The Study of Astronomy, adapted to the capacities of youth: In twelve familiar dialogues, between a tutor and his pupil: explaining the general phænomena of the heavenly bodies, the theory of the tides, &c.Stedman, John, teacher of astronomy
Science
The Study of Astronomy, adapted to the capacities of youth: In twelve familiar dialogues, between a tutor and his pupil: explaining the general phænomena of the heavenly bodies, the theory of the tides, &c.
Stedman, John, teacher of astronomy
Astronomy -- Juvenile literature -- Early works to 1800
TUTOR. Take this ivory ball, and suspend it by the string with your hand
between your eye and the candle. Let the candle represent the sun, the
ball the moon, and your head the earth. In this situation, as the candle
enlightens only one half of the ball, the part turned from you will be
enlightened, and the part turned to you will be dark. This will be a
representation of the moon at change, and as no part of her enlightened
hemisphere is turned to the earth, she can reflect no light upon it, and
consequently is invisible to us. She now rises and sets nearly with the
sun.—Turn yourself a little to the left, and you will observe a streak
of light like what is called the new moon.
PUPIL. I see it clearly.
TUTOR. Move round one quarter.
PUPIL. One half of the side next me is now enlightened.
TUTOR. You may conceive it to be the moon at first quarter.—Go on, and
you will see the light increase till the ball is opposite to the candle,
when the side next you will be wholly illumined, and will give you a
just idea of the moon at full, which now rises about the time of
sun-setting, being opposite to the sun: and, the farther she advances in
her orbit the later she rises.
PUPIL. It is plain it must be so. She rises with the sun at change,
being then in conjunction: and as she revolves in her orbit the same way
as the earth does on its axis, the earth will have farther to revolve
each day before it can see the moon. At the full she is in opposition,
and of course rises when the sun sets: and so continues to rise later
and later, till the change again.
TUTOR. You imagine that the moon rises exactly with the sun when she is
at change; and when he sets, at full. I will presently convince you of
your mistake; and would have you now proceed with your ball. Place it
again opposite to the candle, and as you turn round you will find the
light gradually decrease as it before increased, that the side that was
before enlightened is now dark, and the dark side light. When you have
gone three quarters round, one half of the side next you will be
enlightened, and will resemble the moon at last quarter. As you go on
the darkened part will increase, till you arrive at the place you set
off from, where the light is quite obscured.
PUPIL. I have now completed the circuit, and am much delighted with it,
as by this simple contrivance I can perceive the various changes of the
moon, and that the western side is enlightened from the change to the
full, and the eastern side from the full to the change.
TUTOR. I find then it has fully answered the purpose intended.
PUPIL. Indeed it has. But if you will give me leave I will use the ball
again.
TUTOR. By all means.
PUPIL. I perceive, as I move round, that the same side of the ball is
turned towards me whilst every part is turned to the candle. Is it so
with the moon?
TUTOR. It is: and as every part of the moon is turned to the sun, she
makes one revolution on her axis whilst she makes one in her orbit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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