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Simon Newcomb. Side-Lights on Astronomy and Kindred Fields of Popular Science
Side-Lights on Astronomy and Kindred Fields of Popular Science
Table of Contents
ILLUSTRATIONS
PREFACE
I
THE UNSOLVED PROBLEMS OF ASTRONOMY
II
THE NEW PROBLEMS OF THE UNIVERSE
III
THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE
IV
THE EXTENT OF THE UNIVERSE
V
MAKING AND USING A TELESCOPE
VI
WHAT THE ASTRONOMERS ARE DOING
VII
LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
VIII
HOW THE PLANETS ARE WEIGHED
IX
THE MARINER'S COMPASS
X
THE FAIRYLAND OF GEOMETRY
XI
THE ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
XII
CAN WE MAKE IT RAIN?
XIII
THE ASTRONOMICAL EPHEMERIS AND THE NAUTICAL ALMANAC
XIV
THE WORLD'S DEBT TO ASTRONOMY
XV
AN ASTRONOMICAL FRIENDSHIP
XVI
THE EVOLUTION OF THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATOR
XVII
THE EVOLUTION OF ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE
XVIII
ASPECTS OF AMERICAN ASTRONOMY
XIX
THE UNIVERSE AS AN ORGANISM
XX
THE RELATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD TO SOCIAL PROGRESS
XXI
THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FLYING-MACHINE
Отрывок из книги
Simon Newcomb
Published by Good Press, 2019
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We know that the motions of the heavenly bodies are predicted with extraordinary exactness by the theory of gravitation. When one finds that the exact path of the moon's shadow on the earth during a total eclipse of the sun can be mapped out many years in advance, and that the planets follow the predictions of the astronomer so closely that, if you could see the predicted planet as a separate object, it would look, even in a good telescope, as if it exactly fitted over the real planet, one thinks that here at least is a branch of astronomy which is simply perfect. And yet the worlds themselves show slight deviations in their movements which the astronomer cannot always explain, and which may be due to some hidden cause that, when brought to light, shall lead to conclusions of the greatest importance to our race.
One of these deviations is in the rotation of the earth. Sometimes, for several years at a time, it seems to revolve a little faster, and then again a little slower. The changes are very slight; they can be detected only by the most laborious and refined methods; yet they must have a cause, and we should like to know what that cause is.
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