Cambridge Library Collection - Astronomy

A 1930 collection of journal articles, originally published 1907-22, from a pioneer in the study of ancient Chinese astronomy.

This 1871 publication provides a valuable chronological record in English of Chinese comet observations over the course of two millennia.

This illustrated work of 1750 is notable for its early description of the Milky Way as being disc-shaped.

Published in 1923, this work surveys the world's oldest astronomical society, with chapters contributed by leading contemporary astronomers.

Published in 1932, this collection of translated excerpts on ancient astronomy was prepared by Sir Thomas Little Heath (1861-1940).

Published to acclaim in 1880 and reissued here in the 1881 version, this richly illustrated work illuminates astronomy for non-specialists.

First published in 1793, this concise monograph is a valuable early manual for the computation of cometary movement.

Published in 1905, this highly illustrated work by Sir Robert Stawell Ball (1840-1913) is a concise introduction to astronomy.

Published in 1824-9, this two-volume guide to astronomical observation and calculation was among the first to appear in English.

This two-volume collection first appeared in 1912 and includes much previously unpublished material by the astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822).

This two-volume collection first appeared in 1912 and includes much previously unpublished material by the astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822).

Originally published in 1908, this monograph by Sir Robert Stawell Ball (1840-1913) is a technical introduction to spherical astronomy.

Published in 1900, this entertaining and highly illustrated work explores the history of Greenwich's Royal Observatory and its Astronomers Royal.

Throughout her lifetime, Margaret Bryan (fl.1795–1816) ran several schools for girls. Although science and maths were not usually considered suitable subjects for young women, Bryan was convinced that the use of one's reasoning faculties was all but a religious obligation. She taught across a huge range of topics, including optics, trigonometry and the history of astronomy. This book is a collection of ten of her lectures and was first published in 1797. Largely non-technical and written for those without a thorough knowledge of mathematics, the lectures explain contemporary science as simply as possible, using everyday experiments and clear diagrams. From astronomical predictions for the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt to Newton's theory of the aether, the material covered is still readable and fascinating today, and represents a remarkable example of female scholarship long before the acceptance of the first woman into the Royal Society.

John Flamsteed (1646–1719) was the first Astronomer Royal, appointed to the newly founded Greenwich Observatory. Charged with improving navigation at sea, he used meticulous telescopic observations to compile a 'Catalogue of British Stars', radically updating Tycho Brahe's previous naked-eye calculations. However he delayed publishing, leading to a vituperative quarrel with contemporaries Newton and Halley, who published his results without his permission. Flamsteed managed to destroy most of that edition - his own was published posthumously - but his reputation was damaged. A century later, Francis Baily (1774–1844), a stockbroker who became President of the Royal Astronomical Society, rediscovered Flamsteed's papers, including autobiographical writings and extensive correspondence. Their publication in this volume, along with a revised version of the catalogue, rehabilitated Flamsteed's reputation and restated the importance of methodical observation in astronomy. Today, this book il

J. P. Nichol (1804–59), astronomer and political economist, was Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow. He brought astronomy to a non-scientific audience through his enthusiastic public lectures and astronomy books. His works include the popular Views of the Architecture of the Heavens (1837; also reissued in this series) in which he supported the nebular hypothesis, which in modified form is the model of star formation most widely accepted today. Neptune was (in 1846) the first planet to be discovered by mathematical prediction rather than empirical observation, and in this book, first published in 1855, Nichol describes that discovery to a lay readership. Part 1 is an exposition of the then current view of the solar system and the research and discoveries which led to that view; Part 2 is dedicated to Neptune; while the third part explains the controversies over the planet's discovery.

Used to describe both binary systems and optical doubles, the term 'double star' has been familiar to astronomers since the seventeenth century. This book, first published in 1879, outlines the history of their study, and describes the methods and equipment needed in order to observe the fascinating phenomenon. Written for non-specialists by Fellows of the Royal Society Edward Crossley (1841–1904), Joseph Gledhill (1837–1906) and James M. Wilson (1836–1931), the catalogue of over 1,200 double stars appears beside detailed notes and does not assume mathematical expertise. Also offered are a fully worked example of how to find the orbit of a binary star, and illustrations of telescopes, observatories, and even custom-made observation chairs. This reissue includes the supplement with corrections and notes published in 1880. A standard reference text in the late nineteenth century, the work remains a resources for students and scholars of the history of astronomy.

Furnished with more than a hundred figures, maps and tables, this book was first published in 1878 by Simon Newcomb (1835–1909), a noted mathematician and professor at the United States Naval Observatory. A meticulous work, originally intended to be of use to the general reader as well as the student, it provides a view of astronomy as it stood on the eve of General Relativity, and inevitably includes some theories which have since been disproved. Newcomb outlines a brief history of astronomy, from ancient Greece (when the planets were thought to be fixed in crystal spheres), to the application of the new laws of thermodynamics and the latest observations of the solar system. Included are a rejection of the then prevalent theory that the sun has a cool interior and its own inhabitants, details of the anomaly of Mercury's orbit according to Newtonian theory, and thorough observational guides.