HOW TO FIND THE PLANETS
There is no reason why everybody should not know the principal planets
at sight nearly as well as everybody knows the moon. It only requires a
little intelligent application to become acquainted with the other
worlds that have been discussed in the foregoing chapters, and to be
able to follow their courses through the sky and recognize them wherever
they appear. No telescope, or any other instrument whatever, is required
for the purpose. There is but one preliminary requirement, just as every
branch of human knowledge presupposes its A B C. This is an acquaintance
with the constellations and the principal stars--not a difficult thing
to obtain.
Almost everybody knows the "Great Dipper" from childhood's days,
except, perhaps, those who have had the misfortune to spend their youth
under the glare of city lights. Some know Orion when he shines
gloriously in the winter heavens. Many are able to point out the north
star, or pole star, as everybody should be able to do. All this forms a
good beginning, and may serve as the basis for the rapid acquirement of
a general knowledge of the geography of the heavens.
If you are fortunate enough to number an astronomer among your
acquaintance--an amateur will do as well as a professor--you may, with
his aid, make a short cut to a knowledge of the stars. Otherwise you
must depend upon books and charts. My Astronomy with an Opera-Glass was
prepared for this very purpose. For simply learning the constellations
and the chief stars you need no opera-glass or other instrument. With
the aid of the charts, familiarize yourself with the appearance of the
constellations by noticing the characteristic arrangements of their
chief stars. You need pay no attention to any except the bright stars,
and those that are conspicuous enough to thrust themselves upon your
attention.
Learn by observation at what seasons particular constellations are on,
or near, the meridian--i.e., the north and south line through the middle
of the heavens. Make yourself especially familiar with the so-called
zodiacal constellations, which are, in their order, running around the
heavens from west to east: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo,
Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. The
importance of these particular constellations arises from the fact that
it is across them that the tracks of the planets lie, and when you are
familiar with the fixed stars belonging to them you will be able
immediately to recognize a stranger appearing among them, and will
correctly conclude that it is one of the planets.[21] How to tell
which planet it may be, it is the object of this chapter to show you. As
an indispensable aid--unless you happen already to possess a complete
star atlas on a larger scale--I have drawn the six charts of the
zodiacal constellations and their neighbors that are included in this
chapter.
[Footnote 21: In our latitudes, planets are never seen in the northern
quarter of the sky. When on the meridian, they are always somewhere
between the zenith and the southern horizon.]
[Illustration: CHART NO. 1.--FROM RIGHT ASCENSION 0 HOURS TO 4 HOURS;
DECLINATION 30° NORTH TO 10° SOUTH.]
Having learned to recognize the constellations and their chief stars on
sight, one other step, an extremely easy one, remains to be taken before
beginning your search for the planets--buy the American Ephemeris and
Nautical Almanac for the current year. It is published under the
direction of the United States Naval Observatory at Washington, and can
be purchased for one dollar.
This book, which may appear to you rather bulky and formidable for an
almanac, contains hundreds of pages and scores of tables to which you
need pay no attention. They are for navigators and astronomers, and are
much more innocent than they look. The plain citizen, seeking only an
introduction to the planets, can return their stare and pass by,
without feeling in the least humiliated.
[Illustration: CHART NO. 2.--FROM RIGHT ASCENSION 4 HOURS TO 8 HOURS;
DECLINATION 30° NORTH TO 10° SOUTH.]
In the front part of the book, after the long calendar, and the tables
relating to the sun and the moon, will be found about thirty pages of
tables headed, in large black letters, with the names of the
planets--Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, etc. Two months are
represented on each page, and opposite the number of each successive day
of the month the position of the planet is given in hours, minutes, and
seconds of right ascension, and degrees, minutes, and seconds of north
and south declination, the sign + meaning north, and the sign - south.
Do not trouble yourself with the seconds in either column, and take the
minutes only when the number is large. The hours of right ascension and
the degrees of declination are the main things to be noticed.
Right ascension, by the way, expresses the distance of a celestial body,
such as a star or a planet, east of the vernal equinox, or the first
point of Aries, which is an arbitrary point on the equator of the
heavens, which serves, like the meridian of Greenwich on the earth, as a
starting-place for reckoning longitude. The entire circuit of the
heavens along the equator is divided into twenty-four hours of right
ascension, each hour covering 15° of space. If a planet then is in right
ascension (usually printed for short R.A.) 0 h. 0 m. 0 s., it is on the
meridian of the vernal equinox, or the celestial Greenwich; if it is in
R.A. 1 h., it will be found 15° east of the vernal equinox, and so on.
[Illustration: CHART NO. 3.--FROM RIGHT ASCENSION 8 HOURS TO 12 HOURS;
DECLINATION 30° NORTH TO 10° SOUTH.]
Declination (printed D. or Dec.) expresses the distance of a celestial
body north or south of the equator of the heavens.
With these explanations we may proceed to find a planet by the aid of
the Nautical Almanac and our charts. I take, for example, the ephemeris
for the year 1901, and I look under the heading "Jupiter" on page 239,
for the month of July. Opposite the 15th day of the month I find the
right ascension to be 18 h. 27 m., neglecting the seconds. Now 27
minutes are so near to half an hour that, for our purposes, we may say
Jupiter is in R.A. 18 h. 30 m. I set this down on a slip of paper, and
then examine the declination column, where I find that on July 15
Jupiter is in south declination (the sign - meaning south, as before
explained) 23° 17´ 52´´, which is almost 23° 18´, and, for our purposes,
we may call this 23° 20´, which is what I set down on my slip.
[Illustration: CHART NO. 4.--FROM RIGHT ASCENSION 12 HOURS TO 16 HOURS;
DECLINATION 10° NORTH TO 30° SOUTH.]
Next, I turn to Chart No. 5, in this chapter, where I find the meridian
line of R.A. 18 h. running through the center of the chart. I know that
Jupiter is to be looked for about 30 m. east, or to the left, of that
line. At the bottom and top of the chart, every twenty minutes of R.A.
is indicated, so that it is easy, with the eye, or with the aid of a
ruler, to place the vertical line at some point of which Jupiter is to
be found.
[Illustration: CHART NO. 5.--FROM RIGHT ASCENSION 16 HOURS TO 20 HOURS;
DECLINATION 10° NORTH TO 30° SOUTH.]
Then I consult my note of the declination of the planet. It is south 23°
20´. On the vertical borders of the chart I find the figures of the
declination, and I observe that 0° Dec., which represents the equator of
the heavens, is near the top of the chart, while each parallel
horizontal line across the chart indicates 10° north or south of its
next neighbor. Next to the bottom of the chart I find the parallel of
20°, and I see that every five degrees is indicated by the figures at
the sides. By the eye, or with the aid of a ruler, I easily estimate
where the horizontal line of 23° would fall, and since 20´ is the third
of a degree I perceive that it is, for the rough purpose of merely
finding a conspicuous planet, negligible, although it, too, can be
included in the estimate, if thought desirable.
Having already found the vertical line on which Jupiter is placed and
having now found the horizontal line also, I have simply to regard their
crossing point, which will be the situation of the planet among the
stars. I note that it is in the constellation Sagittarius in a certain
position with reference to a familiar group of stars in that
constellation, and when I look at the heavens, there, in the place thus
indicated, Jupiter stands revealed.
[Illustration: CHART NO. 6.--FROM RIGHT ASCENSION 20 HOURS TO 24 HOURS
(0 II.); DECLINATION 10° NORTH TO 30° SOUTH.]
The reader will readily perceive that, in a precisely similar manner,
any planet can be located, at any time of the year, and at any point in
its course about the heavens. But it may turn out that the place
occupied by the planet is too near the sun to render it easily, or at
all, visible. Such a case can be recognized, either from a general
knowledge of the location of the constellations at various seasons, or
with the aid of the Nautical Almanac, where at the beginning of each set
of monthly tables in the calendar the sun's right ascension and
declination will be found. In locating the sun, if you find that its
right ascension differs by less than an hour, one way or the other, from
that of the planet sought, it is useless to look for the latter. If the
planet is situated west of the sun--to the right on the chart--then it
is to be looked for in the east before sunrise. But if it is east of the
sun--to the left on the chart--then you must seek it in the west after
sunset.
For instance, I look for the planet Mercury on October 12, 1901. I find
its R.A. to be 14 h. 40 m. and its Dec. 18° 36´. Looking at the sun's
place for October 12th, I find it to be R.A. 13 h. 8 m. and Dec. 7° 14´.
Placing them both on Chart No. 4, I discover that Mercury is well to the
east, or left hand of the sun, and will consequently be visible in the
western sky after sundown.
Additional guidance will be found by noting the following facts about
the charts:
The meridian (the north and south line) runs through the middle of Chart
No. 1 between 11 and 12 o'clock P.M. on November 1st, between 9 and 10
o'clock P.M. on December 1st, and between 7 and 8 o'clock P.M. on
January 1st.
The meridian runs through the middle of Chart No. 2 between 11 and 12
o'clock P.M. on January 1st, between 9 and 10 o'clock P.M. on February
1st, and between 7 and 8 o'clock P.M. on March 1st.
The meridian runs through the middle of Chart No. 3 between 11 and 12
o'clock P.M. on March 1st, between 9 and 10 o'clock P.M. on April 1st,
and between 7 and 8 o'clock P.M. on May 1st.
The meridian runs through the middle of Chart No. 4 between 11 and 12
o'clock P.M. on May 1st, between 9 and 10 o'clock P.M. on June 1st, and
between 7 and 8 o'clock P.M. on July 1st.
The meridian runs through the middle of Chart No. 5 between 11 and 12
o'clock P.M. on July 1st, between 9 and 10 o'clock P.M. on August 1st,
and between 7 and 8 o'clock P.M. on September 1st.
The meridian runs through the middle of Chart No. 6 between 11 and 12
o'clock P.M. on September 1st, between 9 and 10 o'clock P.M. on October
1st, and between 7 and 8 o'clock P.M. on November 1st.
Note well, also, these particulars about the charts: Chart No. 1
includes the first four hours of right ascension, from 0 h. to 4 h.
inclusive; Chart No. 2 includes 4 h. to 8 h.; Chart No. 3, 8 h. to 12
h.; Chart No. 4, 12 h. to 16 h.; Chart No. 5, 16 h. to 20 h.; and Chart
No. 6, 20 h. to 24 h., which completes the circuit. In the first three
charts the line of 0°, or the equator, is found near the bottom, and in
the last three near the top. This is a matter of convenience in
arrangement, based upon the fact that the ecliptic, which, and not the
equator, marks the center of the zodiac, indicates the position of the
tracks of the planets among the stars; and the ecliptic, being inclined
23° to the plane of the equator, lies half to the north and half to the
south of the latter.
Those who, after all, may not care to consult the ephemeris in order to
find the planets, may be able to locate them, simply from a knowledge of
their situation among the constellations. Some ordinary almanacs tell in
what constellations the principal planets are to be found at various
times of the year. Having once found them in this way, it is
comparatively easy to keep track of them thereafter through a general
knowledge of their movements. Jupiter, for instance, requiring a period
of nearly twelve years to make a single journey around the sun, moves
about 30° eastward among the stars every year. The zodiacal
constellations are roughly about 30° in length, and as Jupiter was in
Sagittarius in 1901, he will be in Capricornus in 1902. Saturn,
requiring nearly thirty years for a revolution around the sun, moves
only between 12° and 13° eastward every year, and, being in conjunction
with Jupiter in Sagittarius in 1901, does not get beyond the border of
that constellation in 1902.
Jupiter having been in opposition to the sun June 30, 1901, will be
similarly placed early in August, 1902, the time from one opposition of
Jupiter to the next being 399 days.
Saturn passes from one opposition to the next in 378 days, so that
having been in that position July 5, 1901, it reaches it again about
July 18, 1902.
Mars requires about 687 days to complete a revolution, and comes into
conjunction with the earth, or opposition to the sun--the best position
for observation--on the average once every 780 days. Mars was in
opposition near the end of February, 1901, and some of its future
oppositions will be in March, 1903; May, 1905; July, 1907; and
September, 1909. The oppositions of 1907 and 1909 will be unusually
favorable ones, for they will occur when the planet is comparatively
near the earth. When a planet is in opposition to the sun it is on the
meridian, the north and south line, at midnight.
Mercury and Venus being nearer the sun than the earth is, can never be
seen very far from the place of the sun itself. Venus recedes much
farther from the solar orb than Mercury does, but both are visible only
in the sunset or the sunrise sky. All almanacs tell at what times these
planets play their respective rôles as morning or as evening stars. In
the case of Mercury about 116 days on the average elapse between its
reappearances; in the case of Venus, about 584 days. The latter, for
instance, having become an evening star at the end of April, 1901, will
become an evening star again in December, 1902.
With the aid of the Nautical Almanac and the charts the amateur will
find no difficulty, after a little practise, in keeping track of any of
the planets.
In the back part of the Nautical Almanac will be found two pages headed
"Phenomena: Planetary Configurations." With the aid of these the student
can determine the position of the planets with respect to the sun and
the moon, and with respect to one another. The meaning of the various
symbols used in the tables will be found explained on a page facing the
calendar at the beginning of the book. From these tables, among other
things, the times of greatest elongation from the sun of the planets
Mercury and Venus can be found.
It may be added that only bright stars, and stars easily seen, are
included in the charts, and there will be no danger of mistaking any of
these stars for a planet, if the observer first carefully learns to
recognize their configurations. Neither Mars, Jupiter, nor Saturn ever
appears as faint as any of the stars, except those of the first
magnitude, included in the charts. Uranus and Neptune being invisible to
the naked eye--Uranus can occasionally be just glimpsed by a keen
eye--are too faint to be found without the aid of more effective
appliances.
INDEX
Agassiz, Alexander, on deep-sea animals, 63.
Asteroids, the, 16, 129.
brightness of, 130.
imaginary adventures on, 146.
life on, 144.
number of, known, 129.
orbits of, 132.
origin of, 138, 143.
size of, 129.
Aristarchus, lunar crater, 226.
Atmosphere, importance of, 20.
Bailey, Solon I., on oppositions of Eros, 134.
Barnard, E.E., discovers fifth satellite of Jupiter, 181.
measures asteroids, 129.
on Saturn's rings, 205.
Belopolski, on rotation of Venus, 79.
Ceres, an asteroid, 129, 130.
Clefts in the moon, 226.
Copernicus, lunar crater, 223, 242.
Darwin, George H., on Jupiter and Saturn, 206.
on origin of moon, 235.
theory of tidal friction, 32.
Davy, Sir Humphry, on Saturn, 190.
Dawes sees canals on Mars, 93.
Deimos, satellite of Mars, 125.
Denning, W.F., description of Jupiter, 175.
De Vico on rotation of Venus, 76.
Dewar, James, discovers free hydrogen in air, 232.
De Witt discovers Eros, 133.
Dick, Thomas, on Saturn, 201.
Douglass, A.E., sees Mars's canals, 92.
sees clouds in Mars, 119.
Doppler's principle, 79, 200.
Earth and moon's orbit, 217.
birth of moon from, 236.
change of distance from sun, 27.
less advanced than Mars, 89.
older than Venus, 58.
seen from Mercury, 41.
seen from Venus, 69-71, 75.
seen from moon, 214.
Earth, similarity to Venus, 46.
supposed signals to and from Mars, 110.
Elger, T.G., on cracks in moon, 227.
on Tycho's rays, 246.
Ephemeris, how to use, 260, 264.
Eros, an asteroid, 131-134, 136, 137.
Flammarion, C., observes Venus's atmosphere, 56.
on plurality of worlds, 8.
Forbes, Prof. George, on ultra-Neptunian planet, 210.
Galileo on lunar world, 215.
Gravity, as affecting life on planets, 20, 46.
Hall, Asaph, discovers Mars's moons, 90.
Herodotus, lunar crater, 227.
Herschel, Sir John, on Saturn, 185.
Holden, E.S., on photograph of lunar crater, 242.
Huggins on Mercury's atmosphere, 21.
Inhabitants of foreign planets, 1, 4, 5.
Interplanetary communication, 1, 3, 72, 110, 112.
Juno, an asteroid, 129.
Jupiter, cloudy aspect of, 165.
density of, 162.
distance of, 161.
equatorial belts on, 165.
future of, 180.
gravity on, 162.
great red spot on, 169.
markings outside the belts, 168.
and the nebular theory, 178.
once a companion star, 179.
polar compression of, 161.
possibly yet incandescent, 177.
question of a denser core, 176.
resemblance of, to sun, 174.
rotation of, 161, 173.
satellites of, 166, 181.
seen from satellites, 182.
size of, 160.
solar light and heat on, 182.
south belt of, 172.
surface conditions of, 163.
theories about the red spot, 170.
trade-winds and the belts of, 167.
various rates of rotation of, 173.
visibility of rotation of, 166.
Keeler, J.E., on Saturn's rings, 200.
Kepler, lunar crater, 223.
Kinetic theory of gases, 116.
Kirkwood, Daniel, on asteroids, 131.
Lagrange on Olbers's theory, 139.
Lick Observatory and Mars's canals, 92.
Life, a planetary phenomenon, 10.
in sea depths, 62.
on planets, 62, 63.
prime requisites of, 64.
resisting extreme cold, 123.
universality of, 9.
Loewy and Puiseux, on lunar atmosphere, 248.
on lunar "seas," 234.
Lowell, Percival, description of Mars, 108.
on markings of Venus, 60.
on Mercury's rotation, 33.
on rotation of Venus, 77.
sees Mars's canals, 92.
theory of Martian canals, 101.
Lucian, on appearance of earth from moon, 213.
Lyman, C.S., observes Venus's atmosphere, 55.
Mars, age of, 89.
atmosphere of, 86, 115, 117.
bands of life on, 104.
canals on, 90.
described by Schiaparelli, 93.
gemination of, 91, 105.
have builders of, disappeared? 107.
and irrigation, 101.
and lines of vegetation, 102.
and seasonal changes, 99.
and water circulation, 100.
carbon dioxide on, 118.
circular spots or "oases" on, 103.
colors of, 89.
dimensions of, 86.
distance of, 85, 86.
enigmatical lights on, 111.
gravity on, 86.
inclination of axis, 86.
length of year, 86.
Lowell's theory of, 101.
light and heat on, 85.
moonlight on, 128.
orbit of, 85.
polar caps of, 87, 118.
possible size of inhabitants, 106.
satellites of, 90, 124, 126.
seasons on, 87.
supposed signals from, 110, 112.
temperature of, 120, 122.
water vapor on, 117.
Mercury, atmosphere of, 21, 28, 43, 44.
day and night on, 34, 38, 40.
dimensions, 18.
earth seen from, 41.
habitability of, 33, 40, 44.
heavens seen from, 41, 42.
heat and light on, 25, 28.
holds place of honor, 19.
length of year, 24.
mass of, 19.
moon visible from, 41.
resemblances to moon, 43.
rotation of, 30.
shape of orbit, 23.
sun as seen from, 37.
velocity in orbit, 23.
Venus seen from, 41.
virtual fall toward sun, 24.
visibility of, 21.
water on, 43.
Moon, the area of surface, 219.
atmosphere of, 7, 215, 231, 247, 248.
clouds on, 6, 245.
constitution of, 236.
craters, 221.
day and night on, 254.
distance of, 212, 215.
density of, 219.
former cataclysm on, 237.
former life on, 241, 243.
giantism on, 228, 229.
gravity on, 219, 228, 229.
libration of, 249.
meteorites and, 230.
mountains on, 220.
the older world in, 242.
origin of, 235.
phases and motions of, 250.
rotation of, 249.
seas of, 234.
size of, 218.
snow on, 246.
speculation about, 212.
temperature of, 255.
vegetation on, 6, 244, 247.
visibility of features of, 213.
Nasmyth and Carpenter on lunar craters, 224.
Neptune, description of, 208-210.
Newcomb, Simon, on Olbers's theory, 141.
Newton, lunar crater, 222.
Olbers's theory of planetary explosion, 138.
on Vesta's light, 138.
Pallas, an asteroid, 129.
Perrotin sees canals on Mars, 92.
Phobos, satellite of Mars, 125.
Pickering, E.C., discovers ninth moon of Saturn, 195.
finds Eros on Harvard plates, 133.
on shape of Eros, 136.
on light of Eros, 137.
Pickering, W.H., on lunar atmosphere, 247.
observes changes in moon, 244.
sees Mars's canals, 92.
theory of Tycho's rays, 246.
on Venus's atmosphere, 54.
Planets, classification of, 15.
how to find, 256, 273.
resemblances among, 12.
Plato, lunar ring plain, 225.
Plurality of worlds in literature, 2.
subject ignored, 8.
Proctor, R.A., on Jupiter's moons, 180.
on other worlds, 8.
Roche's limit, 201.
Rosse, Lord, on temperature of moon, 255.
Saturn, age of, 189.
composition of, 190.
density of, 188.
distance of, 186.
the gauze ring, 199-202.
gravity on, 188.
inclination of axis, 187.
interior of, 206.
length of year, 186.
popular telescopic object, 185.
rings of, 185, 196.
gaps in, 197.
origin of, 200.
periodic disappearance of, 198.
seen from planet, 207.
shadow of, 198.
rotation of, 187.
satellites of, 195.
size of, 187.
Schiaparelli discovers canals on Mars, 90.
describes Martian canals, 93.
discovers Mercury's rotation, 30, 32.
on rotation of Venus, 76.
Solar system, shape and size of, 14.
unity of, 9.
viewed from space, 11.
Stoney, Johnstone, on atmospheres of planets, 116.
on escape of gases from moon, 231.
Sun, the, isolation in space, 13.
no life on, 10.
resemblances with Jupiter, 174.
Swedenborg, on Saturn's rings, 204.
Tidal friction, 80, 81, 236, 253.
Tycho, lunar crater, 222.
Ultra-Neptunian planet, 210.
Uranus, description of, 208-210.
Venus, age of, 58.
atmosphere of, 53, 55, 59, 61, 68.
absence of seasons on, 51.
density of, 47.
distance of, 47, 50.
gravity on, 46, 47.
inclination of axis, 50.
life on, 57, 58, 61, 65, 67, 68, 82, 117.
light and heat on, 50-57.
orbit of, 50.
phases of, 49.
resemblances of, to earth, 46.
rotation of, 76, 79, 80.
size of, 46.
twilight on, 83.
visibility of, 47.
Vesta, an asteroid, 129, 130, 138.
Vogel on Mercury's atmosphere, 21.
Wireless telegraphy, 1, 112.
Young, C.A., on Olbers's theory of asteroids, 142.
on temperature of Mars, 122.
on Venus's atmosphere, 53.
Zodiac, the, 258.
THE END
A NEW BOOK BY PROF. GROOS.
The Play of Man.
By KARL GROOS, Professor of Philosophy in the University of Basel, and
author of "The Play of Animals." Translated, with the author's
cooperation, by Elizabeth L. Baldwin, and edited, with a Preface and
Appendix, by Prof. J. Mark Baldwin, of Princeton University. 12mo.
Cloth, $1.50 net; postage, 12 cents additional.
The results of Professor Groos's original and acute investigations
are of peculiar value to those who are interested in psychology and
sociology, and they are of great importance to educators. He
presents the anthropological aspects of the subject treated in his
psychological study of the Play of Animals, which has already
become a classic. Professor Groos, who agrees with the followers of
Weismann, develops the great importance of the child's play as
tending to strengthen his inheritance in the acquisition of
adaptations to his environment. The influence of play on character,
and its relation to education, are suggestively indicated. The
playful manifestations affecting the child himself and those
affecting his relations to others have been carefully classified,
and the reader is led from the simpler exercises of the sensory
apparatus through a variety of divisions to inner imitations and
social play. The biological, æsthetic, ethical, and pedagogical
standpoints receive much attention from the investigator. While
this book is an illuminating contribution to scientific literature,
it is of eminently practical value. Its illustrations and lessons
will be studied and applied by educators, and the importance of
this original presentation of a most fertile subject will be
appreciated by parents as well as by those who are interested as
general students of sociological and psychological themes.
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY'S PUBLICATIONS.
RICHARD A. PROCTOR'S WORKS.
_OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS: The Plurality of Worlds, Studied under the
Light of Recent Scientific Researches._ With Illustrations, some
colored. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75.
CONTENTS.--Introduction.--What the Earth teaches us.--What we learn
from the Sun.--The Inferior Planets.--Mars, the Miniature of our
Earth.--Jupiter, the Giant of the Solar System.--Saturn, the Ringed
World.--Uranus and Neptune, the Arctic Planets.--The Moon and other
Satellites.--Meteors and Comets: their Office in the Solar
System.--Other Suns than Ours.--Of Minor Stars, and of the
Distribution of Stars in Space.--The Nebulæ: are they External
Galaxies?--Supervision and Control.
_OUR PLACE AMONG INFINITIES._ A Series of Essays contrasting our Little
Abode in Space and Time with the Infinities around us. To which are
added Essays on the Jewish Sabbath and Astrology. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75.
CONTENTS.--Past and Future of the Earth.--Seeming Wastes in
Nature.--New Theory of Life in other Worlds.--A Missing Comet.--The
Lost Comet and its Meteor Train.--Jupiter.--Saturn and its
System.--A Giant Sun.--The Star Depths.--Star Gauging.--Saturn and
the Sabbath of the Jews.--Thoughts on Astrology.
_THE EXPANSE OF HEAVEN._ A Series of Essays on the Wonders of the
Firmament. 12mo. Cloth, $2.00.
CONTENTS.--A Dream that was not all a Dream.--The Sun.--The Queen
of Night.--The Evening Star.--The Ruddy Planet.--Life in the Ruddy
Planet.--The Prince of Planets.--Jupiter's Family of Moons.--The
Ring-Girdled Planet.--Newton and the Law of the Universe.--The
Discovery of Two Giant Planets.--The Lost Comet.--Visitants from
the Star Depths.--Whence come the Comets?--The Comet Families of
the Giant Planets.--The Earth's Journey through Showers.--How the
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