The Story of the Heavens

Professor Pickering has allowed me to copy some of the drawings made at Harvard College Observatory by Mr. Trouvelot, and I have availed myself of his kindness for Plates I., IV., XII., XV.

I am indebted to Professor Langley for Plate II., to Mr. De la Rue for Plates III. and XIV., to Mr. T.E. Key for Plate XVII., to Professor Schiaparelli for Plate XVIII., to the late Professor C. Piazzi Smyth for Fig. 100, to Mr. Chambers for Fig. 7, which has been borrowed from his "Handbook of Descriptive Astronomy," to Dr. Stoney for Fig. 78, and to Dr. Copeland and Dr. Dreyer for Fig. 72. I have to acknowledge the valuable assistance derived from Professor Newcomb's "Popular Astronomy," and Professor Young's "Sun." In revising the volume I have had the kind aid of the Rev. Maxwell Close.

I have also to thank Dr. Copeland and Mr. Steele for their kindness in reading through the entire proofs; while I have also occasionally availed myself of the help of Mr. Cathcart.

ROBERT S. BALL.

OBSERVATORY, DUNSINK, CO. DUBLIN. 12th May, 1886.

NOTE TO THIS EDITION.

I have taken the opportunity in the present edition to revise the work in accordance with the recent progress of astronomy. I am indebted to the Royal Astronomical Society for the permission to reproduce some photographs from their published series, and to Mr. Henry F. Griffiths, for beautiful drawings of Jupiter, from which Plate XI. was prepared.

ROBERT S. BALL.

CAMBRIDGE, 1st May, 1900.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER

I. THE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY 9

II. THE SUN 29

III. THE MOON 70

IV. THE SOLAR SYSTEM 107

V. THE LAW OF GRAVITATION 122

VI. THE PLANET OF ROMANCE 150

VII. MERCURY 155

VIII. VENUS 167

IX. THE EARTH 192

X. MARS 208

XI. THE MINOR PLANETS 229

XII. JUPITER 245

XIII. SATURN 268

XIV. URANUS 298

XV. NEPTUNE 315

XVI. COMETS 336

XVII. SHOOTING STARS 372

XVIII. THE STARRY HEAVENS 409

XIX. THE DISTANT SUNS 425

XX. DOUBLE STARS 434

XXI. THE DISTANCES OF THE STARS 441

XXII. STAR CLUSTERS AND NEBULÆ 461

XXIII. THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE STARS 477

XXIV. THE PRECESSION AND NUTATION OF THE EARTH'S AXIS 492

XXV. THE ABERRATION OF LIGHT 503

XXVI. THE ASTRONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HEAT 513

XXVII. THE TIDES 531

APPENDIX 558

LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE

I. The Planet Saturn Frontispiece

II. A Typical Sun-spot To face page 9

A. The Sun " " 44

III. Spots and Faculæ on the Sun " " 37

IV. Solar Prominences or Flames " " 57

V. The Solar Corona " " 62

VI. Chart of the Moon's Surface " " 81

B. Portion of the Moon " " 88

VII. The Lunar Crater Triesnecker " " 93

VIII. A Normal Lunar Crater " " 97

IX. The Lunar Crater Plato " " 102

X. The Lunar Crater Tycho " " 106

XI. The Planet Jupiter " " 254

XII. Coggia's Comet " " 340

C. Comet A., 1892, 1 Swift " " 358

XIII. Spectra of the Sun and of three Stars " " 47

D. The Milky Way, near Messier II. " " 462

XIV. The Great Nebula in Orion " " 466

XV. The Great Nebula in Andromeda " " 468

E. Nebulæ in the Pleiades " " 472

F. ô Centauri " " 474

XVI. Nebulæ observed with Lord Rosse's Telescope " " 476

XVII. The Comet of 1882 " " 357

XVIII. Schiaparelli's Map of Mars " " 221

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG. PAGE

1. Principle of the Refracting Telescope 11

2. Dome of the South Equatorial at Dunsink Observatory, Co. Dublin 12

3. Section of the Dome of Dunsink Observatory 13

4. The Telescope at Yerkes Observatory, Chicago 15

5. Principle of Herschel's Reflecting Telescope 16