A Century's Progress in Astronomy

Name: A Century's Progress in Astronomy
Author: Macpherson, Hector

Macpherson, Hector

Astronomy -- History

A Century’s Progress
                                   IN
                               Astronomy


                                   BY
                        HECTOR MACPHERSON, Jun.
             MEMBER OF THE SOCIÉTÉ ASTRONOMIQUE DE FRANCE;
               MEMBER OF THE SOCIÉTÉ BELGE D’ASTRONOMIE;
                   AUTHOR OF ‘ASTRONOMERS OF TO-DAY’


                       WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
                          EDINBURGH AND LONDON
                                 MCMVI
                         _All Rights reserved_




                                PREFACE.


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

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

  Balerno, Mid-Lothian,
      _October 1906_.




                               CONTENTS.


                                                                    PAGE
  CHAPTER I.                                                           1
                           HERSCHEL THE PIONEER.
      Influence of Herschel’s work—His characteristics—Birth and
          early years—Emigration to England—Caroline
          Herschel—Discovery of Uranus—King’s Astronomer—Latter
          years and death—Death of Caroline Herschel
  CHAPTER II.                                                         15
                          HERSCHEL THE DISCOVERER.
      Solar researches—Study of Venus—Of Mars—The
          Asteroids—Jupiter—Saturn—Discovery of satellites—Uranian
          satellites—Cometary researches—Motion of the Solar
          System—Discovery of binary stars—Clusters and
          nebulæ—Nebulous stars—The Nebular
          Hypothesis—Star-gauging—The disc-theory—Subordinate
          clusters—Abandonment of the disc-theory—Second method of
          star-gauging—Estimate of Herschel’s work
  CHAPTER III.                                                        43
                                  THE SUN.
      Schwabe and the sun-spot period—Researches of Wolf, Lamont,
          Sabine, Gautier—Observations of Carrington and
          Spörer—Career and work of Fraunhofer—Spectrum
          analysis—Work of Kirchhoff—Solar eclipse work—The Solar
          prominences—Janssen and Lockyer—Huggins and Zöllner—Work
          of Young—The Italian spectroscopists, Secchi, Respighi,
          Tacchini—Career of Tacchini—The reversing layer—The
          Corona—Doppler’s principle—Rotation of the Sun—Work of

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A Century's Progress in Astronomy

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