Popular Astronomy: A General Description of the Heavens

Camille Flammarion; John Ellard Gore

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107049406

French astronomer Camille Flammarion (1842–1925) called the study of the heavens 'the science which concerns us most'. He believed that learning 'what place we occupy in the infinite' could delight and instruct, and might even promote an end to war and strife. Flammarion dedicated the present work to François Arago (1786–1853), author of earlier work on popular astronomy. Since Arago's time, the capabilities of telescopes and other instruments had vastly improved, advancing understanding in areas such as the composition of stars. Flammarion sought to bring this new knowledge to the public in a charming yet 'scrupulously exact' style. His highly illustrated introduction to astronomy succeeded in reaching a wide readership, selling over 100,000 French copies before this English translation appeared in 1894. The 1881 French version and Flammarion's work on the origins of the Earth, Le Monde avant la création de l'homme (1886), are also reissued in this series.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi
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TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
pp vii-viii
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Contents
pp ix-xii
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
pp xiii-xx
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BOOK I - THE EARTH
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CHAPTER I - The Earth in the Sky
pp 1-11
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CHAPTER II - How the Earth turns upon itself and round the Sun. Day and Night. Dates. Hours. Meridians. The Year and the Calendar
pp 12-24
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CHAPTER III - How the Earth goes round the Sun. The Inclination of the Axis. Seasons. Climate
pp 25-37
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CHAPTER IV - The Eleven Principal Motions of the Earth. The Precession of the Equinoxes
pp 38-45
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CHAPTER V - Continuation and Conclusion of the Eleven Principal Motions of the Earth
pp 46-52
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CHAPTER VI - The Earth, Planet and World. Theoretical and Practical Demonstration of the Motions of our Globe. Life on the Earth
pp 53-69
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CHAPTER VII - How was the Earth formed? Age of our Planet; its Past; its Future. The Origin and the End of Worlds
pp 70-80
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BOOK II - THE MOON
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CHAPTER I - The Moon, Satellite of the Earth. Its Apparent Size. Its Distance. How we measure Celestial Distances. How the Moon turns round the Earth
pp 81-95
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CHAPTER II - The Phases of the Moon. The Week. The Measurement of Time
pp 96-104
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CHAPTER III - The Motion of the Moon round the Earth. Weight and Density of the Moon. Gravity on the other Planets. How the Moon has been Weighed
pp 105-112
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CHAPTER IV - Physical Description of the Moon. Its Mountains, Volcanoes, the Plains called Seas. Selenography. Map of the Moon. The Ancient Revolutions of the Moon
pp 113-132
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CHAPTER V - The Atmosphere of the Moon. Conditions of Habitability of the Lunar World
pp 133-144
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CHAPTER VI - Is the Moon Inhabited?
pp 145-164
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CHAPTER VII - The Tides
pp 165-173
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CHAPTER VIII - The Influences of the Moon
pp 174-179
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CHAPTER IX - Eclipses
pp 180-206
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BOOK III - THE SUN
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CHAPTER I - The Sun, Ruler of the World. Magnitude and Proportion of the Solar System. Numbers and Harmony
pp 207-226
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CHAPTER II - Measurement of the Sun's Distance. Concordant Results of Six Different Methods. Transits of Venus. How we have Measured and Weighed the Sun
pp 227-242
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CHAPTER III - Light and Heat of the Sun. Study of its Spots. State of its Surface. Its Rotation. Magnitudes, Aspects, Forms, and Motions of the Solar Spots
pp 243-262
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CHAPTER IV - The Eruptions of the Sun. Prominences. Jets of Flame. Gigantic Explosions. The Solar Atmosphere; the Corona and Halo
pp 263-280
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CHAPTER V - The Fluctuations of the Solar Energy. Annual Variation of the Number of Spots and Eruptions. Eleven-Year Period. Curious Coincidences. Terrestrial Magnetism and the Aurora Borealis
pp 281-302
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CHAPTER VI - Our Sun is only a Star. His Destiny
pp 303-315
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CHAPTER VII - Light. Its Nature. Its Velocity. Spectrum Analysis. The Chemical Composition of the Sun and Celestial Bodies
pp 316-328
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A General Description of the Heavens

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