form of, 17. Effect of the curva- ture of, 19. Diurnal rotation of, 38. Poles of, 47. Figure of, 108. Means of determining with accu- racy the dimensions of the whole or any part of, explained, 109. Meridional section of, 115. Ex- act dimensions of, 117. Its form that of equilibrium, modified by centrifugal force, 120. Local variation of gravity on its sur- face, 123. Effects of the earth's rotation, 127. Correction for the sphericity of, 149. The point of the earth's axis, 170. Conical movements of, 171. Mutation of, 172. Parallelism of, 195. Pro- portion of its mass to that of the sun, 290.
Ecliptic, the, 164.
Its position among the stars, 165. Poles of, 166. Plane of its secular varia- tion, 328.
Elliptic motion, laws of, 187. Equations for precession and nuta- tion, 175.
Equatorial or parallactic instru. ment, 99.
Equinoxes, precession of the, 168. Uranographical effect of, 169. Excentricity of the planetary orbits, its variation, 366.
Explanation of the seasons, 195.
Lalande, his ideas of the spots on the sun, 209.
Laplace accounts for the secular acceleration of the moon, 355. Latitude, 57. Length of a degree of, 111.
Level, description and use of, 92. Light, aberration of, 177. Urano- graphical effect of, 179. Its velo- city proved by eclipses of Jupi- ter's satellites, 297. Longitudes, determination of, by astronomical observation, 185. Differences found by chrono meters, 137. Determined by telegraphic signals, 139. Lunar eclipses, 225.
215. Motions of the nodes of, 216. Occultations of, 217. Phases of, 222. Its synodical periods, 223. Revolutions of the apsides of, 227. Physical constitution of, 228. Its mountains, 229. Its atmosphere, 230. Rotation of; libration of, 231. Diminution of gravity at the; distance of it from the earth, 235. Its gravity towards the earth; towards the sun, 289. Its motion disturbed by the sun's attraction, 354. celeration of its mean motion; accounted for by Laplace, 355. Motion, parallactic, 13. Appear. ances resulting from diurnal motion, 14. Real and apparent motion of the earth described, 172. Of bodies, 233. Laws of elliptic motion, 238. Orbit of the earth round the sun in accord- ance with these laws, 239. Mural circle, 89.
Parallax, 48. Pendulum, 126.
Perturbations, 313. Of the planet- ary orbits, 340.
Planet, method of ascertaining its mass, compared with that of the sun, when it has a satellite, 290. Planets, the, 243. Apparent motion of, 244. Their stations and re- trogradations, 245. The sun their natural center of motion, 246. Their apparent diameters and distances from the sun, 247. Motions of the inferior planets; transits of, 249. Elongations of, 251. Their sidereal periods, 252. Synodical revolutions of, 253. Phases of Mercury and Mars, 255. Transits of Venus explained,
256. Superior planets, 259. Their distances and periods, 260. Method for determining their sidereal periods and distances, 262. Elliptic elements of the planetary orbits, 265. Their heliocentric and geocentric places, 272. The four ultra- zodiacal planets, discovered in 1801, 276. The physical peculi- arities, and probable condition of the several planets, 277. Their apparent and real diameters, 280. Their periods unalterable, 358. Their masses discovered inde- pendently of satellites, 371. Polar and horizontal points, 91. Pole star, 43. Situation of, 89. Precession, its physical causes, 329.
Projectiles, motion of, 233. Cur- vilinear path of, 234.
Satellites, 288. Their motions round their primary analogous to those of the latter round the sun, 291. Of Jupiter, 292. Their masses, 372.
Saturn, his satellites, 298.
Sea, action of the on the land, 121.
Seasons, explanation of the, 195. Sextant and reflecting circle, 102. Its optical property, 163. Sidereal clock, 59. Sidereal year, 165.
Sidereal time, reckoned by the diurnal motion of the stars, 59. Sirius, its intrinsic brilliancy, 379. Solar eclipses, 218. System, 243. Sphere, celestial, 35. Projections of, 151.
Stars, 49. Distance of, from the
earth, 50. Sidereal time reck- oned by the diurnal motion of the, 59. Visible by day, 63. Fixed and erratic, 161. Their relative magnitude; infinite number, 373. Their distribution Their in the heavens, 375. distances, 376. The centers of planetary systems, 380. Period- ical, 381. Temporary, 383. Double, 385. Binary, 390. Their orbits elliptic, 391. Their colours, 394. Their proper motions, 395. Clusters of, 398. Globular clus- ters of, 400. Irregular clusters of, 402. Nebulous, 404. Sun, apparent motion of the, not uniform, 184. Its apparent dia- meter also variable, 185. Its orbit not circular, but elliptical, 186. Variation of its distance, 187. Its apparent annual mo. tion, 188. Parallax of, 189. Its distance and magnitude, 192. Dimensions and rotation of, 193. Mean and true longitude of, 202. Equation of its center, 203. Phy- sical constitution of, 207. Den- sity of; force of gravity on its surface, 239. The disturbing effect of, on the moon's motion, 240.
Table, exhibiting degrees in dif ferent latitudes, expressed in British standard feet, as result- ing from actual measurement, 113. Telescope, 85. Application of, the grand source of all the precision of modern astronomy, 86. Dif-
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