progress of astronomy. Powerful telescopes have been imported, made by
the first European artists, and numerous others, of scarcely inferior
workmanship and power, have been produced by artists of our own. The
American astronomers have also been the first to bring the electric
telegraph into use in astronomical observations; electric clocks have
been so constructed as to beat simultaneously at places distant many
hundred miles from each other, and thus to furnish means of determining
the difference of longitude between places with an astonishing degree of
accuracy; and facilities for recording observations on the stars have
been devised which render the work vastly more rapid as well as more
accurate than before. Indeed, the inventive genius for which Americans
have been distinguished in all the useful arts seems now destined to be
equally conspicuous in promoting the researches of science.
FOOTNOTES:
[17] The names of all the asteroids known at present are as follows:
1. Ceres. 9. Metis. 17. Psyche.
2. Pallas. 10. Hygeia. 18. Melpomene.
3. Juno. 11. Parthenope. 19. Fortuna.
4. Vesta. 12. Victoria. 20. Massalia.
5. Astræa. 13. Egeria. 21. Lutetia.
6. Hebe. 14. Irene. 22. Calliope.
7. Iris. 15. Eunomia. 23. Un-named.
8. Flora. 16. Thetis.
[18] Sir John Herschel, however, states its diameter at 41,500 miles
INDEX.
A.
Alamak, 371
Aldebaran, 369
Alexandrian school, 394
Algenib, 371
Algol, 371
Alioth, 374
Almagest, 14
Altair, 373
Altitude, 20
Amplitude, 20
Anaxagoras, 395
Anaximander, 395
Andromeda, 371
Antares, 370
Antinous, 373
Apogee, 187
Apsides, 188
Aquarius, 371
Aquila, 373
Archimedes, 136
Arcturus, 372
Aries, 369
Aristotle, 136
Astrology, 393
Astronomers royal, 48, 404
Astronomical clock, 51
Astronomical tables, 190
Astronomy, 17
history of, 14, 392
Atmosphere, 100, 410
Attraction, 135
Auriga, 371
Axis of the Earth, 21
Azimuth, 20
B.
Bacon, 16, 136
Base line, 76
Base of verification, 79
Bellatrix, 375
Betalgeus, 375
Bissextile, 64
Bootes, 372
Bouguer, 74
Bowditch, 148
Brahean system, 403
C.
Cæsar, Julius, 64
Calendar, Grecian, 67
Gregorian, 65
Cancer, 369
Canis Major, 375
Canis Minor, 375
Capella, 372
Capricorn, 370
Cassiopeia, 374
Catalogues of the stars, 367
Central forces, 130
Cepheus, 374
Ceres, 287
Cetus, 374
Chronology, 157
Chronometers, 210
Circles, great and small, 19
of diurnal revolution, 81
of perpetual apparition, 85
of perpetual occultation, 85
vertical, 20
Clusters, 376
Colures, 23
Coma Berenices, 372
Comet, Biela's, 339
Encke's, 340
Halley's, 323
Comets, 313
brightness of, 315
Comets, distances of, 317
light of, 317
magnitude of, 315
mass of, 318
motions of, 320
number of, 315
periods of, 316
perturbations of, 319
structure of, 314
tails of, 317
Complement, 18
Conjunction, 200
Constellations, 366
Copernican system, 256, 401
Copernicus, 14, 255
Cor Caroli, 372
Cor Hydræ, 375
Corona Borealis, 372
Corvus, 375
Crotona, 394
Crystalline spheres, 397
Cygnus, 374
D.
Day, astronomical, 61
sidereal, 60
solar, 60
Days of the week, 68
Declination, 24
Deferents, 400
Denebola, 370
Distances of the heavenly bodies, how measured, 94
Distances of the stars, 387
Dolphin, 373
Double stars, 381
Draco, 374
E.
Earth, diameter of the, 78
ellipticity of the, 78
figure of the, 69
motion of the, 126
orbit of the, 149
Eclipses, annular, 204
calculation of, 201
of the moon, 195
of the sun, 203
Ecliptic, 22
Epicycles, 400
Equation of time, 61
Equations, periodical, 193
secular, 193
tabular, 190
Equator, 21
Equinoxes, 22
precession of the, 154
Eudoxus, 397
F.
Fomalhaut, 371
Fraunhofer, 37
G.
Galaxy, 379
Galileo, 15
abjuration of, 272
condemnation of, 266
life of, 258
persecutions of, 265
Gemini, 369
Gemma, 372
Globes, artificial, 25
Gravitation, universal, 145
Gravity, terrestrial, 134
H.
Hercules, 372
Herschel, Sir Wm., 36, 105, 383
Hesperus, 397
Hipparchus, 398
Horizon, rational, 20
sensible, 20
Hour-circles, 21
Huyghens, 72
I.
Inductive system, 137
Inquisition, 138
Instruments, astronomical, 29
J.
Juno, 288
Jupiter, 247
belts of, 248
diameter of, 247
distance of, 247
eclipses of, 250
magnitude of, 247
satellites of, 250
scenery of, 247
telescopic view of, 247
K.
Kepler, 300
Kepler's laws, 296
L.
Latitude, 22
how found, 210
Laws of motion, 126
terrestrial gravity, 139
Leap year, 64
Leo, 370
Leo Minor, 372
Libra, 370
Librations of the moon, 179
Light, velocity of, how measured, 252
Longitude, celestial, 24
terrestrial, 22
its importance, 208
how found, 210
by chronometers, 210
by eclipses, 212
by Jupiter's satellites, 251
by lunar method, 213
Lucifer, 397
Lynx, 372
M.
Magnitudes, how measured, 94
Magellan clouds, 378
Mars, 245
changes of, 245
distance of, 245
revolutions of, 246
Mecanique Celeste, 148
Mercury, 230
conjunctions of, 231
diurnal revolution of, 235
phases of, 234
sidereal revolut'n of, 231
synodical revolut'n of, 231
transits of, 237
Meridian, 20
Meteoric showers, 346
origin of, 350
Meteoric stones, 290
Metonic cycle, 192
Miletus, school of, 394
Milky Way, 379
Mira, 375
Mirach, 371
Mizar, 374
Month, sidereal, 173
synodical, 173
Moon, 157
atmosphere of the, 167
cusps of the, 174
diameter of the, 158
distance of the, 158
eclipses of the, 195
harvest, 177
irregularities of the, 186
librations of the, 179
light of the, 158
mountains in the, 159
nodes of the, 173
phases of the, 174
revolutions of the, 178-182
scenery of the, 163
telescopic appearance of the, 158
volcanoes in the, 166
volume of the, 158
Motion, laws of, 126
Motions of the planets, 291
Mural circle, 54
N.
Nadir, 20
Nature of the stars, 390
Nebulæ, 377
New planets, 286
distances of, 288
origin of, 289
periods of, 288
size of, 289
New style, 66
Newton, 16, 143
O.
Oblique sphere, 84
Obliquity of the ecliptic, 115
effect of, on the Seasons, 123
how found, 117
Observatory, 42
Greenwich, 42-48
Tycho's, 42
Old style, 66
Ophiucus, 372
Opposition, 200
Orion, 375
Orreries, 112, 292
P.
Pallas, 287
Parallactic arc, 91
Parallax, 90, 389
annual, 387
horizontal, 93
how found, 94
Parallel sphere, 84
Parallels of latitude, 24
Pegasus, 373
Pendulum, 79
Perigee, 187
Periodical inequalities, 193
Perseus, 371
Pisces, 371
Piscis Australis, 371
Planets, 225
distances of, 228
inferior, 227
magnitudes of, 229
periods, 229
superior, 243
Pleiades, 369
Pointers, 374
Polar distance, 22
Polaris, 373
Pole, 19
of the earth, 21
Pollux, 369
Power of the Deity, 408
Præsepe, 369
Precession, 155
Prime vertical, 20
Primum mobile, 398
Principia, 147
Procyon, 375
Projection of the sphere, 27
Proper motions of the stars, 384
Ptolemaic system, 399
Ptolemy, 398
Pythagoras, 394
Q.
Quadrant, 18
R.
Radius, 17
Refraction, 95
Regulus, 370
Resolution of motion, 132
Resultant, 132
Revolution, annual, 111
diurnal, 111
Rigel, 375
Right ascension, 23
Right sphere, 83
S.
Sagittarius, 370
Saros, 192
Saturn, 274
diameter of, 274
ring of, 275
satellites of, 282
scenery of, 283
Scorpio, 370
Seasons, 119
Secondary, 19
Secular inequalities, 193
Serpent, 373
Sextant, 57
Sidereal day, 81
month, 173
Signs, 23
Sirius, 375
Solstices, 23
Sphere, celestial, 19
doctrine of the, 16
oblique, 84
parallel, 84
right, 83
terrestrial, 19
Spica, 370
Spots on the sun, 104
cause of, 106
dimensions of, 105
number of, 104
Stability of the universe, 410
Stars, fixed, 365
Stylus, 63
Sun, 101
attraction of the, 110
density of the, 103
diameter of the, 102
distance of the, 101
mass of the, 103
nature and constitution of the, 107
revolutions of the, 104
Sun, spots on the, 104
volume of the, 103
Supplement, 18
System of the world, 392-406
Brahean, 403
Copernican, 401
Ptolemaic, 399
T.
Tangent, 129
Taurus, 369
Telescope, the, 31
achromatic, 34
directions for using, 39
Dorpat, 37 Herschelian, 36
history of, 33
reflecting, 34
Temperature, changes of, 124
Temporary stars, 380
Terminator, 119, 159
Thales, 394
Tides, 216
cause of, 216
spring and neap, 219
Time, 59
apparent, 61
equation of, 61
mean, 61
sidereal, 60
Transits, 237
Triangulation, 75
Tropic, 117
Twilight, 98
U.
Unity of the Deity, 407
Uranus, 283
diameter of, 283
distance of, 284
history of, 284
period of, 284
satellites of, 284
scenery of, 285
Ursa Major, 373
Ursa Minor, 373
V.
Variable stars, 379
Venus, 230
conjunctions of, 231
mountains of, 237
phases of, 234
revolutions of, 232
transits of, 239
Vesta, 288
Vindemiatrix, 370
Virgo, 370
Y.
Year, astronomical, 63
tropical, 156
Z.
Zenith, 20
Zenith distance, 21
Zodiac, 25
Zodiacal light, 363
Zones, 25
RECENT DISCOVERIES.
Improvements in the Telescope, 414
Rosse's Leviathan Telescope, 415
Pulkova and Cambridge Telescopes, 415
Improvements in instrumental Measurements, 416
New Planets and Asteroids, 416
Great Comet of 1843, 417
Distances of the Stars, 418
Discovery of Neptune, 419
Recent telescopic discoveries, 420
Longitude by the Electric Telegraph, 422
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired.
Greek transliterations are inclosed by equals signs.
Inconsistent hyphenation has been repaired.
Characters that could not be fully expressed are "unpacked" and shown
within braces, e.g. {oblong symbol}.
In ambiguous cases, the text has been left as it appears in the original
book. In particular many mismatched quotation marks, have not been changed.
Page 26, "knittingneedle" changed to "knitting needle".
Page 241, "trignometry" changed to "trigonometry".
Page 303, "dedecaedron" changed to "dodecaedron".
Page 392, "generrally" changed to "generally".