisition: condemnation, abjuration, and punishment: prohibition of the Dialogue | 169 |
| §133. | Last years: life at Arcetri: libration of the moon: the Two New Sciences: uniform acceleration, and the first law of motion. Blindness and death | 172 |
| §134. | Estimate of Galilei’s work: his scientific method | 176 |
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| CHAPTER VII. |
| Kepler (from 1571 a.d. to 1630 a.d.), §§135-151 | 179-197 |
| §135. | Early life and theological studies | 179 |
| §136. | Lectureship on mathematics at Gratz: astronomical studies and speculations: the Mysterium Cosmographicum | 180 |
| §137. | Religious troubles in Styria: work with Tycho | 181 |
| §138. | Appointment by the Emperor Rudolph as successor to Tycho: writings on the new star of 1604 and on Optics: theory of refraction and a new form of telescope | 182 |
| §139. | Study of the motion of Mars: unsuccessful attempts to explain it | 183 |
| §§140-1. | The ellipse: discovery of the first two of Kepler’s Laws for the case of Mars: the Commentaries on Mars | 184 |
| §142. | Suggested extension of Kepler’s Laws to the other planets | 186 |
| §143. | Abdication and death of Rudolph: appointment at Linz | 188 |
| §144. | The Harmony of the World: discovery of Kepler’s Third Law: the “music of the spheres” | 188 |
| §145. | Epitome of the Copernican Astronomy: its prohibition: fanciful correction of the distance of the sun: observation of the sun’s corona | 191 |
| §146. | Treatise on Comets | 193 |
| §147. | Religious troubles at Linz: removal to Ulm | 194 |
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| §238. | Laplace: his career: the MÉcanique CÉleste and the SystÈme du Monde: political appointments and distinctions | 306 |
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| §239. | Advance made by Lagrange and Laplace on the work of their immediate predecessors | 308 |
| §240. | Explanation of the moon’s secular acceleration by Laplace | 308 |
| §241. | Laplace’s lunar theory: tables of BÜrg and Burckhardt | 309 |
| §242. | Periodic and secular inequalities | 310 |
| §243. | Explanation of the mutual perturbation of Jupiter and Saturn: long inequalities | 312 |
| §§244-5. | Theorems on the stability of the solar system: the eccentricity fund and the inclination fund | 313 |
| §246. | The magnitudes of some of the secular inequalities | 318 |
| §247. | Periodical inequalities: solar and planetary tables MÉcanique CÉleste | 318 |
| §248. | Minor problems of gravitational astronomy: the satellites: Saturn’s ring: precession and nutation: figure of the earth: tides: comets: masses of planets and satellites | 318 |
| §249. | The solution of Newton’s problem by the astronomers of the eighteenth century | 319 |
| §250. | The nebular hypothesis: its speculative character | 320 |
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| CHAPTER XII. |
| Herschel (from 1738 a.d. to 1822 a.d.), §§251-271 | 323-353 |
| §§251-2. | William Herschel’s early career: Bath: his first telescope | 323 |
| §§253-4. | The discovery of the planet Uranus, and its consequences: Herschel’s removal to Slough | 325 |
| §255. | Telescope-making: marriage: the forty-foot telescope: discoveries of satellites of Saturn and of Uranus | 327 |
| §256. | Life and work at Slough: last years: Caroline Herschel | 328 |
| §257. | Herschel’s astronomical programme: the study of the fixed stars | 330 |
| §258. | The distribution of the stars in space: star-gauging: the “grindstone” theory of the universe: defects of the fundamental assumption: its partial withdrawal. Employment of brightness as a test of nearness: measurement of brightness: “space-penetrating” power of a telescope | 332 |
| §259. | Nebulae and star clusters: Herschel’s great catalogues | 336 |
| §260. | Relation of nebulae to star clusters: the “island universe” theory of nebulae: the “shining fluid” theory: distribution of nebulae | 337 |
| §261. | Condensation of nebulae into clusters and stars | 339 |
| §262. | The irresolvability of the Milky Way | 340 |
| §263. | Double stars: their proposed employment for finding parallax: catalogues: probable connection between members of a pair | 341 |
| §264. | Discoveries of the revolution of double stars: binary stars: their uselessness for parallax | 343 |
| §265. | The motion of the sun in space: the various positions suggested for the apex | 344 |
| §266. | Variable stars: Mira and Algol: catalogues of comparative brightness: method of sequences: variability of ? Herculis | 346 |
| §267. | Herschel’s work on the solar system: new satellites: observations of Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Mars | 34
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