The astronomical observer |
Other editions - View all
The Astronomical Observer: A Handbook to the Observatory and the Common ... William A. Darby No preview available - 2018 |
The Astronomical Observer: A Handbook to the Observatory and the Common ... William Arthur Darby No preview available - 2008 |
The Astronomical Observer: A Handbook to the Observatory and the Common ... William A. Darby No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
Admiral Smyth Andromeda angle Antinous Aquila Arcturus astronomers Auriga axis Bear's Bear's tail beautiful double star binary star bluish bright white carried a little Cassiopea Catalogue centre Cepheus Cetus close double star cluster colour constellation Cor Caroli Cygni delicate double star diff dist distance distant companion dusky equilateral triangle faint field flushed white Globe Atlas Hercules Hind Leonis lilac line from ẞ Lord Rosse magnitude Maps S. D. U. K. Messier minute stars naked eye nearly equilateral triangle nearly midway neat double star nebula northern observed Ophiuchi Ophiuchus orange Orion pale blue pale grey pale white pale yellow parallel of Declination parallel of R. A. Pegasus Perseus polar preceding Procyon Right Ascension Serpentis silvery white Sirius small stars Spica spiral Struve tail telescope topaz-yellow triple star Ursa Majoris variable star violet Virginis Virgo W. R. Dawes wide double star
Popular passages
Page v - Mysterious Night ! when our first Parent knew Thee from report divine, and heard thy name, Did he not tremble for this lovely frame, This glorious canopy of light and blue ? Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew, Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, Hesperus with the host of heaven came; And lo, Creation widened in man's view.
Page v - Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
Page v - Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number : he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power ; not one faileth.
Page v - neath a curtain of translucent dew, Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, Hesperus with the host of heaven came; And, lo! Creation widened in man's view. Who could have thought such darkness lay concealed Within thy beams, O Sun?
Page x - The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
Page 10 - It is not easy for language to convey a full impression of the beauty and sublimity of the spectacle which this nebula offers, as it enters the field of view of...
Page xxiv - Creator as guides and records, not merely to elevate our minds by the contemplation of what is vast, but to teach us to direct our actions by reference to what is immutable in His works. It is, indeed, hardly possible to overappreciate their value in this point of view. Every well-determined star, from the moment its place is registered, becomes to the astronomer, the geographer, the navigator, the surveyor, a point of departure which can never deceive...
Page xxiv - If we ask to what end magnificent establishments are maintained by states and sovereigns, furnished with master-pieces of art, and placed under the direction of men of first-rate talent and high-minded enthusiasm, sought out for those qualities among the foremost in the ranks of science : — if we demand cui bono? for what good a Bradley has toiled, or a Maskelyne or a Piazzi worn out his venerable age in watching ? the answer is, — not to settle mere speculative points in the doctrine of the...
Page xxiv - It is, indeed, hardly possible to over-appreciate their value in this point of view. Every well-determined star, from the moment its place is registered, becomes to the astronomer, the geographer, the navigator, the surveyor, a point of departure which can never deceive or fail him, the same for ever and in all places, of a delicacy so extreme as to be a test for every instrument yet invented by man, yet equally adapted for the most ordinary purposes; as available for regulating a town clock as for...
Page xxiv - ... and in all places, of a delicacy so extreme as to be a test for every instrument yet invented by man, yet equally adapted for the most ordinary purposes; as available for regulating a town clock as for conducting a navy to the Indies ; as effective for mapping down the intricacies of a petty barony as for adjusting the boundaries of Transatlantic empires. When once its place has been thoroughly ascertained and carefully recorded, the brazen circle...