Abstract
THIS is the sixth edition of an interesting little book, which explains briefly the principal facts relating to the motions of celestial bodies, and to the dimensions of those belonging to our own system. The information has been brought up to date, and an addition of a chapter on “The Calendar ” has been made. In the chapter on the sun we are told that “the solar spots are produced by tearings open of some of the luminous envelopes which surround the sun, so that we see in them to a depth below that of the solar surface.” To an ordinary reader this statement would be rather misleading, since no mention is made of the absorption of the sun's light by the descent of the cooler particles on to the solar surface from the upper regions of its atmosphere, the spots thus being made to appear dark and not bright. In chapter x. a short reference is made to the refraction, propagation, and aberration of light, while in chapter xii. we have a brief sketch of the history of astronomical discovery. The book concludes with an explanation of astronomical and technical terms.
Celestial Motions: A Handy Book of Astronomy.
By William Thynne Lynn. Sixth Edition. (London: Edward Stanford, 1889.)
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Celestial Motions: A Handy Book of Astronomy. Nature 40, 293 (1889). https://doi.org/10.1038/040293b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/040293b0