CHAPTER | PAGE |
I.—Different kinds of measurement | 1 |
The measurement of angles and time. | |
II.—The stars and their diurnal motion | 10 |
Finding the stars—Their apparent motion—Latitude—Direction of the meridian—Sidereal time—Definitions. | |
III.—Fixed and wandering stars | 29 |
Apparent motion of the sun, moon, and planets—Orbits of the planets—How to find the planets. | |
IV.—Celestial mechanics | 46 |
Kepler's laws—Newton's laws of motion—The law of gravitation—Orbital motion—Perturbations—Masses of the planets—Discovery of Neptune—The tides. | |
V.—The earth as a planet | 70 |
Size—Mass—Precession—The warming of the earth—The atmosphere—Twilight. | |
VI.—The measurement of time | 86 |
Solar and sidereal time—Longitude—The calendar—Chronology. | |
VII.—Eclipses | 101 |
Their cause and nature—Eclipse limits—Eclipse maps—Recurrence and prediction of eclipses. | |
VIII.—Instruments and the principles involved in their use | 121 |
The clock—Radiant energy—Mirrors and lenses—The telescope—Camera—Spectroscope—Principles of spectrum analysis. | |
IX.—The moon | 150 |
Numerical data—Phases—Motion—Librations—Lunar topography—Physical condition. | |
X.—The sun | 178 |
Numerical data—Chemical nature—Temperature—Visible and invisible parts—Photosphere—Spots—FaculÆ—Chromosphere—Prominences—Corona—The sun-spot period—The sun's rotation—Mechanical theory of the sun. | |
XI.—The planets | 212 |
Arrangement of the solar system—Bode's law—Physical condition of the planets—Jupiter—Saturn—Uranus and Neptune—Venus—Mercury—Mars—The asteroids. | |
XII.—Comets and meteors | 251 |
Motion, size, and mass of comets—Meteors—Their number and distribution—Meteor showers—Relation of comets and meteors—Periodic comets—Comet families and groups—Comet tails—Physical nature of comets—Collisions. | |
XIII.—The fixed stars | 291 |
Number of the stars—Brightness—Distance—Proper motion—Motion in line of sight—Double stars—Variable stars—New stars. | |
XIV.—Stars and nebulÆ | 330 |
Stellar colors and spectra—Classes of stars—Clusters—NebulÆ—Their spectra and physical condition—The Milky Way—Construction of the heavens—Extent of the stellar system. | |
XV.—Growth and decay | 358 |
Logical bases and limitations—Development of the sun—The nebular hypothesis—Tidal friction—Roche's limit—Development of the moon—Development of stars and nebulÆ—The future. | |
Appendix | 383 |
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