Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 40

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Priestley and Weale, 1880
Includes lists of additions to the society's library, usually separately paged.
 

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Page 197 - Two separate pieces of tissue paper sent in one enclosure would have been charged twice as much as the heaviest letter that was written on a single sheet. The upper classes, through the right of franking which was enjoyed by every member of Parliament, had to some extent their letters carried free of charge ; and the traders, by the help of illicit means of conveyance, were often able to evade the heavy tax. The poor man, however, was helpless ; he could not afford to use the Post Office, and had...
Page 561 - There were many shipmen on the sea, and on (fresh) water, who said that they saw in the north-east a great and broad fire near the earth, which at once waxed, in length, up to the sky, and the sky separated into four parts, and fought against it, as if it would quench it ; but the fire nevertheless waxed up to the heavens. The fire they saw in the dawn, and it lasted so long till it was light over all. That was on the day the Vllth of the Ides of December (Dec. 7th).
Page 246 - The photometer consists of a horizontal telescope pointing to the west, and having two objectives. By means of two prisms mounted in front of the telescope, the pole star is reflected into one object-glass, and the star to be measured into the other. The cones of light are made to coincide by a double-image prism, the extra images being cut off by an eye-stop. The star to be measured is thus seen in the same field with the pole star, with the same aperture and magnifying power.
Page 36 - I began the calculation in the hope of getting a rough idea only of the amount of polarisation which we might expect. But it appeared that even such observations as we can make during the short time available during a total solar eclipse may yield most important information as to the constitution of the solar corona. I shall...
Page 560 - This year dire forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians and miserably terrified the people ; there were excessive whirlwinds, and lightnings; and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air.
Page 252 - ... deduces from them i7"'55 as the value of the diameter of Venus seen by reflected sunlight at a distance equal to the mean distance of the Earth from the Sun. This value is about o'''6 greater than that derived from the measurements of the black disk of Venus made during the last transit by Auwers and by Col.
Page 560 - fiery dragons" may give the idea of red auroral streamers. But this would not synchronise with an assumed Sun-spot maximum, and may be best explained by a meteoric display. 890. " The heavens appeared to be on fire at night on the Kalends of January." Chron. Scot. There would be five ten-year periods from 840, when Sun-spots were often noticed during the summer months. As the intervals are periods of ten years, not of half or two-thirds of that number, we may regard the coincidence as quite satisfactory,...
Page 205 - ... which he turned to good account in after years in the various branches of physical research to which he gave attention. A certain weakness of constitution, which prevented him in his youth from great physical exertion, only seemed to stimulate his mental activity ; and when, in search...
Page 206 - He also enriched the museum with many choice objects of natural history, collected during his travels. He was also connected with the Mechanics' Institute during its early years, and was active as a magistrate, being for many years Chairman of the County Bench at Halifax, and a deputy lieutenant for the West Hiding.
Page 11 - Mars' equator, and still more their inclinations to each other, would in time become considerable. In No. 2280 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, Mr Marth has found the motions of the nodes of the orbits of the satellites on the orbit of" the planet due to the Sun's action, and he concludes that, if there is no force depending on the internal structure of Mars which counteracts or greatly modifies the Sun's action, the nodes of the orbits will be in opposition to each other a thousand years hence,...

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