Elements of Astronomy: Accompanied with Numerous Illustrations, a Colored Representation of the Solar, Stellar, and Nebular Spectra, and Celestial Charts of the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere |
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Common terms and phrases
angle aphelion apparent motion apparent movements appear asteroids astronomers atmosphere attraction axis Boötes bright called celestial equator celestial pole celestial sphere centre changes circle clock color comet constellations density Describe determined diameter direction disk distance Earth Earth's orbit Earth's rotation Earth's surface equal equatorial eye-piece fact globe gravity heat heavenly body heavens hemisphere Hence horizon inclined inferior planet Jupiter latitude length lens light longitude lunar magnitude Mars mass mean Sun Mercury meridian meteors miles Moon Moon's move naked eye nearest nearly nebulæ Neptune night node northern object-glass observed parallax path perihelion period photosphere polar position prism rays refraction represented revolution revolve round right ascension ring round the Sun satellites Saturn seen shadow sidereal solar day solstice southern spectrum spots stars Sun's superior planet suppose tance telescope tion Uranus Ursa vapor variable stars velocity Venus vernal equinox visible zenith zenith-distance
Popular passages
Page 20 - A sphere is a solid bounded by a curved surface, every point of which is equally distant from a point within called the center.
Page 31 - Aries (the Ram), Taurus (the Bull) Gemini (the Twins), Cancer (the Crab), Leo (the Lion), Virgo (the Virgin), Libra (the Scales), Scorpio (the Scorpion), Sagittarius (the Archer), Capricornus (the Goat), Aquarius (the Water-bearer), and Pisces (the Fishes).
Page 20 - ... is supposed . to be divided into 60 equal parts, called minutes ; and each minute into 60 equal parts, called seconds. Degrees, minutes, and seconds, are designated respectively, by the characters ° ' ". For example, ten degrees, eighteen minutes, and fourteen seconds, would be written 10° 18
Page 153 - A man placed on one of them would spring with ease 60 feet high, and sustain no greater shock in his descent than he does on the earth from leaping a yard.
Page 132 - Almost directly preceding, or at 270°, appeared a bluntly triangular pink body, suspended, as it were, in the corona. This was separated from the moon's edge when first seen, and the separation increased as the moon advanced. It had the appearance of a large conical protuberance, whose base was hidden by some intervening soft and ill-defined substance...
Page 87 - The LATITUDE of a place is its distance from the equator. If a place is north of the equator, it is said to be in NORTH LATITUDE, and if south, in SOUTH LATITUDE. It is evident, that the entire northern hemisphere is in north latitude, and the entire southern hemisphere in south latitude.
Page 130 - Moon's shadow sweeps across the surface of the Earth, and is even seen in the air ; the rapidity of its motion and its intenseness produce a feeling that something material is rushing over the Earth at a speed perfectly frightful.
Page 147 - Huyghens in 1655, who announced it in this curious form : — " aaaaaaa ccccc d eeeee gh iiiiiii 1111 mm nnnnnnnnn oooo pp q rr s ttttt uuuuu.
Page 22 - Hemisphere is half a sphere. A Diameter of a sphere is a straight line passing through its centre, and terminating at each end in its surface.
Page 173 - These afterwards collected together into larger masses, which have been variously changed by subsequent metamorphic action, and broken up by repeated mutual impact, and often again collected together and solidified. The meteoric irons are probably those portions of the metallic constituents which were separated from the rest by fusion when the metamorphism was carried to that extreme point.