Elements of Astronomy: Designed as a Text-book for Academies, Seminaries, and Families

John Davis

David & Woods, 1867 - Astronomy - 348 pages

Contents

• Planets inhabited: 10
• PLANETELLES: 11
• PART II: 12
• HELIOTELLUS: 13
• LUNATELLUS: 15
• History of Astronomy: 17
• The Planetary or Solar System: 19
• The Sun: 23
• Suns Atmosphere: 24
• Solar Spots: 25
• Motions of the Sun: 26
• Mercury: 29
• Venus: 33
• Transits Conjunctions and Motions of Mercury and Venus: 34
• The Earthits Annual Motion: 36
• Daily Motion of the Earth: 38
• The Moon: 40
• Phases of the Moon: 41
• Solar and Lunar Eclipses: 42
• Lunar Eclipses: 45
• Lunar Atmosphere: 48
• Lunar Surface: 50
• Mars: 54
• The Asteroids: 55
• Jupiter: 58
• Jupiters Moons: 60
• Saturn and his Rings: 62
• Saturn and his Moons: 66
• Uranus Herschel or Georgium Sidus: 68
• Satellites of Uranus: 69
• Neptune: 70
• Satellites of Neptune: 71
• Light and Heat on Neptune: 72
• The Earthone of a Class: 74
• Planets inhabited: 75
• General Configuration of the Heavenly Bodies: 77
• Specific Form of the Earth: 79
• The PlanetsOblate Spheroids: 81
• Position of the Solar System in Relation to the Starry Heavens: 82
• Motions of the Planets around the Sun: 85
• Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces: 88
• Motion of the Planets on their Axes: 90
• Weight of Objects on the Sun and Planets: 91
• Earths Atmosphere: 93
• Refraction: 96
• Twilight: 99
• Aurora Borealis: 101
• Shooting Stars: 105
• Meteorites Aerolites and Fireballs: 108
• Zodiacal Light: 112
• Light: 115
• Colors of Light: 119
• Refracting Telescope: 123
• Reflecting Telescope: 125
• CometsTheir Early History: 127
• Enckes Comet: 129
• Bielas Comet: 132
• Halleys Comet: 135
• The Comet of 1744: 137
• The Comet of 1744: 138
• The Comet of 1843: 140
• General Form and Appearance of Comets: 142
• Gravity of Comets: 144
• Rarity of Comets: 145
• Nature of Comets: 148
• Comets shine by Reflected Light: 149
• Anomalous Aspect of Comets: 152
• Tails of CometsHow formed: 154
• Superstitious Notions concerning Comets: 157
• Distance to Fixed Stars: 159
• Classification of Fixed Stars: 161
• Stars have no Sensible Discs: 164
• Real Magnitude of Stars: 165
• Method of computing Distances to Fixed Stars by Trigonometry: 167
• Telescopic Method of computing Distances of Heavenly Bodies: 168
• The Stars are SelfLuminous Bodies: 171
• Color of Fixed Stars: 174
• New Temporary Stars: 175
• New Permanent and Periodical Stars: 177
• Relations of Multiple Stars: 179
• Stars Physically United: 181
• Clusters of Stars: 183
• Nebulæ: 186
• The Milky Way: 189
• Magellan Clouds: 190
• Nebula Proper: 191
• Annular Nebulæ: 193
• Stellar Nebulæ and Nebulous Stars: 195
• Planetary Nebulæ: 197
• Globular Nebula or Clusters: 199
• Spiral Nebulæ: 201
• Structure and Harmony of the Universe: 203
• Circles of the Sphere: 207
• Elements of Planets: 209
• Characters of Planets: 210
• The Visible or Sensible Horizon: 211
• The Rational Horizon: 213
• Zenith and Nadir: 214
• Planes of the Orbits of Asteroids and Comets: 217
• The Three Great Laws discovered by Kepler: 218
• Orbits of the Planets: 222
• Characteristic Points of the Orbits: 224
• Equinoxes and Solstices: 225
• Precession of the Equinoxes: 228
• Nutation: 229
• Lunar Orbit and Eclipses: 231
• Method of Finding the Distance to the Moon also to the Sun and from the Sun to the Planets: 234
• Method of Finding the Magnitude of the Moon Sun and Planets: 236
• Seasons on the Earth: 238
• Seasons of the Planets: 242
• Divisions of Time: 247
• Solar Day: 249
• Equation of Time: 252
• Tropical Civil and Sidereal Year: 254
• The Calendar: 257
• Calendar Synodical and Sidereal Months: 261
• Tides: 263
• Spring Tides: 267
• Neap Tides: 269
• Height of the Tides: 270
• Parallax: 273
• Proper Motion of the Stars: 276
• URANOGRAPHY PAGE: 280
• NAMES AND CHARACTERS OF THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC: 282
• SECTION CXVII Cepheus visible in November: 283
• Perseus and Head of Medusa visible in November: 289
• Aries visible in December: 290
• Auriga visible in January: 293
• Gemini visible in February: 299
• Canis Minor et Monoceros visible in February: 301
• Canis Major visible in February: 302
• Cancer visible in March: 304
• Argo Navis visible in March: 305
• Ursa Major visible in April: 307
• Virgo visible in May: 310
• Centaurus et Crux visible in May: 311
• Libra visible in June: 313
• Boötes et Canis Venatici visible in June: 314
• Ursa Minor visible in June: 316
• Scorpio visible in July: 317
• Serpentarius et Serpens visible in July: 319
• Hercules visible in July: 320
• Sagittarius visible in August: 322
• Capricornus visible in September: 323
• Aquarius visible in October: 326
• CONSTELLATIONS OF MINOR IMPORTANCE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES: 330
• DEFINITIONS OF ASTRONOMICAL TERMS AND PHRASES: 333

Popular passages

Page 194 - Latitude in the Heavens, is distance north or south of the ecliptic, and at right angles with it. Longitude on the Earth, is distance either east or west from some fixed meridian, measured on the equator. Longitude in the Heavens, is distance east from the first point of Aries, measured on the ecliptic.‎

Page 181 - ... however, in this respect. In some, the condensation is slight and gradual ; in others great and sudden : so sudden, indeed, that they present the appearance of a dull and blotted star, or of a star with a slight burr round it, in which case they are called stellar...‎

Page 140 - ... transmitted through the nucleus, which they supposed to be transparent, and to operate as a lens. Kepler thought they were occasioned by the atmosphere of the comet, driven off by the impulse of the Sun's rays. This opinion, with gome modification, waa also maintained by Euler.‎

Page 254 - The moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun, and from Earth we see the complete sunlit half of the moon.‎

Page 322 - Indiction is 15. Solar Cycle: A period of 28 years, at the end of which the days of the month return to the same days of the week.‎

Page 220 - ... a line, drawn from the centre of the earth to the centre of the sun.‎

Page 224 - Obliquity of the ecliptic (obliguui, slanting) ; the inclination of the plane of the ecliptic to the plane of the Equator.‎

Page 153 - Trigonometry is the science which teaches how to determine the several parts of a triangle from having certain parts given.‎

Page 327 - ... or periphery. A portion of the circular line is called an arc, eg abc (fig. 39). The size of an arc with reference to the whole circumference is measured by degrees. Every circle is divided into 360 equal parts, which are called degrees ; each degree contains 60 minutes, and each minute 60 seconds.‎

Page 66 - The weight, of a body is the measure of the earth's attraction.‎

Bibliographic information

• Title: Elements of Astronomy: Designed as a Text-book for Academies, Seminaries, and Families
• Author: John Davis
• Publisher: David & Woods, 1867
• Original from: the New York Public Library
• Digitized: Jun 23, 2006
• Length: 348 pages