THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 TIIK FORMATION OF COXSTKI.LATIOXS BY THE ANCIENTS
 
 1 3 '33 
 
 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 [ WIT HO UT MA THE MA TIGS} 
 
 THE LATEST FACTS AND FIGURES AS DEVELOPED 
 BY THE GIANT TELESCOPES 
 
 SAMUEL G. BAYNE 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 NK\V YORK AND LONDON- 
 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
 
 Copyright, 18%, by HARPRR & BRorrrERS. 
 
 All rigktt rtirrrrd.
 
 Engineering & 
 Mathematical 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Library 
 
 -&5V 
 
 .-' 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PA UK 
 
 INTRODUCTION v 
 
 THE SOLAU SYSTEM 1 
 
 THE SUN 7 
 
 MERCURY 17 
 
 VENUS 19 
 
 THE EAUTII 22 
 
 THE MOON 29 
 
 MARS 35 
 
 JUPITER . . . . - 39 
 
 SATURN 44 
 
 URANUS 49 
 
 NEPTUNE 52 
 
 COMETS 50 
 
 ASTEROIDS OR PLANETOIDS G5 
 
 SHOOTING-STARS 67 
 
 THE FIXED STARS 75 
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS 93 
 
 NEBULAE 103 
 
 MILKY WAY 100 
 
 DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE STARS 109 
 
 INTERESTING ITEMS 114 
 
 !04808
 
 ILLUSTKATIONS 
 
 THE FORMATION OF CONSTELLATIONS BY 
 
 THE ANCIENTS Frontitpiece 
 
 A RING THROWN FROM TBE SUN FORMING 
 
 A SEPARATE PLANET Facing payt ' 2 
 
 ORBITS AND COMPARATIVE SIZES OF THE 
 
 PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM ... " 4 
 
 A GREAT SOLAR SPOT AS SEEN BY LANG- 
 LEY " 8 
 
 RELATIVE SIZES OF THE SUN AND PLANETS " 12 
 
 THK RIM OF THE MOON, SHOWING MARE 
 
 CRISIUM " 30 
 
 OBSERVATIONS OF MARS SHOWING ITS 
 
 CHANGES " 36 
 
 THE PLANET JUPITEU AND ITS BELTS . . " 40 
 
 SATURN AND ITS RINGS " 44 
 
 THE COMET OF 1881, AS SEEN THROUGH 
 
 PROFESSOR DRAPER'S TELESCOPE, JUNE 27 " 56
 
 vi ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 STRUCTURE Of A TEXAN AKKOLITE. . . fating pa ye 66 
 A SWARM OF METEORS MEETING THE EARTH " 68 
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS OK ORION, THK TWINS, 
 
 AND THE BULL " 76 
 
 THK CONSTELLATIONS OF THE LION, THE 
 
 HERDSMAN, AND THK GREAT BEAR . . " 94 
 THE GREAT NEBULA OF ANDROMEDA . . " 102 
 THE GREAT NEBULA ABOUT THE MULTIPLE 
 
 STAR ORIONIS, IN THE CONSTELLATION 
 
 OF ORION " 104 
 
 THE CELEBRATED CRAB NEBULA NEAR 
 
 TAURI " 106 
 
 THE NEBULA IN THE MILKY WAY ... " 108 
 
 YERKES TELESCOPE " 1 1 4
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE large modern telescope, celestial 
 photography, and improved astronomi- 
 cal instruments have opened the field 
 of astronomy to such an extent that 
 the ideas, statements, and figures of a 
 few years ago are no longer authentic. 
 Happily for the credit of astronomers, 
 the wonders of the skies have been un- 
 derestimated, and those who thought 
 that statements that had been pre- 
 viously made regarding celestial won- 
 ders were almost beyond credence will 
 be pleased to find that they were not 
 only true, but that in reality not more 
 than half the truth had been told.
 
 viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 The writer has had the temerity to 
 compile this little book in a simple and 
 concise form for the use of those who 
 kno\v but little or nothing of astronomy, 
 with the hope that it may lead them 
 further to investigate this most delight- 
 ful science. No mention has been 
 made of signs, Greek letters connected 
 with the naming of stars, or the mathe- 
 matical features usually given in larger 
 works on this subject, as they would 
 only tend to confuse those who are 
 seeking for elementary knowledge and 
 to learn at least something of the won- 
 ders that surround us. When a lay 
 reader has finished a large book on 
 astronomy very little of the immense 
 array of facts and figures can be re- 
 tained in his memory. In this con- 
 densed form it is to be hoped he can 
 remember much that will be interesting
 
 , INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 and useful, should he go no further. 
 It is also intended to furnish a ready 
 reference for those who desire to re- 
 fresh their memories on the points they 
 have known but now forget, and to 
 give that information in corrected form, 
 from the most recent observations and 
 calculations, without the loss of time 
 incurred in searching larger works for 
 simple information. For those who 
 wish to- recognize the constellations 
 and celebrated fixed stars at sight and 
 what pleasure can be greater than rec- 
 ognizing them, as we do old friends, 
 when they make their annual reap- 
 pearance in the sky, if it be not that of 
 pointing them out to acquaintances, 
 who are usually eager to learn their 
 identity and something of their his- 
 tory ? William Peck's Constellations, 
 and How to Find Them, is perhaps the
 
 X INTRODUCTION 
 
 best and easiest guide with which to 
 find the stars ; it contains but a few 
 pages of read ing -matter and twelve 
 maps, which clearly show where the 
 stars are on any night in the year. 
 
 The planets wander, as their name 
 indicates, or rather they are changing 
 their position to us at all times, and 
 therefore cannot be located on a map, 
 which if published would be incorrect 
 in a month after its issue. However, 
 the study of astronomy has of late 
 years become so popular that most of 
 the important newspapers employ as- 
 tronomers to write articles on the ex- 
 isting condition of the heavens, and 
 those articles naturally describe the lo- 
 cation of the planets then in sight, so 
 that any intelligent inquirer may find 
 them with comparative ease. It may 
 further be stated that a powerful opera-
 
 INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 glass will show many wonders that are 
 lost to the naked eye, and that the 
 largest telescope that can be mounted 
 on a tripod and conveniently moved 
 out of the owner's residence for observ- 
 ing is a 3 - inch lens ; a larger size 
 than that needs a permanent founda- 
 tion. It is an axiom in sight-seeing of 
 all kinds that when fatigue commences 
 instruction and pleasure end; and this 
 will be verified in using a small tele- 
 scope that needs the support of the 
 hands and arms : it soon tires the, ob- 
 server. There is no satisfactory middle 
 size between an opera - glass and a tele- 
 scope mounted on a tripod. 
 
 The figures given hereafter represent 
 averages (where there is a difference of 
 opinion) taken from the highest authori- 
 ties, such as Sir William Herschel, Pro- 
 fessor Young, of Princeton, Sir Robert
 
 xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Ball, Professor Langley, Camille Flam- 
 marion, Professor Lockyer, W. H. War- 
 ren, Garrett P. Serviss, and many others. 
 The estimates, where it is practical, 
 are given in round numbers, for the 
 purpose of enabling the reader to re- 
 member them. 
 
 In beginning the order of chapters 
 it will perhaps be best to commence at 
 home, and our local solar system will 
 be taken up first by a description of 
 its members, starting with the centre, 
 our sun, and running out to the fron- 
 tier planet, Neptune, which is " one of 
 the family," although it is more than 
 two thousand seven hundred millions of 
 miles from the earth.
 
 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY
 
 THE SOLAR SYSTEM 
 
 "That very law which moulds a tear, 
 And bids it trickle from its source, 
 That law preserves the earth a sphere, 
 And guides the planets in their course." 
 
 THE natural division of the heavens 
 most interesting to the inhabitants of 
 the earth resolves itself into two great 
 parts namely, the solar system, consist- 
 ing of the sun with the eight planets 
 which revolve round it, and the great 
 suns or fixed stars which shine in space 
 at immense distances from the earth. 
 
 The solar group and its planets in- 
 terest us most because we live within 
 its confines, and our earth is a part of
 
 2 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 the system which enables us to observe 
 closely and easily determine the dimen- 
 sions, distances, composition, color, and 
 weight of our neighbors ; while the stars 
 are so far from us that a large portion 
 of our information regarding them is to 
 some extent speculative. 
 
 The sun is the centre of the solar 
 system. Eight planets revolve around 
 it viz., Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, 
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, in 
 the order named and are held in their 
 orbits by its powerful attraction. The 
 sun is a fixed star, of a low magnitude 
 as compared with the giants of space. 
 The word planet means a wanderer, and 
 these bodies appear to wander through 
 the skies, changing their positions daih 7 ; 
 while a fixed star does not move per- 
 ceptibly, at least in a hundred years. 
 
 The planets may be easily known
 
 THE SOLAE SYSTEM 
 
 from stars by the fact that, with the 
 exception of Uranus and Neptune (re- 
 volving so far out in their orbits that 
 they cannot be seen by the naked eye), 
 they are larger to our sight than the 
 stars, and shine with a steady flame, like 
 a lamp, while the stars twinkle, as a 
 bright point of light. Those who have 
 telescopes may readily see the differ- 
 ence ; a planet will show a distinct disk, 
 while the most powerful instrument can 
 only make the star point brighter and 
 more brilliant. The cause of this is 
 that the glass entirely fails to visibly 
 magnify at such immense distances. 
 
 The moon is a sort of grandchild, viz., 
 a satellite of a satellite that is to say, 
 it revolves round the earth while the 
 earth is revolving round the sun. And, 
 for that part, there is yet another step 
 to take in this direction, for undoubted-
 
 4 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 ly the sun itself, with its entire system 
 of followers, is attracted towards a 
 giant sun, compared with which our 
 little one is very small indeed. Most 
 of the other planets have moons revolv- 
 ing round them, which will be described 
 in the proper place. It may be men- 
 tioned here that the four planets near- 
 est the sun namely, Mercury, Yenus, 
 the earth, and Mars are the smallest 
 and densest, and each turns on its axis 
 in about the same time, while the four 
 outside giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, 
 Uranus, and Neptune rotate in about 
 ten hours, and are the planets of the 
 least density. The first four are known 
 as the " interior planets," and the latter 
 are called the " exterior planets." 
 
 An immense group of comets must 
 be included in any description of the 
 solar system, no matter how brief.
 
 ORBITS AND COMPARATIVE SIZES OF THE PLANETS IN 
 THE SOLAR SYSTEM
 
 THE SOLAE SYSTEM 5 
 
 These comets describe ellipses in their 
 courses, and turn on the sun close to 
 that orb, then run out into space, to 
 return again in what is called their 
 period that is, the term of years that 
 is consumed in completing their orbit. 
 Some of them (notably llalley's comet) 
 sail out far beyond Neptune, and as 
 that would make a trip of six thousand 
 millions of miles out and return, it is 
 apparent that long intervals of time 
 must take place between their appear- 
 ances to us of the earth. In the vast 
 distance between the orbits of Mars 
 and Jupiter is found a great number 
 of asteroids, as they are called. These 
 also revolve round the sun, as do the 
 larger planets, but they are so small by 
 comparison that a more detailed de- 
 scription of them will be deferred till 
 later.
 
 6 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 Allied closely to these, but still small- 
 er, are the meteoric stones, which are 
 scattered through the skies, and rush 
 round the sun in shoals, from the size 
 of a walnut to that of a house. All of 
 these members are the component parts 
 of our system, running in size from the 
 giant planet Jupiter, almost 1300 times 
 larger than our earth, down to stones 
 not as large as oranges; yet all these 
 bodies have orbits, composition, and 
 speed differing from each other, but 
 each holding its proper place in the 
 solar system which we call our own.
 
 THE SUN 
 
 THE diameter of the sun is 866,000 
 miles. 
 
 Its mean distance from the earth is 
 93,000,000 miles. 
 
 Its volume, or bulk, is 1,300,000 times 
 more than the earth. 
 
 Its mean density is one-fourth that 
 of our earth, or about the consistency 
 of a thick fluid. 
 
 It revolves on its axis in about 25 
 days. 
 
 Its mass that is, the quantity of 
 matter in it is more than 800 times 
 greater than all the planets combined. 
 
 The centre of gravity of the whole
 
 8 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 solar system lies within the body of 
 the sun when Jupiter and Saturn are 
 not on one side of it. 
 
 The force of gravity at the sun's 
 surface is 28 times greater than the 
 gravity on the earth. A man weigh- 
 ing 217 pounds here would weigh 
 over three tons on the sun, and his 
 own weight would flatten and kill 
 him. 
 
 Light travels at the rate of 186,000 
 miles per second, and reaches us from 
 the sun in eight minutes. The light 
 from the sun is 150 times as great as 
 that of the lime cylinder of the calcium 
 light, and it makes all other lights black, 
 by comparison. "With modern astro- 
 nomical appliances the weight, size, and 
 distance of the sun are now determined, 
 and with the aid of the spectroscope 
 scientists tell us the composition of the
 
 
 A GREAT SOLAR SPOT 
 (As seen by Langley.)
 
 sun, as well as of many of the fixed 
 stars that surround us. 
 
 The sun is believed to be a mass of 
 intensely heated matter in the gaseous 
 state, consisting of both the permanent 
 gases, like hydrogen, and of metallic 
 vapors powerfully compressed by its 
 own gravity ; this compression causes 
 it to contract, and the contraction, 
 which amounts to ten inches daily, pro- 
 duces the intense radiation that warms 
 and supplies the solar system with en- 
 ergy. If we take the sun's diameter 
 into our reckoning, we find that it may 
 require millions of years to perceptibly 
 affect this vast globe and reduce its life- 
 giving influence to a point where hu- 
 manity will freeze to death ; but, after 
 all, it is only a question of time, as the 
 day will come when it will be reduced 
 to a dark cinder, and travel through
 
 10 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 space as dead and cold as the moon is to- 
 day. It will then roam through the 
 skies until perhaps it comes into colli- 
 sion with another body, when both will 
 turn into a nebula of floating gas, thus 
 forming the nucleus of a new world, 
 which may be a home for new men and 
 new things. The sun, like all natural 
 objects, must pass through the regular 
 stages of birth, vigor, decay, and death. 
 
 The heat radiated by the sun defies 
 all human conception. It is a gigantic 
 furnace, of such magnitude that com- 
 parisons between it and what we know 
 of heat are futile. 
 
 A few of these may interest the read- 
 er. If all the coal-fields on the earth 
 were ignited and consumed in a fire, 
 they would not supply the heat emitted 
 by the sun for the tenth part of a 
 second.
 
 THE SUN 11 
 
 If the earth were to fall into the sun 
 it would melt and evaporate on arriving 
 there, like a flake of sno\v. 
 
 At the distance of 93,000,000 miles, 
 were it not for the atmosphere that pro- 
 tects the earth from the sun's rays, they 
 would melt a crust of ice enveloping 
 the earth 100 feet in depth in a year, 
 and would cause aJl the oceans to boil 
 in a like period. 
 
 The sun's heat at its surface would 
 also boil in an hour seven hundred thou- 
 sand millions of cubic miles of water at 
 the temperature of melting ice ; and yet 
 more than 99 per cent, of all this heat is 
 wasted, not having touched any of the 
 planets on its way. Estimating the to- 
 tal radiation of the sun at two thousand 
 millions, the earth receives but one part 
 of this. The noise of the terrific dis- 
 turbance on the sun is of such power
 
 12 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 that it alone would kill a man were he 
 placed within 5000 miles from its rim. 
 The sun has a continuous Solution of 
 heat equivalent to 10,000 horse-power 
 on every square foot of its surface. A 
 procession of icebergs sent against the 
 sun would be melted at the rate of 
 300,000,000 cubic miles of solid ice per 
 second. 
 
 If it were possible to have started an 
 express - train for the sun in 1635, it 
 would not be due there till now, and a 
 single ticket for the trip would have 
 cost $3,000,000. If a small community 
 had started on the train, the seventh 
 generation only would reach its desti- 
 nation. 
 
 The rays of heat from the sun on 
 their way to the earth pass through a 
 practical vacuum which has a tempera- 
 ture of 300 or 400 degrees below zero ;
 
 RELATIVE SIZES OF THE SrX AND PLANETS
 
 THE SUN 13 
 
 they pass through this temperature and 
 have apparently no effect until they 
 meet some object, like the earth, capa- 
 ble of being warmed by them. 
 
 The sun has prodigious activity in its 
 spots. These spots are sometimes 50,000 
 miles in diameter, and it is by observ- 
 ing them disappear and return to our 
 sight by rotation that the time of the 
 sun's rotation has been determined. 
 
 In 1858 a spot of over 107 3 000 miles 
 in diameter was clearly seen. These 
 spots are enormous vents for the tem- 
 pests of flame that sweep out of and 
 down into the sun. 
 
 An up rush and down rush at their 
 sides have been measured at 20 miles a 
 second ; a side rush or whirl at 120 
 miles a second. These tempests rage 
 from days to months at a time, and as 
 they cease the advancing sides of the
 
 14 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 spots approach each other at the rate 
 of 20,000 miles an hour ; they strike to- 
 gether, and the rising spray of fire leaps 
 thousands of miles into space ; it falls 
 again into the incandescent surge, and 
 rolls over the Himalayas of fire as the 
 sea over the pebbles on its beach. If 
 ships were built as large as the whole 
 earth, in such gigantic tempests they 
 would be tossed like corks in an ocean 
 storm. 
 
 The incandescent gases which are 
 seen on the surface of the sun some- 
 times rise as high as 250,000 miles; 
 they shoot out to these great distances 
 often at the rate of several hundred 
 miles per second. 
 
 The sun is our very life-blood ; with- 
 out it we could not live an instant. It 
 directly supplies us with light, heat, 
 and other forms of energy, and indirect-
 
 THE SUN 15 
 
 ly with food, clothing, and everything 
 else we use. This provident worker 
 has stored coal, petroleum, and natural 
 gas for us in the past ages, thus giving 
 us an inexhaustible reservoir of power 
 and light. It furnishes us with wood, 
 and lifts the waters to the hills, so that 
 in their passage to the sea man may be 
 enabled to harness them for his use in 
 producing the necessaries of life. 
 
 It is the constant alternation of evap- 
 oration and condensation that keeps 
 all the waters of the earth in a state of 
 purity, making them fit for us to drink, 
 and preventing the oceans from becom- 
 ing stagnant. The salt breezes that 
 sweep over the storm-tossed seas purify 
 the air, and so on, ad infinitum. 
 
 We journey through a frigid space, 
 but we live, as it were, in a conservatory 
 in the midst of perpetual winter. We
 
 16 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 are roofed over by the air that treas- 
 ures the heat, and floored beneath by a 
 stratum both absorptive and retentive 
 of heat so that between the earth and 
 air our vegetation and crops grow and 
 ripen. 
 
 We owe these obligations and many 
 more to the sun ; it is little wonder, 
 then, that men have bowed down and 
 worshipped it in all ages.
 
 MERCURY 
 
 THE planet Mercury is 36,000,000 
 miles from the sun. 
 
 Its diameter is 3000 miles. 
 
 Its year is 88 days. 
 
 It moves in its orbit at a speed of 29 
 miles per second. 
 
 Its day is supposed to be 2 hours 
 and 5 minutes. 
 
 Mercury is the nearest planet to the 
 sun. It can never be seen by the naked 
 eye except in the west a short time 
 after sunset, and in the east a little be- 
 fore sunrise. To see it, all the con- 
 ditions must be favorable; it is said 
 that the celebrated astronomer Coperni- 
 cus never had the good fortune to see it.
 
 18 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 It is usually lost in the glare of the 
 sun, owing to its close proximity, and 
 consequently the difficulty of observ- 
 ing it is great. Astronomers have not 
 agreed on the length of its days or the 
 density of its atmosphere. 
 
 Mercury is the densest member of 
 the solar system. 
 
 Mercury has no moon. 
 
 "When Mercury comes between the 
 earth and sun, near the line where the 
 plane of their orbits cut each other by 
 reason of their inclination, the dark 
 body of Mercury is seen on the bright 
 surface of the sun. This is called a 
 transit, and it occupies several hours in 
 its completion, depending on the cir- 
 cumstances of the transit. 
 
 The next transit seen in this country 
 will occur November 4, 1901.
 
 VENUS 
 
 VENUS is 67,000,000 miles from the 
 sun, and is the second planet from it. 
 
 Its diameter is 7700 miles. 
 
 Its year is 225 days. 
 
 Its orbital speed is 22 miles per sec- 
 ond. 
 
 Its day is supposed to be a little over 
 23 hours. 
 
 It is sometimes called the evening 
 star, and, as we see it, is the most mag- 
 nificent planet in the solar system, ex- 
 ceeding in light and beauty the bright- 
 est stars ; its light is so vivid that it 
 casts a perceptible shadow, and we some- 
 times see it in full daylight.
 
 20 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The orbit of Yenus is almost a per- 
 fect circle; the paths of all the other 
 planets are more elliptical. 
 
 Venus has an atmosphere. It has no 
 moon. Authorities do not agree on the 
 length of the day on Yenus, owing to 
 the difficulty of observing the surface 
 of the planet through its thick atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 An astronomical observation was 
 made of Yenus in Babylon in 685 B.C. 
 It is written on a brick, which is now in 
 the British Museum. 
 
 The heat on Yenus is much greater 
 than on our earth. Its water is sup- 
 posed to be in the form of dry steam, 
 the dense atmosphere causing the re- 
 tention of its heat. 
 
 The dimensions of Yenus make it a 
 veritable twin of our earth, and in many 
 other respects they resemble each other.
 
 VENUS 21 
 
 Land and water are believed to exist, 
 and some of the appearances suggest 
 the existence of mountains 27 miles 
 high. 
 Yenus is the ideal vision of the skies.
 
 THE EARTH 
 
 " The globe terrestrial, with its slanting poles, 
 And all its pond'rous load, unwearied rolls." 
 
 THE earth is 93,000,000 miles from 
 the sun, and is the third planet from it. 
 
 The diameter of the earth is 8000 
 miles. (To be exact, 7926 miles through 
 the equator.) 
 
 It revolves round the sun in 365 days, 
 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 9 seconds. 
 
 Its circumference is a little less than 
 25,000 miles. 
 
 It turns on its axis in 23 hours, 56 
 minutes, and 4 seconds. 
 
 The earth is some 3,000,000 miles 
 nearer the sun in winter than it is in
 
 THE EARTH 23 
 
 summer; consequently, the sun looks 
 larger to our eyes at that time, but the 
 solar rays strike the earth in our hemi- 
 sphere more obliquely in winter and do 
 not produce so much heat. 
 
 The earth is as dense or heavy as it 
 would be if composed entirely of metal- 
 lic iron ore, which is five times heavier 
 than water. 
 
 Geologists tell us that it is hundreds 
 of millions of years since the earth was 
 in the condition of a molten mass of 
 matter, with its crust just commencing 
 to form as it slowly cooled. 
 
 The earth is more rigid than glass, 
 therefore probably no large proportion 
 of its interior can be liquid, as many 
 have supposed it to be. Its interior 
 must be largely metallic. 
 
 It is estimated that the earth is in- 
 habited by fifteen hundred millions of
 
 24 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 people. Its surface contains 187^00,000 
 square miles, three-quarters of which 
 are water. 
 
 It may be estimated that something 
 like four hundred thousand millions of 
 men and women have lived since the 
 advent of mankind. 
 
 This globe has eleven known mo- 
 tions. Among the most easily under- 
 stood is its daily rotation on its axis, 
 the passage over its orbit round the 
 sun, and the motion towards the bright 
 star Vega, towards which the entire 
 solar system is flying. 
 
 Viewed from Venus and Mercury, 
 the earth is the 'brightest star of the 
 firmament, lit up by reflection from the 
 sun. 
 
 The earth is flattened at the poles 27 
 miles, and this leads to the truthful but 
 paradoxical statement that the Missis-
 
 THE EAKTH 25 
 
 sippi Eiver runs up hill, as its mouth is 
 three miles farther from the centre of 
 the earth than its source. 
 
 We fly through space at the rate of 
 more than 18 miles a second, seventy- 
 five times faster than a cannon-ball, 
 and pass over our orbit round the sun 
 in a year, the orbit containing 585,- 
 000,000 miles. We thus travel 1,500,- 
 000 miles daily through the skies, but 
 never over the same path, as we are 
 chained to the sun and follow its or- 
 bit. 
 
 We would be blown from the earth 
 like dust did we not share its momen- 
 tum, or if the envelope of air did not 
 proceed with us. 
 
 Were the earth suddenly arrested in 
 its flight, or if it came into collision 
 with another large body, the heat pro- 
 duced would be so tremendous that
 
 26 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 the entire globe would be instantly 
 turned into gas and form a floating 
 nebula. 
 
 A soap-bubble in the wind could 
 hardly be more flexible and sensitive 
 to influence than the earth. If the 
 water became more dense, or if the 
 globe were to revolve faster, the oceans 
 would rush to the equator, burying the 
 tallest mountains and leaving the polar 
 regions bare. If the water should be- 
 come lighter, or the earth rotate more 
 slowly, the poles would be submerged 
 and the bottom of the equatorial oceans 
 become an arid waste. Ko balance 
 turning to the 1000th of a grain is 
 more delicate than the poise of forces 
 on this globe. Laplace has given 
 us indisputable proof that the period 
 of the earth's axial rotation has not 
 changed the 100th part of a second
 
 THE EARTH 27 
 
 of time in 2000 years. Man cannot 
 make a clock that will tell the hours for 
 a single day with the exactness that 
 this vast globe has done for all recorded 
 time. 
 
 Sunrise greets a new 1000 miles at 
 every hour; the glories of the sunset 
 follow over an equal space some 12,000 
 miles behind. While the east and west 
 are gorgeous with sunrise and sunset, 
 the north and south are often more re- 
 markable still with their aurora bore- 
 alis and Magellanic clouds. 
 
 We in this latitude know but little 
 of the glorious "Northern dawn." It 
 prevails near the arctic circle, and 
 there takes many forms cloud-like, 
 arched, straight. It streams like ban- 
 ners, Avaves like curtains in the wind ; 
 it is inconstant, and is either the cause 
 or result of electric currents -, it is often
 
 28 THE PITH or ASTRONOMY 
 
 far above our atmosphere, sometimes as 
 high as GOO miles. 
 
 The realm of this royal splendor is 
 yet an unconquered world, waiting fox 
 its Alexander.
 
 THE MOON 
 
 "As when the Moon, refulgent lamp of night, 
 O'er heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred 
 
 light, 
 
 Around her throne the vivid planets roll, 
 And stars unnumbered gild the glowing pole." 
 
 THE moon revolves round the earth 
 at a mean distance of nearly 239,000 
 miles. 
 
 Its diameter is 2160 miles. 
 
 The volume or bulk of the earth is 
 almost fifty times greater than that of 
 the moon, and it would take 60,000,000 
 of moons to equal the sun. 
 
 The surface of the moon contains 
 about the same number of square miles
 
 30 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 that are found in North and South 
 America. 
 
 It completes its revolution round the 
 earth in 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 
 and 11 seconds, which is its sidere- 
 al month ; the ordinary month, from 
 new moon to new moon again, is 29 
 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2 sec- 
 onds. 
 
 It revolves on its axis exactly in a 
 sidereal month, and therefore always 
 presents almost the same face to the 
 earth; thus we never have seen the 
 far side of the moon, nor will we ever 
 see it. This circumstance causes the 
 moon to have the longest day (caused 
 by the sun's light) of any known celes- 
 tial body there are but twelve of them 
 in our year. 
 
 The moon travels round the earth in 
 its orbit at a speed of 37 miles a minute,
 
 THE MOON 31 
 
 and its orbit contains about 1,500,000 
 miles. 
 
 The moon varies in size to the eye, as 
 the distance from us varies to the ex- 
 tent of 25,000 miles in the course of a 
 month. 
 
 When the moon is between us and 
 the sun that side which faces us is not 
 lit up by reflected light, and we do not 
 see it ; when it forms a right angle 
 with the sun we see half of its face, and 
 when we are between it and the sun 
 we see it as the full moon. 
 
 A man weighing 155 pounds here 
 would weigh but 26 pounds on the 
 moon, and could, consequently, jump in- 
 credible distances. 
 
 The dimensions of the moon as com- 
 pared with those of the earth are far 
 greater than those of any other satel- 
 lite in proportion to its primary.
 
 32 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The moon's day (caused by the sun's 
 light) is almost thirty times as long as 
 ours, and consists of fifteen days of day- 
 light and fifteen days of darkness. 
 
 As it has no atmosphere to protect 
 it from the sun's rays its heat in day- 
 light is intense strong enough to boil 
 water while at night the cold is fright- 
 ful, being several hundred degrees be- 
 low zero. Lord Kosse estimates the 
 difference between day and night to be 
 500 degrees. 
 
 The moon is a dead cinder ; if it ever 
 had air and water, which it probably 
 had, they are now absorbed in the 
 porous lava that covers its surface. 
 
 In consequence of the small gravity 
 at the moon, the absence of the expan- 
 sive power of ice and the levelling influ- 
 ence of rains, precipices stand, moun- 
 tains shoot up like needles, and cavities
 
 THE MOON 
 
 three miles deep remain unfilled ; these 
 conditions give the moon grand and 
 savage scenery, such as cannot be found 
 on the earth. It has twenty-eight moun- 
 tains higher than Mount Blanc ; ten of 
 these are over 18,000 feet high, the 
 two highest, Mounts Leibnitz and Dor- 
 fel, being almost 25,000 feet each. 
 
 These mountains have been measured 
 with greater accuracy than any of our 
 own, and in a general way the maps 
 made of the moon are more reliable 
 than those made of the earth. The ex- 
 tinct volcanic craters on the moon are 
 enormous. The crater of Clavius has a 
 diameter of 130 miles. By the aid of 
 powerful telescopes 33,000 craters have 
 been counted on the side of the moon 
 which we see. 
 
 We are indebted to the moon for 
 many things ; but the greatest of these
 
 34 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 is that it is principally owing to its 
 attraction that we have the purifying 
 motion of the seas known as tides. 
 Without these daily currents the oceans 
 would become stagnant and unhealthy 
 to such an extent that we could not 
 live on their shores.
 
 MARS 
 
 TILE planet Mars is 141,000,000 miles 
 from the sun. 
 
 Its diameter is 4200 miles. 
 
 Its years contains 687 days. 
 
 Its mean distance from the earth is 
 48,000,000 miles. 
 
 The day on Mars is half an hour 
 longer than ours, or about 24 hours and 
 37 minutes. 
 
 It has two moons. 
 
 It moves at the rate of 15 miles a 
 second. 
 
 Mars is the fourth planet from the 
 sun, and is called the red planet, from 
 its well-known color.
 
 36 THE PITH OF ASTKONOMY 
 
 The combination of its motion with 
 ours causes it to pass behind us, or op- 
 posite to the sun, once in two years. 
 For two months at this period it is best 
 seen, and appears as a red lamp in the 
 sky ; at other times it looks small and 
 unimportant. 
 
 Its density and size are less tbaii ours ; 
 a man weighing 200 pounds here would 
 weigh but 75 pounds on Mars. 
 
 The orbit of this planet is decided- 
 ly elliptical; it is 26,000,000 miles 
 nearer the sun at the nearest part of 
 its orbit than it is at the farthest, con- 
 sequently the variation in heat from 
 this cause alone is considerable. 
 
 In many ways Mars resembles our 
 earth : it has atmosphere, seasons, land, 
 water, storms, clouds, and mountains ; 
 it also snows and rains on Mars, as it 
 does with us. Snow and ice cover
 
 sKUVATIOXS OF MAKS SHOWING ITS CHANGf
 
 MAKS 37 
 
 both its poles, and produce great white 
 patches at those points, which are clear- 
 ly seen through a large telescope ; such 
 an instrument also shows the markings 
 on the land known as the canals. Fairly 
 accurate maps have been made of Mars, 
 showing its natural divisions of land 
 and water to be about equal. 
 
 It has been suggested that the vege- 
 tation on Mars, for the most part at 
 least, is yellow or orange, instead of 
 green, as with us, thus giving the planet 
 its color. 
 
 It is but 3TOO miles from the surface 
 of Mars to its nearest moon, and that 
 satellite revolves round it in seven 
 hours and a half, showing all the 
 phases of our moon in a night ; to an 
 inhabitant of Mars it has the appear- 
 ance of an enormous shooting - star 
 slowly moving through the sky, and 
 
 204808
 
 38 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 would take our breath away if we saw 
 anything like it from our earth. 
 
 Percival Lowell, of Boston, has late- 
 ly devoted his life and fortune to the 
 observation of Mars. He has erected 
 an extensive observatory at Flagstaff, 
 Arizona, and has been using it for this 
 purpose for two or three years. He is 
 now providing a special telescope with 
 a magnifying power of 2400 diame- 
 ters, for the purpose of examining this 
 planet. 
 
 Mr. Lowell's extended observations 
 lead him to believe that Mars is in- 
 habited by a highly civilized race of 
 beings, who are now carrying on great 
 engineering works, including the famous 
 canals, which have been the subject of 
 so much speculation.
 
 JUPITER 
 
 "More yet remote from day's all -cheering 
 
 source, 
 
 Vast Jupiter performs his constant course ; 
 Five friendly moons, with borrowed lustre, 
 
 rise, 
 Bestow their beams benign, and light his 
 
 skies." 
 
 JUPITER is the fifth planet from the 
 sun, and revolves round it at a mean 
 distance of 483,000,000 miles. 
 
 Its year is almost twelve of ours or 
 exactly 11 years, 10 months, and 17 
 days. 
 
 Its diameter is 88,000 miles. 
 
 Its volume is about 1300 times that 
 of the earth.
 
 40 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 It is 390,000,000 miles from us when 
 both Jupiter and the earth are on the 
 same side of the sun. 
 
 The day on Jupiter is less than ten 
 hours. 
 
 It moves over its orbit at the rate of 
 eight miles a second. 
 
 Its light is so brilliant that it casts a 
 shadow. 
 
 A man weighing 200 pounds here 
 would, if carried to Jupiter, turn the 
 scales at 500 pounds. 
 
 A web of cloth as long as from the 
 earth to our moon would fall short of 
 encircling this great planet. Jupiter 
 is flattened at the poles and bulges at 
 the equator, owing to the speed of its 
 rotary motion, and if it rotated a little 
 faster it could not keep itself together, 
 but would burst, and be spread on the 
 skies like a coat of paint.
 
 THE PLANET JUPITER AND ITS BELTS
 
 JUPITER 41 
 
 Its days are so short, in consequence 
 of the rapidity of its rotation, that its 
 year contains 10,455 of them. 
 
 As its axis is vertical, there are no 
 seasons such as we have, the most of its 
 surface remaining in eternal spring. 
 
 The clouds in the thick atmosphere 
 take the form of immense belts, on 
 which spots appear, both of which can 
 be plainly seen through a telescope; 
 the atmosphere over the equator moves 
 faster than the air north or south of it, 
 producing the effect of a violent wind 
 constantly blowing over its equatorial 
 zone at a velocity of 250 miles an hour. 
 
 Jupiter has five moons; three of 
 them are much larger than our moon, 
 and one is larger than Mercury, having 
 a diameter of 3600 miles. The near- 
 est is 112,000 miles from the planet, 
 and the most distant is 1,189,000 miles
 
 43 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 away; they travel over their orbits 
 with varying speed, and, with their 
 primary, are known as the Jovian sys- 
 tem. It is very probable that these 
 worlds are inhabited more probable 
 than that Jupiter has now any inhabi- 
 tants as they have atmospheres and 
 some of the requirements for sustaining 
 life. Jupiter seems to be a world in 
 process of formation, cooling in prepa- 
 ration for the race that may at some 
 future time occupy it. It has been said 
 that this planet represents to-morrow, 
 the earth to-day, and our moon yester- 
 day. 
 
 The magnificence of the celestial 
 spectacle presented by the Jovian sys- 
 tem is beyond description, as seen by 
 one standing on the nearest moon. 
 Jupiter presents an immense luminous 
 disk, more than 3000 times the size of
 
 JUPITER 43 
 
 our moon, while the sight is diversified 
 by the other four worlds flying round 
 in their orbits, and all comparatively 
 close to the observer. These moons have 
 a variety of color ; two are blue, one is 
 yellow, and one red. Jupiter spins like 
 a top in the centre, the moons rush 
 round it, and the whole procession 
 sweeps through the skies at the rate of 
 500 miles a minute. Yet the disclosure 
 of all this power, skill, and stability is 
 but entering the vestibule of astronomy.
 
 SATURN 
 
 " One moon to us reflects its cheerful light, 
 There, eight attendants brighten up the night; 
 Here, the blue firmament bedecked with stars, 
 There, overhead, a lucid arch appears." 
 
 SATURN'S mean distance from the sun 
 is 883,000,000 miles. 
 
 It is the sixth planet from the sun. 
 
 Its diameter is 75,000 miles, and it is 
 the largest planet excepting Jupiter. 
 
 It is 790,000,000 miles from the 
 earth. 
 
 It revolves round the sun in 29 years 
 and 5 months. 
 
 Its volume is 697 times that of the 
 earth.
 
 SATURN 45 
 
 Its day is 10 hours, 14 minutes, and 
 24 seconds. 
 
 It has 25,000 days in its year. 
 
 Its orbital speed is 6 miles a second. 
 
 Eight moons revolve round it ; no 
 other solar planet has so many. In 
 composition it is lighter than water, 
 and it has a dense atmosphere. 
 
 The poles are flattened one-tenth of 
 its diameter, which is a larger propor- 
 tion than on any of the other planets. 
 
 On account of the velocity of its ro- 
 tary motion, gravity varies greatly on 
 the surface; the centrifugal force at 
 the equator antagonizes gravitation to 
 such an extent that while a man would 
 weigh less there than he does here, at 
 Saturn's pole he would weigh more 
 than on the earth. 
 
 Our opportunities for seeing Saturn 
 vary greatly. As the earth at one part
 
 4S THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 of its orbit presents its south pole to 
 the sun, then its equator, then the north 
 pole, so does Saturn ; and we, in the di- 
 rection of the sun, see the south side of 
 the rings inclined at an angle; next, 
 the edge of the rings appears like a fine 
 thread of light, and then the north side 
 at a similar inclination. It occupies fif- 
 teen years in making all these changes. 
 
 Galileo, with the first telescope, dis- 
 covered Saturn's ring in 1610. In 1612 
 the thin edge was turned towards the 
 earth, and with his imperfect glass he 
 could not see it ; greatly discouraged, 
 and believing he had been deceived, he 
 exclaimed, " Is it possible some demon 
 has mocked me?" He would never 
 look at the planet again, and died with- 
 out knowing that he had discovered the 
 ring. 
 
 Saturn is surrounded by an enormous
 
 SATUEN 47 
 
 fiat, luminous ring, which is one of the 
 greatest wonders of the heavens, and 
 when seen through a telescope it com- 
 pares favorably with any celestial sight. 
 
 This ring is about 175,000 miles in 
 diameter, and the average estimate of 
 its thickness is 75 miles. 
 
 The composition of the ring has caused 
 much speculation. Laplace demonstrat- 
 ed that it cannot be solid and survive 
 an hour ; Peirce showed it could not 
 be fluid and continue; other authori- 
 ties proved the impossibility of its be- 
 ing composed of gas ; and finally Max- 
 well showed it must be composed of 
 clouds of satellites, some of them prob- 
 ably not larger than an orange, but all of 
 them too small to be seen individually, 
 and too near together for the spaces to 
 be discerned. This theory is now ac- 
 cepted as correct.
 
 48 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The ring has three divisions ; the in- 
 nermost ring is dusky and transparent ; 
 in contact with it is the brightest ring, 
 called ring B; then comes a gap, and 
 then the outer ring, known as ring A. 
 There are other divisions, but they are 
 not permanent. 
 
 If the scenery of Jupiter is magnifi- 
 cent, that of Saturn is unique. Here 
 we have a universe, a colossal system, a 
 wreath of vast proportions turned to 
 silver by the reflection from the sun, 
 and eight moons revolving outside its 
 limits travelling like pearls strung on 
 a silver thread. No one has ever seen 
 Saturn come into the field of a large 
 telescope for the first time without sa- 
 luting the spectacle with exclamations 
 of surprise and delight. Saturn is the 
 wonder of the solar system.
 
 URANUS 
 
 UKANUS is the seventh planet from 
 the sun, and comes fourth in the or- 
 der of size. Its mean distance from 
 the sun is seventeen hundred and sev- 
 enty - eight millions of miles, and 
 from the earth it is sixteen hundred 
 and eighty -five millions of miles dis- 
 tant. 
 
 Owing to its great distance, astrono- 
 mers have not been able to determine 
 the length of its day, but it has been 
 estimated at 11 hours. 
 
 Its diameter is 31,000 miles. 
 
 It takes 84 years to make its revolu- 
 tion round the sun.
 
 60 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 Its volume is G9 times that of the 
 earth. 
 
 It has an atmosphere. 
 
 It speeds over its orbit at the rate of 
 4 miles a second. 
 
 There is a great surprise in store for 
 the observers of this planet. It has 
 four moons, and they revolve round it 
 from east to west, differing in this re- 
 spect from the other planets, whose 
 satellites revolve from west to east, 
 and in about the plane of their equa- 
 tors, while the followers of Uranus re- 
 volve in a plane nearly perpendicular 
 to that in which the planet moves i. e., 
 this system rolls like a carriage-wheel, 
 while all the others spin like roulette- 
 wheels, the motion of the former being 
 backward. 
 
 Uranus may be seen by the naked 
 eye, under favorable circumstances, as
 
 UKANUS 51 
 
 a sea-green star of about the sixth 
 magnitude. Up to the time when large 
 telescopes were first used Uranus was 
 mistaken for a fixed star by those who 
 observed it. 
 
 On the night of March 13, 1781, Sir 
 William Herschel saw through his glass 
 that it had a disk and moved slowly 
 through the heavens; this celebrated 
 discovery deposed Saturn as the fron- 
 tier planet, a position it had held from 
 the beginning. As we will see in the 
 succeeding chapter, this led to another 
 discovery, and Uranus had, in turn, to 
 give way to Neptune as the sentinel of 
 the solar system. 
 
 Herschel called his discovery Georgi- 
 um Sidus, in honor of his king and pa- 
 tron ; the people called it Herschel, but 
 astronomers finally decided on its pres- 
 ent classical name as the proper one.
 
 NEPTUNE 
 
 "Who there inhabit must have other powers, 
 Juices, and veins, and sense, and life than ours ; 
 One moment's cold like theirs would pierce the 
 
 bone, 
 Freeze the heart's-blood, and turn us all to 
 
 stone." 
 
 THIS planet is the eighth from the 
 sun, and is third in mass and volume. 
 
 Its mean distance from the sun is 
 two thousand eight hundred millions of 
 miles, and from the earth two thou- 
 sand seven hundred and seven millions. 
 
 Its diameter is 37,000 miles. 
 
 It revolves round the sun in 164 of 
 our years.
 
 NEPTUNE 53 
 
 It has an atmosphere. 
 
 Neptune is attended by one moon, 
 which moves round it in about six 
 days, at a distance of 260,000 miles ; and 
 it is remarkable that its motion is ret- 
 rograde. 
 
 The telescopes at present in use do 
 not show Neptune to us clearly enough 
 to determine its diurnal motion, so the 
 length of its day is unknown. 
 
 It has the longest orbit and the slow- 
 est motion of any planet, and although 
 it travels over its annual path of sev- 
 enteen thousand millions of miles at 
 the rate of 200 miles a minute, it may 
 still be called the tortoise of the skies. 
 
 Since its discovery it has not as yet 
 completed a third of its first rotation 
 round the sun, and as it will not finish its 
 initial trip till the year 2010, no one at 
 present alive will live to see that event.
 
 54 THE PITH OF ASTKONOMY 
 
 Neptune is invisible to the naked 
 eye; when seen through a telescope 
 the light we see has travelled from the 
 sun to it and returned to us by reflec- 
 tion, a double trip of five thousand five 
 hundred and seven millions of miles, in 
 something over eight hours. It would 
 take an express train over 10,000 years 
 to accomplish this task. 
 
 There is no object-lesson in the won- 
 ders of light that we can grasp so easily 
 as this ; it is the longest return of light 
 that the heavens afford us. 
 
 Neptune is our frontier planet, and was 
 discovered simultaneously by Adams, 
 of England, and Leverrier, of France, 
 in the autumn of 1846. Both believed 
 it to exist from observing that its 
 neighbor, Uranus, was retarded in its 
 orbit by the attraction of some great 
 unseen world. Both of these men gave
 
 NEPTUNE 55 
 
 their calculations to astronomers pos- 
 sessing large telescopes, directing them 
 where to look for the great unknown 
 and both were successful. 
 
 This, the last great discovery in as- 
 tronomy, was sensational in every way, 
 and is a standing monument to the 
 highest reasoning powers of the hu- 
 man mind. Had it been discovered 
 by a mere survey of the heavens, one 
 of man's greatest achievements would 
 never have seen the light of day.
 
 COMETS 
 
 THE word comet is derived from the 
 Latin word coma, meaning hair. Com- 
 ets are celestial bodies which move 
 round the sun in greatly elongated or- 
 bits, usually elliptical or parabolic. 
 
 A comet usually consists of a brill- 
 iant point surrounded by nebulous light, 
 which extends backward in the form of 
 a tail or train. The nucleus or head 
 has an undetermined amount of solid- 
 ity, but stars may be clearly seen 
 through all comets. 
 
 Of the physical condition of comets 
 little is at present known. Professor 
 Young, of Princeton, states that a comet
 
 THK COMET OF 1881, AS SEKN THKOrOH PROFESS 
 DRAPER'S TELESCOPE, JUNE 27
 
 COMETS 57 
 
 is nothing but a " sand-bank"; that is, it 
 is a swarm of solid particles of unknown 
 size and widely separate, say pinheads 
 several hundred feet apart, each particle 
 carrying with it an envelope of gas, 
 largely hydrocarbon, in which gas-light 
 is produced, either by electrical dis- 
 charges between the particles or by 
 some other light, the evolving action 
 due to the sun's influence. This hypoth- 
 esis derives its chief plausibility from 
 the modern discovery of the close rela- 
 tionship between meteors and comets. 
 
 He also states that comets may hurt 
 us in two ways, either by actually strik- 
 ing the earth or by falling into the sun, 
 and thus producing such an increase of 
 solar heat as to burn us up. 
 
 In regard to the possibility of a colli- 
 sion with a comet, Professor Pickering, 
 of Harvard, says that it must be admitted
 
 58 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 that such an event is possible; if the 
 earth lasts long enough such a thing is 
 practically sure to happen, for there are 
 several comets' orbits which pass nearer 
 to the earth's orbit than the semidiam- 
 eter of the comet's head, and at some 
 time the earth and comet will certainly 
 come together. Such encounters will, 
 however, be rare. If we accept the esti- 
 mate of Babinet, they will occur once 
 in 15,000,000 years, in the long run. 
 
 It is impossible to estimate, for want 
 of sure knowledge of the state of aggre- 
 gation of the matter composing a comet, 
 when such a conflict will take place. 
 If we accept the modern theory, and if 
 this theory be true, everything depends 
 on the size of the separate solid parti- 
 cles which form the main part of the 
 comet's mass. If they weigh tons, the 
 bombardment would be very serious,
 
 COMETS 59 
 
 but if, as seems more likely, the parti- 
 cles are smaller than pinheads, the re- 
 sult would be simply a grand meteoric 
 shower. 
 
 Comets may be classed under two 
 heads: those that return in their pe- 
 riod i. e., in a stated number of years 
 (the orbit of this variety is always in 
 the form of an ellipse) and those that 
 travel in a parabola whose direction 
 will cause them to run out into space 
 and never return to the sun. These 
 are named, respectively, periodic and 
 parabolic comets. 
 
 Comets are further divided into those 
 whose orbits lie within the solar system, 
 and consequently have a short period, 
 returning within a few years, and those 
 whose path and direction carry them 
 far beyond our system, returning after 
 the lapse of centuries.
 
 60 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 They are still further divided into 
 those that can be seen by the naked 
 eye and those that can only be seen by 
 the aid of a telescope; the latter are 
 known as telescopic comets, and the 
 majority belong to this class. 
 
 It is estimated that 20,000 comets 
 have passed within sight of the earth 
 since the birth of Christ ; of these 800 
 have been observed, but it is reasonable 
 to suppose that there are thousands of 
 millions of them moving in all direc- 
 tions in infinite space. 
 
 All comets that visit the solar sys- 
 tem and turn on the sun are raised to 
 incandescence from its heat when ap- 
 proaching and passing it ; it therefore 
 naturally follows that they become 
 more brilliant when in its vicinity. 
 
 The comets of 1680 and 1843 were 
 perhaps the most sensational that have
 
 COMETS 61 
 
 ever been seen by men ; they were nearly 
 alike in splendor and dimensions. The 
 latter, flying at the inconceivable speed 
 of 340 miles a second, turned round the 
 sun from half-past nine till half -past 
 eleven on the morning of February 27, 
 1843. This is the greatest velocity that 
 has been definitely measured by astron- 
 omers ; turning the celestial stake-post 
 gave them the desired opportunity. Its 
 tail was straight, and measured 198,000,- 
 000 miles, and it is one of the won- 
 ders of this observation that the tail 
 was always opposite to the sun, and 
 seemed not to be broken off or scat- 
 tered on the skies when making such 
 an abrupt turn in two hours. Astron- 
 omers have calculated that it will re- 
 turn to us in the year 2219 ; we may 
 promise for our descendants that it will 
 have a memorable reception.
 
 62 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The comet of Donati, in 1858, was 
 the most beautiful that has been ob- 
 served ; it had a brilliant head, and car- 
 ried with it a curved tail measuring 
 65,000,000 miles. Its period is about 
 2000 years. 
 
 The comet of Pons has a period of 
 71 years; it appeared in 1812 and re- 
 turned to us in 1883, and is due again 
 in 1954. 
 
 Comets frequently have more than 
 one tail. The comet of 1744 had six 
 tails, which spread like a celestial fan 
 over the sky. 
 
 Biela's comet was discovered by him 
 in 1827, and it returned regularly in its 
 period of six and one-half years. On 
 its visit in 1846 it split in two denned 
 comets, each having a head, coma, and 
 tail. The twin comets returned "on 
 time " in 1852, but have never appeared
 
 since ; they have undoubtedly been lost, 
 or captured by the attraction of some 
 larger body, and will never again return 
 to the sun. 
 
 Halley's comet is doubtless the most 
 celebrated of all. Since the year 12 
 B. c. it has appeared on twenty-four oc- 
 casions ; its historical visits were in the 
 year 1066, when William the Conqueror 
 landed in England, and again in 1456, 
 after the capture of Constantinople by 
 the Turks. 
 
 On many of its visits the inhabitants 
 of Europe were terror-stricken at its 
 appearance. 
 
 It has a period of T6 years, and its 
 orbit reaches out beyond the planet 
 Neptune. Halley observed it on its vis- 
 it in 1682, and, applying the principles 
 of Sir Isaac Newton, he identified it as 
 the comet of 1066 and 1456. Tracing it
 
 64 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 back to 12 B.C., and fixing its period 
 at 76 years, he staked his professional 
 reputation that it would return in 1758 
 (after his death), in the memorable lines : 
 " Wherefore if it should return, accord- 
 ing to my prediction, in the year 1758, 
 impartial posterity will not refuse to 
 acknowledge that it was discovered by 
 an Englishman." It appeared on Christ- 
 inas day, 1758, and Halley has since 
 held a niche in the temple of fame. 
 
 We no longer regard a comet as a 
 sign of impending calamity. We now 
 look on them as interesting and beauti- 
 ful visitors, which come to please and 
 instruct us, but never to threaten or 
 destroy.
 
 ASTEROIDS OR PLANETOIDS 
 
 BETWEEN the orbits of Mars and Ju- 
 piter there is a space of nearly 400,000,- 
 000 miles. Up to the year 1800 this 
 belt was supposed to be vacant. On 
 January 1, 1801, Piazzi, an Italian as- 
 tronomer, discovered the minor planet 
 Ceres. This was followed by an embar- 
 rassment of riches, and to-day more 
 than 400 have been found. 
 
 Ceres is the largest. Professor Bar- 
 nard gives it a diameter of 600 miles, 
 
 Yesta is the brightest, as it can be 
 seen by the naked eye. Its diameter is 
 about 250 miles. 
 
 Some of the smaller asteroids run
 
 66 THE PITH OF ASTKONOMY 
 
 down to 20 miles in diameter and even 
 lower, some authorities stating that 
 there are shoals of them no larger than 
 rocks. 
 
 These planets revolve round the sun 
 (on an average) in less than five years.
 
 SHOOTING-STARS 
 
 THE universe swarms with meteoric 
 stones. These bodies, although very 
 small, are of course not stationary, 
 but revolve round the sun that is, 
 those that come within the domain of 
 the solar system. They are governed 
 by the same laws as the' other bodies, 
 and are a part of our system a part 
 of the unity of the universe. They 
 have their region of travel, and the sun 
 chains them and the giant Jupiter by 
 the same po\ver and influence. 
 
 When they come near enough to the 
 earth they are " captured " by it, and 
 rush into our atmosphere with such
 
 68 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 velocity as to produce a degree of heat 
 sufficient to vaporize them and turn 
 them into meteoric dust. During this 
 process of burning they appear to us as 
 shooting stars. 
 
 They usually become luminous about 
 75 miles from the surface of the earth, 
 and are entirely consumed by friction 
 before they descend to regions where 
 the atmosphere is dense. In rare in- 
 stances they are so large that they are 
 not entirely consumed, but fall on the 
 earth as meteoric stones in a heated 
 condition. Specimens of them may be 
 seen at most of our museums. These 
 stones encounter the earth by day as 
 well as by night, and simultaneously on 
 all parts of the globe. Professor New- 
 comb has demonstrated that one hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand millions of them 
 annually fall on the earth. If they were
 
 SHOOTING-STARS 69 
 
 not melted through friction, we would be 
 subjected to a continuous bombardment, 
 destructive alike to our lives and our 
 property. 
 
 Professor Peirce states that the heat 
 which the earth receives directly from 
 meteors is the same in amount which it 
 receives from the sun by radiation, and 
 that the sun receives five-sixths of its heat 
 from meteors that fall on it, so that, after 
 all, these little stones may play a more 
 important part in our personal affairs 
 than we give them credit for. 
 
 The dust caused by the destruction 
 of these stones is often seen on the arc- 
 tic snows, and is found at the bottom of 
 the oceans, where it is subjected to but 
 little agitation, owing to the compara- 
 tive calm prevailing there. The writer 
 has seen it taken from the bottom of 
 the Indian Ocean by lowering a hoi-
 
 70 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 low socket partially filled with soft 
 wax. 
 
 There are two thick streams of these 
 stones that are annually encountered by 
 the earth while its orbit is crossing 
 theirs. The first meeting is on the 
 night of August 10th ; the second swarm 
 is encountered on November 14th, at 
 about three in the morning. The No- 
 vember belt is thin, and the earth runs 
 through it in a few hours. 
 
 The August stream is more scattered, 
 and we see these apparitions for some 
 nights both before and after the 10th, 
 which is the central date of their ap- 
 pearance in the skies. 
 
 There have been many remarkable 
 star showers on these two dates the 
 most memorable in November, 1833; 
 Olmsted, the astronomer, estimated that 
 from the single point where these obser-
 
 SHOOTING-STARS 71 
 
 vations were made 240,000 stars- fell 
 during the shower, which lasted seven 
 hours. 
 
 Stone showers and the fall of large 
 stones have been more or less frequent 
 in history. 
 
 Several thousands of stones fell in 
 Hungary on June 9, 1866, with fright- 
 ful noise ; the largest fragment weighed 
 646 pounds. 
 
 The largest authentic aerolite is that 
 found at Bendigo, Brazil, in 1816; it 
 weighs five and a half tons; it was 
 conveyed to Bio Janeiro in 1886. 
 
 On the evening of December 21, 
 1876, a meteor of unusual size and 
 brilliancy passed over the states of 
 Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and 
 Ohio. It was first seen in the western 
 part of Kansas, at an altitude of sixty 
 miles. In crossing the State of Mis-
 
 72 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 souri it commenced to explode, and this 
 breaking up continued while passing 
 over Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, till it 
 consisted of a large flock of brilliant 
 balls chasing each other across the sky, 
 the number being variously estimated 
 at from 50 to 100 ; it was accompanied 
 by terrific explosions, and was seen 
 along a path of not less than 1000 miles. 
 The writer's recollection of the occur- 
 rence is that the stones were lost in 
 Lake Erie. 
 
 While writing these lines the news 
 comes through the Continental papers 
 that one of the greatest meteorites 
 ever seen recently shot across Spain, 
 coming into sight over the Atlantic, 
 and falling into the Mediterranean, 
 or perhaps reaching the desert of Sa- 
 hara, in Africa. On the morning of 
 February 10, 1896, this body passed
 
 SHOOTING-STARS 73 
 
 over Madrid with deafening explosions 
 and a vivid glare of blinding light ; it 
 appeared as if enveloped in a bluish 
 white cloud bordered with red; the 
 city was shaken as with an earthquake, 
 many windows were broken, and some 
 light structures were levelled to the 
 ground ; the barometer fell, and after- 
 wards rose rapidly. Nearly all of Spain 
 was treated to a pyrotechnic display; 
 incandescent fragments fell from the 
 flaming meteor at Logrono and set the 
 town on fire in two places. 
 
 There are jinany varieties of these 
 bodies, differing in size, chemical com- 
 position, color, and origin : such as the 
 ruins of vanished worlds scattered into 
 space, the debris of comets, the product 
 of volcanoes on stars and planets, which 
 may include bodies projected from erup- 
 tions on our own earth in the violent vol-
 
 74 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 canic disturbances that have undoubt- 
 edly taken place upon it in prehistoric 
 days ; in other words, they represent the 
 accumulation of filings, fragments, and 
 dust from the celestial workshop in 
 the manufacture and disintegration of 
 worlds.
 
 THE FIXED STARS 
 
 WE have finished our brief notice of 
 the solar system and all that it con- 
 tains which will interest the casual 
 reader, and must therefore now cross 
 the " Great Divide " to the infinite be- 
 yond. 
 
 What does crossing this divide mean ? 
 It means that we must leap the abyss 
 from Neptune, our solar outpost, to the 
 nearest body in space, the fixed star 
 Alpha Centauri, some twenty-five thou- 
 sand billions of miles distant ; then an- 
 other stride of nearly twenty-five thou- 
 sand billions more, and we come to our 
 second neighbor, the star 61 Cygni.
 
 76 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 What has been said of our system 
 will not more than represent the de- 
 scription of a few grains of sand as 
 compared with the gigantic machinery 
 that is in active operation beyond the 
 confines and influence of the sun. The 
 fixed stars will claim our first atten- 
 tion. 
 
 All the stars we see in the heavens 
 are popularly called "fixed stars," to 
 distinguish them from the wandering 
 planets of the solar system. The name 
 was given them by the ancients, when 
 they were believed to be stationary. 
 Modern science has shown that none of 
 them are " fixed," but that every one of 
 them is flying through the universe in 
 some direction, with a velocity that is 
 simply incredible to those who have 
 not studied the subject. 
 
 The briefest reflection will satisfy any
 
 THE FIXED STARS 77 
 
 intelligent mind that the laws of nature 
 will not permit any body to hang sus- 
 pended in space without motion ; it 
 must move or fall in some direction, 
 and when it falls it moves ; so, then, it 
 clearly follows that all is motion in the 
 heavens, and that nothing is "fixed" 
 or stable. AH we either see or know 
 of fly, fall, roll, or rush through the void, 
 and yet, seen as a whole, all seems re- 
 pose. But it is not so. Each sun is 
 moving with a fearful velocity. 
 
 The equilibrium of the stars, like that 
 of our planets, is maintained by the ex- 
 act balance of centrifugal force and the 
 attraction of gravitation ; were it not 
 for the balance and harmony held by 
 these forces all would soon be turned 
 to chaos, and constant collision would 
 destroy the worlds in existence. The 
 velocity at which these bodies are mov-
 
 78 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 ing is so great that, were they to meet, 
 they and all they contain would be 
 turned into vapor in less than a second 
 of time. 
 
 In order to facilitate the indication 
 of the size and brightness of a star, all 
 the stars have been classed in the order 
 of their magnitude. The word magni- 
 tude, however, is misleading, as it has 
 no connection with the real size of a 
 star, but simply indicates how they ap- 
 pear to our eyes. Thousands of stars 
 that we can hardly perceive are un- 
 doubtedly giant suns; but, owing to 
 their immense distance, they appear to 
 us as mere specks on the firmament. 
 This can be readily illustrated by look- 
 ing at the moon and Jupiter in our 
 little system ; the moon is but a mere 
 fraction of Jupiter in reality, but, ow- 
 ing to the difference in distance, Jupi-
 
 THE FIXED STARS 79 
 
 ter appears to us like a spark of light 
 compared with the size of our satel- 
 lite. 
 
 Astronomers have agreed on 19 stars 
 of the first magnitude ; of these, 6 are 
 seen in the southern hemisphere, leav- 
 ing us 13 to deal with. They are as fol- 
 lows, in the order of their apparent 
 size and brilliancy : 
 
 Of the constellation 
 
 Sirius, of the Great Dog. 
 
 Arcturus, .... of the Herdsman. 
 
 Vega of the Lyre. 
 
 Rigel, of Orion. 
 
 Capella, of the Wagoner. 
 
 Procyon, .... of the Little Dog. 
 
 Betelguese, ... of Orion. 
 
 Aldebaran of the Bull. 
 
 Antares of the Scorpion. 
 
 Altair, of the Eagle. 
 
 Spica, of the Virgin. 
 
 Fomalhaut, ... of Australia. 
 
 Regulus, of the Lion.
 
 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The line between the last of the above 
 list and the first stars of the second mag- 
 nitude is very thin ; many would, for 
 instance, include the second-magnitude 
 stars Castor and Pollux within the lim- 
 it of the first. We count 59 stars of the 
 second magnitude and 128 of the third ; 
 the stars in the succeeding magnitudes 
 run into the thousands. 
 
 Of all the stars there are but 23 
 whose distance has been measured ; the 
 others are so far away that no angle or 
 parallax can be found for them even by 
 observing them from the opposite sides 
 of the earth's orbit, which in itself is 
 about 200,000,000 miles in diameter. 
 
 The last sun in this list that has been 
 measured is the catalogue star, 1830 
 Groombridge, having a distance of 
 four hundred and twenty-six thousand 
 billions of miles. Of the distance of all
 
 THE FIXED STARS 81 
 
 the hosts of heaven, with the above ex- 
 ceptions, we know nothing, 
 
 Alpha Centauri is the nearest sun ; 
 it is twenty-live thousand billions of 
 miles from us. It would take an ex- 
 press train 73,000,000 years to reach it 
 from the earth. 
 
 The next nearest star is 61 Cygni ; 
 it may be seen in the constellation of 
 the Swan on any clear night ; it is 
 forty -nine thousand billions of miles 
 from this planet. 
 
 We know more than a million stars, 
 separately observed, catalogued, .and 
 registered on celestial charts, but the 
 large modern telescope can now reveal 
 stars of the fifteenth magnitude, and 
 this brings hosts of new suns to our 
 knowledge, estimated to be at least 
 100,000,000 in number. 
 
 Celestial photography penetrates still
 
 82 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 further and shows more, so that 20,000 
 stars are now known to exist for every 
 one we see with the naked eye. 
 
 In the memory of man many stars 
 have changed ; some have faded from 
 view, others have become brighter, 
 while a few have changed their color, 
 notably Algol, the variable star ; it was 
 formerly red, but is now white. 
 
 All the stars are moving in one di- 
 rection or another. It takes Arcturus 
 800 years to move so small a distance 
 as twice the apparent diameter of the 
 moon, yet it is moving at the rate of 
 sixteen hundred millions of miles year- 
 ly ; its distance is so great it does not 
 appear to move. Another example, 
 Sirius, takes 1300 years, apparently, to 
 move but a few inches in the sky, yet 
 its minimum speed is about 2,000,000 
 miles everv dav.
 
 THE FIXED STARS 83 
 
 It was not always safe to make such 
 assertions, however, as Giordano Bruno 
 was burned alive in Rome in A.D. 1600, 
 by order of the Inquisition, for asserting 
 that the earth was not standing still 
 and was not the centre of the universe. 
 Again in 1616 and 1633, Galileo, one of 
 the greatest of astronomers, was im- 
 prisoned for the same cause, the Pope 
 ordering that all books should be de- 
 stroyed that asserted the motion of the 
 earth. 
 
 Some stars are advancing to us, others 
 receding at great velocity ; but their 
 size and the distance is so enormous 
 that these factors count but little in 
 their appearance to our eyes. Some of 
 the larger stars fi} 7 ing towards us are : 
 the Pole Star, at the rate of 46 miles a 
 second ; Vega, at 44 ; Arcturus, at 50 ; 
 and Pollux, at 40 miles ; while a fe\v
 
 84 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 of those receding are : a Coronae, at a 
 speed of 48 miles a second ; Castor, at 28 ; 
 Capella, at 27 ; Kegulus, at 23 ; and Sirius, 
 the Dog Star, at 22 miles a second. 
 
 It will thus be seen that while the 
 twins Castor and Pollux have stood 
 side by side in the heavens at least, to 
 human eyes for 4000 years, yet they 
 are flying apart at the velocity of 68 
 miles a second, which in a day amounts 
 to over 5,000,000 miles. This for 40 
 centuries, and still they are " the twins " 
 to our eyes to-day. 
 
 The student of stars will in a short 
 time begin to see that they have indi- 
 vidual colors. Many of these are clear- 
 ly marked, and the observer will at once 
 notice their various tints. It is believed 
 they take their colors from their chem- 
 ical composition in a state of incandes- 
 cence.
 
 THE FIXED STARS 85 
 
 Aldebaran and Antares are red ; Be- 
 telguese is orange ; Sirius, Vega, and 
 Altair are bluish white; Arcturus, 
 Capella, and Pollux are yellow; while 
 others have tints of the r'uby> the emer- 
 ald, the topaz, and the sapphire. 
 
 There are many variable stars that 
 is, stars which grow bright and then 
 fade in a fixed period. Of this class 
 Mira and Algol are the most remark- 
 able. Mira attains the size of a sec- 
 ond-magnitude star and remains in 
 that condition 15 days; then it grad- 
 ually fades and remains invisible for 5 
 months; afterwards it reappears and 
 increases slowly, to again become brill- 
 iant; the entire transformation occu- 
 pies 331 days. Mira is sometimes called 
 " the wonderful." 
 
 One of the accepted explanations of 
 these changes is that it alternately
 
 86 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 burns fiercely and smoulders within the 
 time of its period. 
 
 Algol has a short, exact period of 2 
 days, 20 hours, and 48 minutes, in which 
 it makes the change from its brightest 
 to its faintest condition. It has kept 
 time to these figures for 300 years. 
 These changes are caused by the eclipse 
 of this sun by an enormous dark satel- 
 lite. The ancients named Algol " the 
 demon." 
 
 The most astonishing change comes 
 from the southern sky. In the constel- 
 lation of Argo the star known as Eta, 
 in 1843, disputed with Sirius the pre- 
 miership of the skies. In 1856 it com- 
 menced to decrease, and gradually be- 
 came smaller, till at length, in 1870, it 
 left our sight. Seen at present with a 
 telescope it is reviving, and may in the 
 coming century regain its lost glory.
 
 * THE FIXED STABS 87 
 
 If this sun has satellites and they are 
 inhabited, all their living beings must 
 have perished from loss of heat. 
 
 In 1572 Tycho Brahe observed a ne\v 
 and bright star that suddenly appeared 
 in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It 
 was so bright it could be seen in day- 
 light. It gradually faded from sight 
 in 17 months, and has never been seen 
 since. 
 
 The causes of these momentous 
 changes in the great suns of space are 
 largely a matter of speculation. There 
 is little if any doubt that there exists a 
 great number of extinct, burnt-out suns 
 enormous black balls that gravitate 
 round other dark bodies constituting 
 dead systems. The dying throes of 
 these monsters may have taken place in 
 a celestial conflagration ending in their 
 total darkness.
 
 88 THE PITH OF ASTEONOMY 
 
 Another theory lately advanced by 
 Professor Lockyer is that there is the 
 closest possible connection between neb- 
 ulas and stars, and the first stage in 
 the development of cosmical bodies is 
 not a mass of hot gas, but a swarm of 
 cold meteorites. Many bodies in space 
 which look like stars are really centres 
 of nebulae that is, of meteoric swarms 
 and stars with bright line spectra must 
 be associated with nebulae. Some of 
 the heavenly bodies are increasing their 
 temperatures ; others, on the contrary, 
 are decreasing. Double swarms, in any 
 stages of condensation, may give rise 
 to the phenomena of variability. New 
 stars are produced by the clash of me- 
 teor swarms, and are closely related to 
 nebulae and bright line stars. Cosmical 
 space is a meteoric plenum. The sun is 
 one of those stars the temperature of
 
 THE FIXED STARS 89 
 
 which is rapidly decreasing, and many 
 of its changing phenomena are due to 
 the fall of meteoric matter upon the 
 photosphere. 
 
 In point of speed, the most remarka- 
 ble star in the universe is the seventh- 
 magnitude catalogue star, 1830 Groom- 
 bridge ; it is invisible to the naked eye, 
 but can be found with a glass, in the 
 Great Bear. Its terrific speed is such 
 that it has led astronomers to believe 
 it is not propelled by any force we know 
 of, but by some power from another 
 universe, and that it is simply a vis- 
 itor passing through our skies. It is 
 rushing on at a rate of 17,000,000 miles 
 daily. 
 
 61 Cygni comes next to it in velocity. 
 This star may be seen with the naked 
 eye in the constellation of the Swan; 
 its pace is over 100 miles a second.
 
 90 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The giants Arcturus, Yega, and Ca- 
 pella also move at a high rate of speed. 
 
 The light from the fixed stars is a 
 long time in reaching the earth ; from 
 the very nearest it is about four years 
 in coming, and from the stars that are 
 so faint that we can hardly see them 
 it takes many thousands of years to 
 reach us. Good authorities estimate it 
 in some cases as long as 100,000 years. 
 At the rate the stars are moving we, 
 then, never really see them, as they are 
 billions of miles away from the point 
 when the light we see left them. It 
 also follows that succeeding generations 
 see stars that have become extinct for 
 thousands of years. 
 
 It is not the present state of the sky 
 which is visible, but its past history. 
 
 The earth, besides rotating on its axis 
 and revolving round the sun, reels like
 
 THE FIXED STAKS 91 
 
 a mighty gyroscope, but with so slow a 
 motion that it takes 26,000 years to 
 make one complete revolution of its 
 axis round an imaginary line perpen- 
 dicular to the plane in which the earth 
 moves. Still further : as this axis of the 
 earth moves in its circuit round this 
 perpendicular line it points successively 
 to different parts of the heavens, and as 
 the point in the heavens to which the axis 
 is directed will not have any diurnal mo- 
 tion, all the stars will appear to revolve 
 round it, or round the star that may be 
 nearest to it; from which circumstance 
 it will be called the Pole Star. 
 
 Polaris, the present Pole Star, appears 
 " fixed " at the axis of the earth, but in 
 a few hundred years it will gradually 
 commence to wear away from it, and 
 in about the year 9000 our descendants 
 will elect Alpha Cygni as their guide,
 
 92' THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 while 13,000 years from now it will be 
 the beautiful first-magnitude star Vega 
 that will review the heavenly host. 
 
 Polaris has held the post of honor for 
 over a thousand years, and was pre- 
 ceded in office by Thuban, of the Drag- 
 on, to see which in daylight the long 
 tunnel in the Pyramid of Cheops was 
 built. 
 
 The writer visited an observatory in 
 China in 1874 said to be 4000 years old, 
 in which were originally placed two 
 bronze eyeholes on a slanting granite 
 wall for the purpose of sighting Thu- 
 ban, the Pole Star of that era. In 1874 
 the line of sight through these holes 
 pointed to a void, all the stars having 
 moved away from it.
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS 
 
 "Orion's beams! Orion's beams! 
 
 His star-gemm'd belt, and shining blade, 
 His iles of light, his silv'ry streams, 
 And gloomy gulfs of mystic shade." 
 
 FROM the very earliest ages the stars 
 have been watched with interest and 
 admiration, and their movements traced 
 and applied to various useful purposes. 
 In those days "the stars in their courses" 
 ruled the fate of men and nations. 
 
 For the purpose of identifying the 
 stars and finding out more about them, 
 the first watchers of the sky divided the 
 heavens into groups or constellations, 
 naturally naming each group after some
 
 94 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 object to which they fancied it had a re- 
 semblance. As the first observers were 
 chiefly herdsmen, we can readily con- 
 ceive how some of the oldest constella- 
 tions have been called after objects and 
 animals with which the shepherds would 
 be familiar in those early times. 
 
 Later in our history the Greeks set 
 their mythological deities in the skies, 
 and read the revolving pictures as a 
 starry poem ; they colonized the earth 
 widely, but the heavens completely, and 
 nightly over them marched the grand 
 procession of their apotheosized divini- 
 ties. The heavens signify much more 
 to us, but we retain the old groupings 
 and pictures for our convenience in find- 
 ing individual stars. An acquaintance 
 with the names, peculiarities, and move- 
 ments of the stars at different seasons 
 of the year is an unceasing source of
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS 95 
 
 pleasure ; one can never be alone it one 
 is familiarly acquainted with the stars. 
 
 The constellation that is known to 
 almost every one young and old is 
 the Great Bear, popularly known as 
 the Dipper, or Plough. The reasons for 
 this are that it is a circumpolar constel- 
 lation consequently it is always in 
 sight, revolving close to the Pole Star 
 and that it has a remarkable appear- 
 ance, which all can recognize. 
 
 The two stars on the edge of the 
 Dipper are near the Pole Star, and a 
 line drawn through them points to it; 
 they are, therefore, called the "point- 
 ers." This constellation contains no 
 stars of first magnitude. 
 
 The group known as Cassiopeia, or 
 Cassiopeia's Chair, is a companion to 
 the Dipper, and is always opposite to it, 
 as both swing round the pole.
 
 96 THE PITH OF ASTKONOMY 
 
 The grandest constellation is the 
 giant Orion. It contains seven brill- 
 iant stars, two of them of the first 
 magnitude viz., Betelguese and Rigel. 
 Three stars lie in an oblique line across 
 the middle of this group, and are known 
 as Orion's Belt. Flammarion calls this 
 group the California of the sky, be- 
 cause it not only contains the above 
 treasures, but in the middle of the belt 
 is found the wonderful nebula; viewed 
 through a powerful telescope there are 
 but few celestial sights that cope with 
 it in weird grandeur. 
 
 Canis Major, or the Great Dog, ad- 
 joins Orion, and is remarkable because 
 it contains Sirius, or the Dog Star - 
 the monarch of the skies and the great- 
 est of them all in brilliancy and size. 
 
 Bootes, the Herdsman, contains the 
 giant flying sun Arcturus, which looka
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS 97 
 
 so large that it may be mistaken for 
 a planet. This star was recorded by 
 Job and exploited by Homer. It is 
 approaching us at a speed of 50 miles 
 a second. 
 
 Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear, is 
 interesting only because in it is placed 
 Polaris, known also as the Pole Star 
 or North Star. It is the guide of the 
 sailor at sea, and has been used by the 
 slave to point his way to freedom. It 
 apparently never moves, or at least so 
 little that its motion need not be dis- 
 cussed here. 
 
 Taurus, the Bull, claims attention be- 
 cause it contains a celebrated group, 
 the Pleiades, mentioned by Job, and the 
 theme of poets since writing began. 
 The ordinary observer can see six stars 
 in this group; many can make out 
 seven; but Dawes, the keen -sighted
 
 98 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 Englishman, counted thirteen under fa- 
 vorable circumstances. A recent pho- 
 tograph taken in Paris shows over 2000 
 in it. Aldebaran, the great red sun, is 
 the eye of the bull, and may be easily 
 located on account of its marked color. 
 The constellation of the Lyre is not- 
 ed because of Yega, the most beautiful 
 and one of the largest stars in the sky. 
 It may be recognized by the formation 
 of a small equilateral triangle with two 
 minor stars. By the latest decisions 
 of astronomers the solar system is fly- 
 ing towards this point. Yega can al- 
 ways be seen on a clear night, but is 
 more brilliant when overhead in winter. 
 This is true of all stars and planets; 
 when they are on the horizon we have 
 to look through so much more atmos- 
 phere that they become dim to our 
 sight.
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS 99 
 
 Leo, the Lion, may be known by the 
 exact resemblance it now bears to a 
 sickle. It contains Kegulus, or the 
 Lion's Heart, as well as Denebola. It 
 is also a sign of the zodiac. 
 
 Aquila, the Eagle, contains the brill- 
 iant white star Altair, having small 
 companions close to it on each side, 
 the three making a straight line. 
 
 Cygnus, the Swan, may always be 
 found in the Milky Way ; it resembles 
 a large cross or the skeleton of a kite 
 more than it does a swan. 
 
 The other celebrated constellations 
 containing first - magnitude stars are 
 Auriga, the Wagoner, containing Ca- 
 pella, a brilliant yellow star ; the Little 
 Dog, with Procyon within its limits ; 
 the Scorpion, with the red star Antares ; 
 the Yirgin, containing the brilliant sun 
 Spica as its feature. There are about a
 
 100 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 hundred other constellations, but they 
 have little interest for those not mak- 
 ing them a special study, and are com- 
 paratively modern, in most cases being 
 named since the fourth century. 
 
 In addition to the constellations, the 
 entire circumference of the sky has 
 been divided into twelve parts, which 
 have been named the twelve signs of 
 the zodiac. This is the apparent path 
 of the sun through the heavens. Their 
 names and order may be easily com- 
 mitted to memory in the following 
 rhyme : 
 
 "The Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins, 
 And next the Crab the Lion shines, 
 
 The Virgin and the Scales, 
 The Scorpion, Archer, and Sea Goat, 
 The man that holds the Watering-pot, 
 
 And Fish with glittering tails." 
 
 Some of these signs of the zodiac
 
 DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ^CALIFORNIA 
 
 AT LOS ANGELES 
 
 THE CONSTELLATIONS 101 
 
 ate identical with the great constella- 
 tions where they happen to lie in the 
 sun's course, notably the Bull, Lion, 
 Virgin, and Scorpion; the other eight 
 zodiacal signs are simply minor groups, 
 made memorable because they are the 
 mile-posts of the sun. 
 
 It was explained while describing the 
 fixed stars that in reality there are no 
 " fixed " stars ; but they move so slowly 
 to our eyes that the ancients believed 
 them to be stationary. Their proper mo- 
 tion, however, causes them to move, and 
 therefore the dislocation of the heavens 
 is only a question of time. The day will 
 come by reason of this motion that the 
 neighboring constellations of Orion, the 
 Bull, and Canis Major will be merged 
 into one immense group. In 5000 years 
 this will be our largest and grandest 
 galaxy, and will require a new name.
 
 102 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 Such a period seems long in human his- 
 tory, but it is but an hour in recording 
 celestial time, when we consider that 
 most astronomers agree in placing the 
 age of our little modern planet at 20,- 
 000,000 years. 
 
 Astronomers can go back in their cal- 
 culations with as remarkable accuracy 
 as they can predict the future. Fifty 
 thousand years ago the Dipper had the 
 form of a perfect cross, and in 500 cen- 
 turies from now it will assume the shape 
 of a steamer chair.
 
 THK GREAT NKBULA OF ANDROMEDA 
 
 (Visible to the naked eye.)
 
 NEBULA 
 
 A NEBULA is a luminous patch in the 
 heavens, billions of miles beyond the 
 limits of our solar system. 
 
 There are thousands of nebulae, and 
 they are of various composition, color, 
 and size. Sir William Herschel observed 
 and formed a catalogue numbering 2000 ; 
 since his time many have been discov- 
 ered by the aid of modern telescopes. 
 He estimated that the light from the 
 faintest would take 2,000,000 years to 
 reach us. 
 
 Most of the nebulae proper are com- 
 posed of hydrogen and other gases 
 strongly condensed ; this is the nucleus
 
 104 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 of worlds and planets in the process 
 of being condensed into a solid mass. 
 There are many worlds in such process 
 of evolution known to astronomers, and 
 they can be seen in their different stages 
 through a telescope. For example, one 
 in the constellation of Canes Venatici, 
 which shows a central condensation, 
 A second is found in Aquarius, and 
 shows a sphere in the process of throw- 
 ing off a ring ; this ring may in time 
 condense and form a satellite. A third 
 may be seen in Pegasus, which is sur- 
 rounded by rings of gaseous spirals. 
 Two of the most celebrated are found 
 in the constellations of Andromeda and 
 Orion ; both can be seen on a clear night 
 by the naked eye, the latter surrounding 
 the middle star of the three stars in Ori- 
 on's sword. This is the celebrated tra- 
 pezium nebula a field of floating, glow-
 
 THK GREAT NEBULA ABOUT THE MULTIPLE STAR ORIONIS, 
 IN THE CONSTELLATION OF ORION
 
 NEBULA 105 
 
 ing gas, so large that our entire solar 
 system would be lost in it. It is one of 
 the great startling sights of the sky, 
 and those who are privileged to see it 
 through a large instrument can never 
 forget it. 
 
 In many cases these nebulas are the 
 graves of dead worlds and the cradles 
 of new ones immense masses of un- 
 organized matter that may have been 
 left floating in space the wreckage 
 from collisions of suns, now ready to 
 revert back, in the process of time, to 
 their original condition, thus sustaining 
 the trite saying that nothing is lost in 
 nature.
 
 THE MILKY WAY 
 
 THE Galaxy, or Milky Way, is a lumi- 
 nous band of irregular form, consisting 
 of a great circle entirely surrounding 
 the heavens. It contains myriads of 
 stars, so crowded together that their 
 united light only reaches the unaided 
 eye ; this band of stars can be seen on 
 any dark, clear night. If we could stand 
 where the earth is and have it removed, 
 we could see this splendid circle com- 
 pletely surrounding us ; it is thus rea- 
 soned that we are a part of the Milky 
 Way, and that our sun is near the centre 
 of it. 
 
 The circumpolar constellations Gas-
 
 THE CELEIWATED CRAB NEBULA NEAR TAUKI
 
 THE MILKY WAY 107 
 
 siopeia and the Swan are always to be 
 found in the Milky Way, while Sirius, 
 Capella, and Aquila may be seen on its 
 edge when they are in sight. 
 
 The formation of the Milky Way as- 
 sumes the general appearance of a sil- 
 very ribbon, but in places it is divided 
 into two great branches, which after- 
 wards reunite. Between these divisions 
 are dark places comparatively devoid of 
 stars ; one of these, the Coal Sack, has 
 become celebrated, and was so named 
 by sailors because they could see no 
 stars in this dark spot. 
 
 This glorious celestial path has been 
 the theme of poets in all ages. Some of 
 the best lines written about it are by 
 Elizabeth Carter, from which the follow- 
 ing is a selection : 
 
 "Throughout the Galaxy's extended line 
 Unnumbered orbs in gay confusion shine,
 
 108 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 Where ev'ry star that gilds the gloom of night 
 With the faint trembling of a distant light 
 Perhaps illumes some system of its own 
 With the strong influence of a radiant sun."
 
 THK NEBULA IN THE MILKY WAY
 
 DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE STARS 
 
 MANY stars that appear to the naked 
 eye as a single object, when examined 
 by a telescope or opera-glass are found 
 to be composed of two, three, four, or 
 even more stars. These are named 
 double, triple, quadruple, and multiple 
 stars. Some of these are in no way 
 connected with each other save by the 
 accident of perspective, while in many 
 cases they Compose a system, and re- 
 volve on one another in a fixed period ; 
 the periods may vary from a few years 
 up to thousands. 
 
 Ten thousand double stars have been 
 observed ; the great majority of them
 
 110 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 are really double ; by the chance of per- 
 spective they are sometimes located al- 
 most behind each other, although really 
 billions of miles apart. 
 
 There are 558 orbital systems known; 
 23 ternary systems exist, while 32 
 triples are made up of a binary system ; 
 and an accidental optical companion, 
 Kappa Pegasi, revolves round its part- 
 ner in 11 years, which is the shortest 
 period known. 
 
 Zeta Aquarii has the longest period 
 definitely fixed ; it is 1624 years. 
 
 There are many systems whose peri- 
 ods exceed 5000 or 6000 years, but 
 enough time has not elapsed since 
 first observed to exactly fix their pe- 
 riod. 
 
 The most celebrated double stars are 
 Sirius and Castor, of the Twins. The 
 former has a period of 53 years, and the
 
 DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE STAKS 111 
 
 latter has a companion that revolves 
 round it in 1001 years. 
 
 The ternary system of Zeta, in the 
 constellation of the Crab, is composed 
 of three suns; the second revolves 
 round the first in a period of 59 years, 
 and the third round both stars in 600 
 years. 
 
 Double stars have almost always dif- 
 ferent colors, and frequently exhibit a 
 brilliant variety of tints. Beta, of the 
 Swan, contains two suns, one being 
 golden yellow and the other sapphire. 
 Antares and its companion are orange 
 and green, respectively. 
 
 Procyon is so perturbed in its motion 
 that it is known to have a large dark 
 companion, whose attraction affects it, 
 but the distance is so immense that no 
 observer has yet been able to find the 
 mysterious partner.
 
 112 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 The celebrated star 61 Cygni is a 
 telescopic double sun; the constituent 
 parts of it are forty-five times as far 
 from each other as the earth is from the 
 sun, yet it takes a powerful telescope to 
 show any distance between these com- 
 panions. No better illustration of the 
 vast scale on which celestial mechanics 
 are carried on can be found than by re- 
 flecting on this proposition. 
 
 These are but the bare, imperfect 
 rudiments of astronomy, and represent 
 but a taste of what is to come for those 
 who wish to pursue this delightful sci- 
 ence in its details. The author hopes 
 that this little effort will not have been 
 made in vain ; it certainly will not if it 
 induces some of his readers to take up 
 the subject in earnest where he has laid 
 down his pen.
 
 DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE STABS 113 
 
 " What though no real voice or sound 
 Amid their radiant orbs be found ? 
 In reason's ear they all rejoice, 
 And utter forth a glorious voice ; 
 Forever singing as they shiue, 
 'The hand that made us is divine.'"
 
 INTERESTING ITEMS 
 
 NICHOLAS COPERNICUS. Born at Thorn, 
 Prussia, A.D. 1473. To Copernicus must 
 be given the first place in astronomy, 
 for it was he who, in the face of all 
 traditions, founded the Copernican sys- 
 tem : placing the sun in the centre, 
 with the planets revolving round -it. 
 Previous to 1543 all astronomers placed 
 the earth in the centre of the universe, 
 and believed that the stars and planets 
 revolved round it. 
 
 GALILEO. Born at Pisa, Italy, 1564. 
 He discovered the properties of the pen- 
 dulum in 1583, constructed a thermome-
 
 YKKKKS TKI.KSCOPK 
 (In the possession of the Chicago University. The
 
 INTERESTING ITEMS 115 
 
 ter in 1597, and invented and construct- 
 ed the first telescope in 1609. With 
 these appliances he made many impor- 
 tant astronomical discoveries. 
 
 His was the greatest opportunity 
 given to man in the field of exploration, 
 as the new glass placed him where no 
 one had stood before ; but the invention 
 was his, and he used it to the fullest ex- 
 tent. He was imprisoned in Rome for 
 accepting the Copernican system. 
 
 SIE ISAAC NEWTON. Born in England 
 in 1642. Newton was the greatest 
 mathematical astronomer, and was a 
 veritable wizard with figures, distanc- 
 ing all men who had lived before him 
 or who have appeared since. 
 
 The story of the fall of the apple 
 was first told by Voltaire, who obtained 
 it from Newton's niece. Laying down
 
 116 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 the laws of universal gravitation was 
 his principal work. 
 
 Newton was a philosopher as well as 
 a great astronomer, as the treatment of 
 his favorite dog will show. The docu- 
 ments completing a great work occu- 
 pying forty years were spread on his 
 library table ; his dog upset a burning 
 lamp and destroyed them. On his re- 
 turn to the room Newton affectionately 
 patted the dog and exclaimed, " Dia- 
 mond, Diamond, thou little knowest the 
 damage thou hast done !" 
 
 SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL. Born in 
 1738. He discovered the planet Uranus 
 and many other celestial bodies. "With 
 his own hands he constructed the first 
 great telescope. It has been said of 
 him that in nearly every branch of 
 modern physical astronomy he was the
 
 INTERESTING ITEMS 117 
 
 pioneer. He was the virtual founder of 
 sidereal science. As an explorer of the 
 heavens he had but one rival his son. 
 
 LIGHT is that form of luminous energy 
 which comes to the eye in succeeding 
 waves or vibrations at the rate of four 
 hundred and fifty trillions per second. 
 It travels at the rate of 186,000 miles 
 in a second, and this uniform speed has 
 had much to do in settling some of the 
 greatest astronomical problems. With- 
 out its aid we would know absolutely 
 nothing of astronomy. The division of 
 light from the sun by a prism results in 
 seven colors, in the following order : vio- 
 let, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, 
 and red. 
 
 This is known as the solar spectrum. 
 The most extraordinary phenomenon 
 connected with light and at present en-
 
 118 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 tirely unexplained is that every star in 
 the sky is a centre of constant undula- 
 tions in all directions, which thus per- 
 petually cross each other through space 
 without being confused or mingled in 
 any way. 
 
 THE SPECTROSCOPE. This wonderful 
 instrument makes known to us the com- 
 position of celestial bodies. With a 
 system of prisms it divides the light 
 from them into lines on a band or rib- 
 bon. The order and position of these 
 lines denote the chemical composition 
 of the body under examination, so that 
 we can determine exactly all the sub- 
 stances that compose it and their per- 
 centages. It is, in fact, the autograph 
 of the substance, written with lines in 
 colors. The astronomer by its aid can 
 as easily tell what the sun or Sirius are
 
 INTERESTING ITEMS 119 
 
 composed of as a chemist can analyze 
 the composition of gunpowder. 
 
 No LIGHT WITHOUT DUST. The major- 
 ity do not know that the sky is blue 
 on account of thousands of millions 
 of atoms of dust floating in the atmos- 
 phere. Were it not for dust we would 
 lack light on earth and the heavens 
 would be an inky black. 
 
 Suppose a room absolutely dark save 
 a hole through one of the shutters. A 
 ray of light will dart through the small 
 opening, and one can observe tiny par- 
 ticles of dust dancing in that bright 
 beam of light. As a matter of fact, it is 
 not " the light " we see, but simply a re- 
 flection caused by these motes of dust. 
 
 As it is with this shaft of light in the 
 darkened room, so it is on a large scale 
 throughout the air. The many millions
 
 120 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 of particles of dust catch the light, re- 
 flecting it back and forth from one 
 to another, so making the atmosphere 
 luminous. 
 
 Were it not for dust the sky by day 
 would appear black, as it does at night 
 when there is no moon. The sun would 
 appear as an immense glowing ball. 
 The moon and the stars would be visi- 
 ble throughout the day. Everything 
 would appear differently. Where the 
 light touched, the eye would be dazzled 
 by the brilliancy. The mellow softness 
 of the shadows would become an in- 
 tense black, and the outlines of objects 
 harsh and angular. 
 
 The sunlight, which has been ana- 
 lyzed by the spectroscope, consists of all 
 the colors of the rainbow, their total 
 forming the white light. The white 
 light going through a crystal prism is
 
 INTEKESTING ITEMS 121 
 
 broken up into seven component parts, 
 the so-called fundamental colors. These 
 seven distinct colors of light are the 
 result of the different lengths of ether 
 waves. Blue is one of the shortest, yel- 
 low one of the longest waves. Thus 
 the finest dust molecules floating high- 
 est in the atmosphere reflect only the 
 blue light, imparting that tint to the 
 heavens. 
 
 TYCHO BRAHE, the celebrated Danish 
 astronomer, was born in 1546. Fred- 
 erick II., of Denmark, noticing his re- 
 markable talents, built an observatory 
 for him on the island of Huen, and here 
 it was, without the aid of a telescope 
 and with the crudest instruments, he 
 made observations that afterwards in 
 the hands of Newton and Kepler were 
 destined to settle the great problems of
 
 122 THE PITH OF ASTRONOMY 
 
 astronomy. It is asserted that he has 
 never been surpassed as a practical as- 
 tronomer, although he rejected the Co- 
 pernican theory. He was eccentric in 
 his conduct, and never made an obser- 
 vation in his observatory without put- 
 ting on his court dress, alleging that 
 if men dressed in honor of the king and 
 court they should not be less observant 
 of such duties in the presence of their 
 Maker. 
 
 THE END
 
 POPULAR ASTRONOMY 
 
 By SIMON NEWCOMB, LL.D., Superintendent 
 American Nautical Almanac ; formerly Profes- 
 sor U. S. Naval Observatory. With One Hun- 
 dred and Twelve Engravings, and Five Maps 
 of the Stars. 8vo, Cloth, $2 50; School Edi- 
 tion, 12mo, Cloth, $1 30. 
 
 Its purpose is to enlighten that great mass of fairly edu- 
 cated people who have lost the astronomical knowledge 
 that they once possessed. It states the latest methods of 
 investigation, the latest discoveries, and the latest genera' 
 development of this majestic and almost infinite science. 
 Great thought and much space have been given to the his- 
 torical points and philosophical aspects of the science. . . . 
 In the treatment of weighty and abstruse scientific subjects, 
 he never fails to bring them within the range of the average 
 popular comprehension. Boston Pout. 
 
 The great reputation which the author of this work has 
 merited and enjoys, both in this country and ill Europe, is 
 a sufficient guarantee of its excellence. . . . He has dwelt 
 especially upon those topics which have just now a popular 
 and philosophic interest, carefully employing such language 
 and such simple explanations as will be intelligible without 
 laborious study. Technical terms have as much as possible 
 been avoided. Such as were employed of necessity, and 
 many that occur elsewhere, have been fully explained in a 
 copious glossary at the end of the book. With its abundant 
 aid the reader cannot fail to derive both pleasure and en- 
 tertainment froir the study of what is the most ancient as 
 well as the most elevating and inspiring of all the natural 
 sciences. . . . Professor Newcomb, throughout his whole 
 volume, preserves his well-known character as a writer who, 
 in treating of scientific subjects, fully understands the art i>f 
 bringing them within the range of popular comprehension. 
 .... It is fully calculated to hold the attention of the gen- 
 eral reader. A'. Y. Times. 
 
 PGBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NKW YORK 
 
 Jlgy The above work is for sale by all booksellers, or will be 
 sent by the publisliers, poxtaye prepaid, on receipt of the. price.
 
 RECREATIONS IN ASTRONOMY 
 
 With Directions for Practical Experiments and 
 Telescopic Work. By H. W. WARREN, D.D. 
 With Eighty-three Illustrations and Colored 
 Plates. 12mo, Cloth, $1 25. 
 
 Written not only to reveal some of the highest achieve- 
 ments of the human mind, but also to let the heavens de- 
 clare the glory of God. With sentiments of profound devo- 
 tion, and with the calmest belief that religion gains by 
 every advance of science, he invites the reader to scan the 
 heavens, and there find proofs strong as holy writ of the 
 truths of revealed faith. Dr. Warren writes like a scholar 
 clearly, tersely, elegantly. Chicago Times. 
 
 The style of the author is flowing and easy, so that even 
 his most scientific pages will make the reader pause and 
 catch the drift of the writing. The book will more gener- 
 ally interest readers that most books upon scientific sub- 
 jects. It has an enthusiasm which is contagious. The 
 author has mastered well the art of bringing science into 
 the range of the common render and making it both pleas- 
 ant and profitable Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 The explanations of diflicult matters are particularly lucid, 
 and for readers not technically instructed in astronomy 
 nothing could be better as a literary presentation of the at- 
 tractive side of the science. N. Y. Evening Post. 
 
 A very attractive book . . . treating the subject in so fa- 
 miliar a manner as to make the practical and useful informa- 
 tion it contains delightful reading. Boston Commonwealth. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK 
 
 &~ The above work is for sale by all booksellers, or will be 
 sent by the publishers, postage prepaid, on receipt of the price.
 
 Bayne - The pith of astronomyewitbout 
 mathematics a 
 
 m ^ TTY QF CALIFORNIA ' ART 
 
 T os Angele
 
 
 
 Ut A 000210550 
 
 STACK 
 
 JUL72 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 UNIVERSITY of