Astronomy: A Popular HandbookMacmillan, 1913 - 435 pages |
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Common terms and phrases
actual altitude angle angular diameter angular distance annual orbit apparent motion appear ascertain astronomers atmosphere axial rotation axis bodies bright calculate calendar called celestial equator celestial meridian celestial pole celestial sphere comet course difference direction disk diurnal circle earth earth's orbit ecliptic circle ecliptic plane equal exist explained fixed stars full-moon gravitational attraction Gregorian calendar hemisphere horizon inferior conjunction inferior planets Julian calendar Jupiter Kepler known latitude leap-year light longitude lunar Mars mass mean solar measured Mercury meteors method miles moon moon's move nebulæ node observations observatory occur opposite orbital motion orbital revolution parallax photograph Plate pole star position possible projected proper motion radius remainder result right-ascension ring satellite Saturn seen shows sidereal day sidereal period solar system space spectrum stellar sun's supposed surface synodic period telescope terrestrial theory tidal tides tion velocity Venus vernal equinox visible zenith
Popular passages
Page 157 - Royal was established in 1765, the duty of the incumbent was declared to be " to apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying the Tables of the Motions of the Heavens, and the places of the Fixed Stars in order to find out the so much desired Longitude at Sea for the perfecting -the Art of Navigation.
Page v - That not to know at large of things remote From use, obscure and subtle, but to know That which before us lies in daily life, Is the prime wisdom...
Page 186 - The squares of the times of revolution (or years) of the planets are proportional to the cubes of their average distances from the sun.
Page 185 - Kepler's laws of planetary motion: (1) the orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one...
Page 101 - Thus he proposed his law of universal gravitation, which we can state as follows: Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Page 182 - Every particle of matter, in the universe, attracts every other particle with a force, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Page 141 - Monday 2 Tuesday 3 Wednesday 4 Thursday 5 Friday 6 Saturday 7 SUNDAY 8 Monday 9 Tuesday 10 Wednesday 11 Thursday 12 Friday 13 Saturday 14 SUNDAY 15 Monday 16 Tuesday 17 Wednesday 18 Thursday 19...
Page 227 - This theory explains why highly experienced observers see so much more than beginners. They think they are training the eye, so as to increase its powers, while in reality they may only be training that slight imperfection of the imagination which tends to increase details thought to be visible. . . .Nothing more strongly increases the powers of the imagination — of seeing the unseen — than the knowledge that others have already made the observation. We are very prone to 'see...
Page 89 - ADEC, quite contrary to the opinion of the vulgar who think that, if the earth moved, heavy bodies in falling would be outrun by its parts and fall on the west side of the perpendicular.
Page vii - This book has been made to meet the wishes of the ordinary reader who may desire to inform himself as to the present state of astronomic science or to secure a simple explanation of the many phenomena continually exhibiting themselves in the universe about him. In order that the non-scientific reader may not be hampered by formulae and symbols of which he knows little, Professor Jacoby has divided the book into two parts, the first being free from mathematics, and the second a series of extended...