Brinkley's Astronomy

Abstract

DR. BRINKLEY'S treatise on elementary astronomy, of which this is a new and revised edition, has been for many years one of the recognised text-books provided for the use of Trinity College, Dublin. We believe, however, that it is a work comparatively little known out of Ireland, and probably many English astronomers were not aware of its existence till its reappearance, in a new dress, under the able guidance and direction of Dr. Stubbs and Dr. Briinnow, by whom the present edition is revised, enlarged, and partly re-written. Its popularity as a text-book will doubtless be no longer confined to the sister island; for this treatise, although elementary in its character, contains such clear and concise explanations of some of the principal problems in astronomy, that its intrinsic merit alone will probably find for it a place among the choice volumes of every astronomical student, and also on the shelves of every astronomical library. We do not say that this “Astronomy” is all that can be desired, nor will it obviate the necessity for the employment of a more elaborate work on practical astronomy where extreme accuracy is required in the reduction ot observations; but it does on the whole explain the different problems in a clear and easy manner and in popular language, without sacrificing those details which are necessary for a proper elucidation of the different problems. We should, however, have been glad if a more detailed account had been given of some of the subjects treated upon, especially in the chapter describing the instruments usually employed in making astronomical observations. The methods of determining the instrumental adjustments are sufficiently explained, but it would be of great service to amateur astronomers if examples had been given of the complete reduction of both meridional and equatorial observations, a kind of information rarely to be found in detail in astronomical treatises.

Brinkley's Astronomy.

Revised and partly re-written, with additional chapters, by John William Stubbs., Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, and Francis Brünnow, Ph.D., late Astronomer Royal of Ireland, and Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin. (London: Longmans and Co., 1874.)