CONTENTS

THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER

I THE WORLD OF COLD AND DARKNESS

II DOCTOR FOSHAY

III THE WORLD OF SWEETNESS AND LIGHT

IV LIFE AND WORK AT AN OBSERVATORY

V GREAT TELESCOPES AND THEIR WORK

VI THE TRANSITS OF VENUS

VII THE LICK OBSERVATORY

VIII THE AUTHOR'S SCIENTIFIC WORK

IX SCIENTIFIC WASHINGTON

X SCIENTIFIC ENGLAND

XI MEN AND THINGS IN EUROPE

XII THE OLD AND THE NEW WASHINGTON

XIII MISCELLANEA

INDEX

Title: The Reminiscences of an Astronomer

Author: Simon Newcomb

Language: English

E-text prepared by Ferdinand van Aartsen

THE REMINISCENCES OF AN ASTRONOMER

by

SIMON NEWCOMB

1903

PREFACE

The earlier chapters of this collection are so much in the nature of an autobiography that the author has long shrunk from the idea of allowing them to see the light during his lifetime. His repugnance has been overcome by very warm expressions on the subject uttered by valued friends to whom they were shown, and by a desire that some at least who knew him in youth should be able to read what he has written.

The author trusts that neither critic nor reader will object because he has, in some cases, strayed outside the limits of his purely personal experience, in order to give a more complete view of a situation, or to bring out matters that might be of historic interest. If some of the chapters are scrappy, it is because he has tried to collect those experiences which have afforded him most food for thought, have been most influential in shaping his views, or are recalled with most pleasure.