Category: Science - Physics
"Spirit of nature! here, In this interminable wilderness Of worlds, at whose immensity Even soaring fancy staggers, Here is thy fitting temple. Yet not the lightest leaf That quivers to the passing breeze Is less instinct with thee."--_Shelley._
Now looking at fig. 18 and noting how small is the distance of the path of Mars from the earth's path, compared with the distance of Saturn's path, we understand why Saturn, des...
14. Part 14This introduces another point which seems worth noticing. At present the ship Argo is never seen from any part of the earth's surface as pictured in fig. 39. When due south, the...
1. Part 1"Spirit of nature! here, In this interminable wilderness Of worlds, at whose immensity Even soaring fancy staggers, Here is thy fitting temple. Yet not the lightest leaf That qu...
7. Part 7But in reality this impression, which, so far as the sense of sight is concerned, seems _forced_ upon the mind, is entirely erroneous. There is no real distinction between the s...
2. Part 2Such a comet as Halley's (fig. 3) for instance, though one of comparatively limited range in space, yet travels so far from the sun that, from the extreme part of its path, it s...
10. Part 10I confess that though Professor Tyndall has shown clearly how the atmosphere of a more distant planet _might_ make up for the deficient supply of solar heat, by more effectively...
3. Part 3he had in his thoughts the very power which he is commonly supposed to have explained, but which was in truth for him, more than for any man that had ever lived, the mystery of...
8. Part 8The reader must not fall into the mistake of supposing, as I have seen sometimes stated in text-books of astronomy, that we are more favoured in this respect than the inhabitant...
4. Part 4Already facts are known respecting the so-called new stars which will not permit us to accept the explanations of old so readily offered and admitted, simply because so little w...
12. Part 12It will have been noticed, perhaps, by those who are familiar with the aspect of the planets, that the contrast between Mars and Saturn during their late approach to us was not...
6. Part 6The first point to be noticed, as showing that the aurora depends partly on extra-terrestrial circumstances, is the fact that the frequency of its appearance varies greatly from...
5. Part 5The reason why meteoric impact would suffice to warm the sun to his present temperature if the meteoric showers were heavy, and to warm him far beyond his present temperature if...
11. Part 11This relates to but one era only of our earth's past. That era was preceded by others which are usually considered to have lasted much longer. The earth, according to the nebula...
13. Part 13"The colours I have used," he says, referring to a painting of the planet, "were--for the rings, yellow-ochre (shaded with the same) and sepia; for the globe, yellow ochre and b...
15. Part 15And it is quite clear that wherever the dove may pass between the window and the house, the observers will be equally able to determine the size of the cot, if only they know th...