Chapter I: Preface

The present volume originated in a desire to present, in small compass, a record of the marvellous progress in astronomy during the past hundred years. Indebtedness should be acknowledged to the valuable works of Professor Newcomb, Professor Schiaparelli, Professor Lowell, Professor Young, Sir Robert Ball, Mr Gore, M. Flammarion, and Miss Clerke, who, as the historian of modern astronomy, occupies a place at once authoritative and unique.

Portions of Chapters II. and XII. have already appeared in the form of an article on the Construction of the Heavens, contributed by the writer to the American periodical, ‘Popular Astronomy.’

Balerno, Mid-Lothian,
_October 1906_.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
CHAPTER I. 1
HERSCHEL THE PIONEER.
Influence of Herschel’s work—His characteristics—Birth and
early years—Emigration to England—Caroline
Herschel—Discovery of Uranus—King’s Astronomer—Latter
years and death—Death of Caroline Herschel
CHAPTER II. 15
HERSCHEL THE DISCOVERER.
Solar researches—Study of Venus—Of Mars—The
Asteroids—Jupiter—Saturn—Discovery of satellites—Uranian
satellites—Cometary researches—Motion of the Solar
System—Discovery of binary stars—Clusters and
nebulæ—Nebulous stars—The Nebular
Hypothesis—Star-gauging—The disc-theory—Subordinate
clusters—Abandonment of the disc-theory—Second method of
star-gauging—Estimate of Herschel’s work
CHAPTER III. 43
THE SUN.
Schwabe and the sun-spot period—Researches of Wolf, Lamont,
Sabine, Gautier—Observations of Carrington and
Spörer—Career and work of Fraunhofer—Spectrum
analysis—Work of Kirchhoff—Solar eclipse work—The Solar
prominences—Janssen and Lockyer—Huggins and Zöllner—Work
of Young—The Italian spectroscopists, Secchi, Respighi,
Tacchini—Career of Tacchini—The reversing layer—The
Corona—Doppler’s principle—Rotation of the Sun—Work of
Dunér—Janssen’s solar atlas—Maunder and magnetism—Solar
theories—Distance of the Sun—Summary
CHAPTER IV. 65
THE MOON.
Life and work of Schröter—Of Mädler—Of Schmidt—Changes on the
Moon—Selenography in England—Lunar atmosphere—Lunar
photography—Work of W. H. Pickering—The new
Selenography—The Moon’s heat—Motion of the
Moon—Acceleration of the Moon’s mean motion—Work of
Laplace, Adams, Delaunay
CHAPTER V. 80
THE INNER PLANETS.
The problem of Vulcan—Mercury—Work of Schröter—Schiaparelli,
his life and work—Work of Lowell—Spectrum of
Mercury—Venus—Rotation period: work of Schröter, Di Vico,
Schiaparelli, Tacchini, Lowell—Atmosphere and surface of
Venus—The Earth: variation of latitude—Mars—Rotation of
Mars—Surface—Discovery of canals—Work of Schiaparelli and
Lowell—Interpretation of the canals—The theory of
intelligent life—Spectrum of Mars—Satellites—The
Asteroids—Bode’s law—Work of Piazzi and Olbers—Application
of photography by Wolf—Discovery of Eros
CHAPTER VI. 103
THE OUTER PLANETS.
Physical condition of Jupiter—Work of Zöllner and Proctor—The
red spot—Satellites—Discovery of fifth satellite—Sixth and
seventh satellites—Rings of Saturn: Bond, Maxwell,
Keeler—Struve’s theory—Globe of Saturn—New
satellites—Uranus and its satellites—Discovery of
Neptune—Adams and Le Verrier—Satellite—Trans-Neptunian
planets
CHAPTER VII. 123
COMETS.
Life and work of Olbers—His repulsion theory—Life and work of
Encke—His comet—Biela’s comet—Faye’s comet—Return of
Halley’s comet—Donati’s comet—Comet of 1861—Spectroscopic
study of comets—Theory of Brédikhine—Spectra of
comets—Comets of 1880 and 1882—The capture theory—Cometary
photography
CHAPTER VIII. 138
METEORS.
Meteoric shower of 1833—Work of Olmsted—Work of Erman and
Kirkwood—Of H. A. Newton—Adams and the meteoric
orbit—Shower of 1866—Connection of comets and meteors—Work
of Schiaparelli—Shower of meteors in 1872—‘Le Stelle
Cadenti’—Meteoric observation—A. S. Herschel—Work of
Denning—Stationary radiants—Bolides and aerolites—Origin
of aerolites
CHAPTER IX. 150
THE STARS.
Distance of the stars—Life and work of Bessel—Studies of
Struve—Life and work of Henderson—Work of Peters, Otto
Struve, Brünnow, and Ball—Measures of Gill—Parallax of
first-magnitude stars—Relative and absolute parallax—Work
of Kapteyn—Application of
photography—Star-catalogues—Argelander’s
‘Durchmusterung’—Work of Schönfeld—Work of Gould—The ‘Cape
Photographic Durchmusterung’—Work of Gill and
Kapteyn—International chart of the heavens—Work of
Peck—Proper motions of the stars—Star-drift—Discoveries of
Proctor and Flammarion—Radial motion—Work of Huggins,
Vogel, and Campbell—Solar motion
CHAPTER X. 169
THE LIGHT OF THE STARS.
Work of Fraunhofer and Donati—Life and work of Secchi—His
types of spectra—Life and work of Huggins—Photography of
spectra—Life and work of Vogel—His classification of
spectra—Work of Dunér—Of Pickering—Spectroscopic
catalogues—Analysis of spectra—Stellar photometry—Life and
work of E. C. Pickering—Variable stars—Work of
Goodricke—Of Argelander, Schmidt, Heis, Schönfeld—Studies
of Dunér—Of Gore—Photographic
discoveries—Classification—Algol variables: their
explanation—Explanation of other variables—η
Argus—Temporary stars—Of 1848—Of 1866—Of 1876—Of 1885—Of
1892—Photographic discoveries—Nova Persei, 1901—New star
of 1903—Theories of temporary stars
CHAPTER XI. 197
STELLAR SYSTEMS AND NEBULÆ.
Life and work of John Herschel—Binary stars—Computation of
orbits—Work of Wilhelm Struve—Of Otto Struve—Of
Burnham—Satellites of Sirius and Procyon—Astronomy of the
invisible—Work of Pickering and Vogel—Spectroscopic
binaries—Work of Bélopolsky and
Campbell—Star-clusters—Nature of nebulæ—Spectroscopic work
of Huggins—Of Copeland—Nebular photography—Work of
Roberts, Barnard, Wolf—Of Keeler
CHAPTER XII. 214
STELLAR DISTRIBUTION AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE.
Work of John Herschel—Researches of Wilhelm Struve—Extinction
of light—Mädler’s “central sun”—Distribution of
nebulæ—Work of Proctor—Aggregation of stars on the
Galaxy—Work of Gore and Schiaparelli—Studies of
Gould—Researches of Kapteyn—Of Newcomb—Is the Universe
limited? Newcomb’s argument—Observations of
Celoria—Researches of Seeliger—External Universes—Gore’s
speculations
CHAPTER XIII. 227
CELESTIAL EVOLUTION.
Laplace’s nebular hypothesis—Helmholtz and solar
contraction—Theories of solar heat—Objections to Laplace’s
theory—Faye’s hypothesis—Ball’s exposition—The meteoritic
theory of Proctor—Its extension by Lockyer—Evolution of
the stars—Vogel’s order of evolution—Tidal friction: work
of Darwin—See’s explanation of double stars—Future of the
Universe

A CENTURY’S PROGRESS IN ASTRONOMY.