The World of Comets

Since its publication in 1877, Amédée Guillemin's The World of Comets has made the mysteries of astronomy accessible to millions.

Amédée Guillemin (Author), James Glaisher (Translated by)

9781108014151, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2010

612 pages, 85 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.5 cm, 0.89 kg

Written in 1877 by the French journalist Amédée Guillemin, this work appeared on British bookshelves at a time of intense interest in space, the solar system and stars. In the same year, Schiaparelli made his infamous 'discovery' of Martian canals, whetting the public's appetite for all things astronomical. Guillemin's account of comets was equally ambitious and, ultimately, more valuable. His subjects range from comet superstitions in Renaissance Italy to an accessible explanation of their orbits, constitution and brilliance. As James Glaisher notes in his Preface, 'there is no work that at all occupies the ground covered' by Guillemin. The author's imaginative prose, exemplified by his description of comets as 'long disowned stars', was translated sympathetically by Glaisher. Accompanied by eighty-five striking illustrations, including Halley's Comet as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, The World of Comets provides a fascinating insight into both astronomy and nineteenth-century scientific enquiry.

1. Beliefs and superstitions relative to comets
2. Cometary astronomy up to the time of Newton
3. The motions and orbits of comets
4. Periodical comets
5. Periodical comets
6. The world of comets and cometary systems
7. Physical and chemical constitution of comets
8. Physical transformations of comets
9. Mass and density of comets
10. The light of comets
11. Theory of cometary phenomena
12. Comets and shooting stars
13. Comets and the earth
14. Physical influences of comets
15. Some questions about comets
Tables.

Subject Areas: Solar system: the Sun & planets [PGS]