[Illustration] Curiosities of the Sky by Garrett P. Serviss Contents PREFACE CURIOSITIES OF THE SKY I. The Windows of Absolute Night II. Star-Clouds, Star-Clusters, and Star-Streams III. Stellar Migrations IV. The Passing of the Constellations V. Conflagrations in the Heavens VI. Explosive and Whirling Nebulæ VII. The Banners of the Sun VIII. The Zodiacal Light Mystery IX. Marvels of the Aurora X. Strange Adventures of Comets XI. Meteors, Fire-Balls, and Meteorites XII. The Wrecking of the Moon XIII. The Great Mars Problem XIV. The Riddle of the Asteroids [Illustration: Great spiral nebula in Andromeda] Illustrations Great spiral nebula in Andromeda The Milky Way Star-cluster in Hercules Great southern star-cluster, Omega Centauri The Pleiades The “Great Dipper” Cassiopeia The “Northern Crown” The “Southern Cross” Chart showing location of Tycho’s star, 1572, and Nova Persei of 1901 Nova Persei, with its nebular rings Lord Rosse’s nebula Wonderful spiral in triangulum Spiral in Ursa Major Nebula in Cetus The Orion nebula The Corona A solar “prominence” Auroral beams seen in England Auroral arches of an eliptic form seen in the Arctic regions Auroral curtain seen in Scandinavia Auroral arches seen in Scandinavia Swift’s comet Daniels’ comet Brooks’ comet Curious forms of meteorite trains Section of the atmosphere up to 100 kilometers A meteor photographed in flight Looking across Coon Butte crater from northern rim Trail on south side, Coon Butte crater The craters Clavius, Longomontanus, Tycho, etc. Western part of the Mare Serenitatis Mare Tranquilitatis and surroundings Lunar craters Theophilus and surrounding region Mare Crisium Schiaparelli’s chart of Mars, showing the so-called system of canals PREFACE What Froude says of history is true also of astronomy: it is the most impressive where it transcends explanation. It is not the mathematics of astronomy, but the wonder and the mystery that seize upon the imagination. The calculation of an eclipse owes all its prestige to the sublimity of its data; the operation, in itself, requires no more mental effort than the preparation of a railway time-table. The dominion which astronomy has always held over the minds of men is akin to that of poetry; when the former becomes merely instructive and the latter purely didactic, both lose their power over the imagination. Astronomy is known as the oldest of the sciences, and it will be the longest-lived because it will always have arcana that have not been penetrated. Some of the things described in this book are little known to the average reader, while others are well known; but all possess the fascination of whatever is strange, marvelous, obscure, or mysterious—magnified, in this case, by the portentous scale of the phenomena.