Practical Talks by an Astronomer

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jacoby, Harold, 1865-1932

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Practical Talks by an Astronomer" by Harold Jacoby is a collection of engaging essays on astronomy written in the late 19th century. The work does not aim to serve as a comprehensive text on the subject; rather, it selectively explores intriguing topics within astronomy, using accessible language designed for a general audience. The book potentially appeals to readers who possess a casual interest in celestial phenomena without delving into overly technical detail. The opening of the work introduces the concept of using astronomy for navigation at sea, recounting historical methods and instruments used by maritime captains in times prior to modern navigation tools. Jacoby shares anecdotes from an old sea captain regarding how ships relied solely on a compass and observational techniques, like utilizing a sextant to measure the sun's position at noon, to determine their latitude, demonstrating the blend of history and science that characterizes the book. This approach highlights the practical significance of astronomical knowledge while piquing curiosity about the interconnections between science and navigation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Navigation at sea

The Pleiades

The pole-star

Nebulæ

Temporary stars

Galileo

The planet of 1898

How to make a sun-dial

Photography in astronomy

Time standards of the world

Motions of the earth's pole

Saturn's rings

The heliometer

Occultations

Mounting great telescopes

The astronomer's pole

The moon hoax

The sun's destination.

Credits:

Produced by Chris Curnow, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 55.2 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2016-10-29