Produced by Chris Curnow, Les Galloway and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriber’s Notes Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged. Footnotes are placed at the end of chapter. Italics are represented thus _italic_, and superscripts thus ^. The periods of the satellites of Uranus have been added to the table as specified in a subsequent note. The layout of several tables has been modified to maintain clarity within wdth restrictions. [Illustration: LONDON STEREOSCOPIC CO. PHOTOMEZZOTYPE. STANMORE OBSERVATORY. INSIDE VIEW.] TELESCOPIC WORK FOR STARLIGHT EVENINGS. BY WILLIAM F. DENNING, F.R.A.S. (FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF THE LIVERPOOL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY). “To ask or search I blame thee not, for heaven Is as the book of God before thee set, Wherein to read his wondrous works.” MILTON. LONDON: TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 1891. [_All rights reserved._] [Illustration: ALERE FLAMMAM.] PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PREFACE. It having been suggested by some kind friends that a series of articles on “Telescopes and Telescopic Work,” which I wrote for the ‘Journal of the Liverpool Astronomical Society’ in 1887-8, should be reprinted, I have undertaken the revision and rearrangement of the papers alluded to. Certain other contributions on “Large and Small Telescopes,” “Planetary Observations,” and kindred subjects, which I furnished to ‘The Observatory’ and other scientific serials from time to time, have also been included, and the material so much altered and extended that it may be regarded as virtually new matter. The work has outgrown my original intention, but it proved so engrossing that it was found difficult to ensure greater brevity.