The Elements of Astronomy; With Methods for Determining the Longitudes, Aspects, &C. of the Planets for Any Future Time (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PREFACE. Op all the subjects that engage the lucubrations of the sage, the speculations of the philosopher, or which, enrich the understandings of mankind, Astronomy is, without competition, the most sublime. It is nothing less than the contemplation of the operations of omnipotent power, directed by infinite wisdom, which are circulated through boundless space, for the happiness of an incalculable number of created beings, whether they lire with us upon the earth, are inhabitants of our satellite the Moon, or residents of the purer regions of Mercury, or the denser climates of Saturn; all are the offspring of one benign parent, and partake alike of his fatherly munificence. The science of Astronomy is not speculative, but its truths are demonstrable as its study is sublime. Proceeding upon principles, which are incontestable, the Astronomer informs us of the velocity of any celestial body, however swift its motion; its magnitude, however extensive; its distance, however remote; he traces its orbit, whatever its orbicular cnrve; he beautifully harmonises the varieties of our seasons; illustrates the causes of our unequal days and nights; informs 03 how great the altitudes of the variegated clouds are, which so conspicuously emanate from the earth; showa ns the swiftness with which they skim through tttatmosphere; and, as he is acquainted with the various motions of the celestial bodies, so he predicts their configurations for any future period, however distant, with a certainty, which those unacquainted with astronomical investigations behold with astonishment; but its utility is as apparent as its contemplation is majestic; by its knowledge commerce is promoted, and the intercourse between distant nations facilitated, so that the exuberant fertility of one country is exp...