November 15, 2010 #117 - Star-Names and Their Meanings

When I was a boy in the sixties I purchased a copy of Dover’s reprint of “Star-Names and Their Meanings” by Richard H. Allen. This was my first introduction to what the origins for the names of all those places I pointed my telescope at in the night sky.

Today the critics say that the volume is full of inaccuracies, that the author was not conversant in Arabic and many of his sources were incorrect. But, I learned a lot over the years from my much thumbed through copy.

Many times on a search through Google Books, you will hit a book that is an unexpected treat, that was not what you were looking for. Imagine my delight when I found the (1899) first edition scanned and offered for reading. If you would like a copy, go to

http://books.google.com/books?id=5xQuAAAAIAAJ&ots=6qftP3wc78&dq=Star-names%20and%20their%20meanings%20By%20Richard%20Hinckley%20Allen&pg=PR9#v=onepage&q&f=false



If you would like a more modern guide, check into a web site by Gary D. Thompson, of Melton West, Australia. He has gathered a lot of good information. I especially enjoyed looking at his pre-historic sky maps taken from archeological investigations.

http://members.westnet.com.au/Gary-David-Thompson/index1.html

Clear Sky - Rich

November 11, 2010 #113 – Origin of the Telescope

While searching for some new bits of astronomical history, Google Books hit upon a series of books published in the early 1820’s. These digitized  volumes, “The Percy Anecdotes” were written by Sholto and Renben Percy, Brothers of the Benedictine Monastery, Mont Benger. I did a little detective work and found that they were actually Joseph Clinton Robertson and Thomas Byerley, newspaper men.

The anecdotes were compiled from British newspaper files and written for public enjoyment. These works were very popular at the time. As I began reading a chapter on science I found that there is a lot of good historical information. Many things I read were new to me. I will include a few articles over a couple of days on astronomical and optical history. (Click to enlarge)


Clear Sky -Rich

November 10, 2010 #112 – Finding the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox.

Tonight I was browsing an 1897 book entitled, “A New Astronomy” , by David P. Todd. I admire a lot of the old drawings and illustrations from the period and have a habit of clipping the ones that strike my fancy. Sort of like the scrapbooks from my younger days.

This is the Front Plate, a solar eclipse painting, which looks as if it takes place in Holland. I think it is striking. It’s claimed to be close to the real color observed. No date was given for the event. (Click to enlarge)

I also found a couple of drawings illustrating how to locate the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. These charts illustrate using two star patterns I have not seen in any modern texts.


Clear Sky - Rich

October 19, 2010 #090 - Barlow's Fluid Lenses

Over the years I have seen a few references to lens constructed of liquids. For instance opticians and experimenters have tried various methods of using "quick-silver" or mercury to form concave mirrors to be used in reflecting telescopes. I've even seen references to the use of ice, in attempts to produce suitable mirrors and lenses. Everything I have read about has major drawbacks.

While searching the index of "The Practical Astronomer" an 1850 book by Thomas Dick marked Vol. IX, I came across an article about Dr. Barlows experiments with fluid lenses and his success in constructing very high quality astronomical telescopes. Dr. Peter Barlow was the inventor of the Barlow Lens, used widely in optical instruments. The short article has a wealth of information on what materials he used and his designs, along with observations he made to test the optical properties of the instruments. A preserved piece of astronomical history that took place over 160 years ago.

(Click on picture to enlarge for reading)

Clear Sky - Rich

October 18, 2010 #089 - Satellite of Venus

One of the historical, observational anomalies, that has fascinated me since I was a young lad is the sighting of a moon orbiting Venus. We know now that there is no such beast, but that was not always true. This debate continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. In my recent searches through Google Books, I have turned up an in depth article in one of the most prestigious scientific journals - "Nature". Granted this is in the June 19, and July 7, 1876 issue, but from reading this information it strikes me that this publication has never lowered it's standards. The article is by none other than T.W. Webb, well known from his Observational Guides, still popular today. I gained a lot of enjoyable history from this paper and I hope you will enjoy reading it.

(Click on the individual page to enlarge it for reading)

Clear Sky - Rich

October 17, 2010 #088 - Spokes on Saturn's Rings in 1888

NASA

As I was reading a Google scan of the February, 1888 - "The Journal of the Liverpool Astronomical Society", I was surprised when I looked at Plate XII (Figure 14 & 19). It is a drawing by a Society member, Thomas Gwyn Elger, of Saturn's Rings. What was striking about his drawings was an apparent record of "spokes" on the Rings. If memory serves me, I have read that these ghost like markings were discovered during the Voyager Mission as it scanned Saturn at the end of the 20th. century and more recently by the Cassini Mission. It appears to me that Mr. Elger may have got a jump on us by about a hundred years!

With a little Wiki research I found that Mr. Elger was a lunar mapper who had an observatory with an 8.5 inch refractor in Bedford, England. He was the first director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association and was a member of several other Astronomical Societies. His 1895 book - "The Moon: A Full description and Map of its Principal Physical Features" is highly regarded due to it's maps. (Available on Google Books) His sketches from 1884 to 1896 are now in the possession of the BAA. He even has a crater on the moon named in his honor.

These drawings and his notes are included for you to take a look at.

Clear Sky - Rich

October 16, 2010 #087 - The Canals of Mars

A couple of posts back I mentioned the Canals of Mars. In my Google Books search into astronomy another trio of old gems turned up.

In 1921 the book "Mars" was published containing all the papers of importance written by William H. Pickering between 1890 and 1914. Below is a list of the 17 papers presented in the book. My favorite is "Signalling to Mars".


Two other books, I found, are by Percival Lowell. One is entitled "Mars and Its Canals". This was produced in 1906 and in 1915 "Memoirs of the Lowell Observatory - Memoir of a Trans-Neptunian Planet"


I visited the Lowell Observatory, in Flagstaff, Arizona during the early 1970's. In the late 1890's Lowell built the observatory there and did most of his work with the 24" Alvan Clark refractor. Percival Lowell's mausoleum was located on Mars Hill near the Observatory. I remember the observatory shaped structure with a beautiful blue glass dome, a fitting resting place for an avid astronomer. Hope you enjoy these gems.

Thanks! Google for preserving all these treasures. Without your efforts we would never have the chance to read these.

Clear Sky - Rich

October 14, 2010 #085 - The Planet Vulcan

In my last post I wrote about an 1800's Amateur Astronomical publication that I have been reading on Google Books. Here is an article that I dredged up about the Planet Vulcan, supposed to be located between Mercury and the Sun! It was published at the turn of the century (Circa 1900) in The Chicago Times and also the Rochester Democrat. It is interesting that more than one scientist was convinced of the observations and their verification. I am reminded of the canals of mars of which many drawings and maps were produced. Enjoy this little piece of astronomical history, sort of the Supermarket Tabloid story of the time. (Click to enlarge)


Clear Sky - Rich

October 13, 2010 #084 - The Astronomical Register

Over the past year I have been reading Astronomical Literature on Google Books. If you like to read old periodicals on astronomy then this is a treasure trove waiting to be discovered. One of the first series I downloaded was "The Astronomical Register". It started publication in 1863 as "A medium of communication for Amateur Observers, and all others interested in the science of Astronomy". I found all Volumes published from 1863 through 1886. (listed below to aide in your search) It is interesting to see how things have changed and how they have remain unchanged for almost 150 years. I am finding a lot of observational gems as I go through the volumes and possibly you will too.


Clear Sky - Rich