Curiosities of the Sky

Curiosities of the Sky is a newly annotated edition of the 1909 popular astronomy classic. All of the original text, photographs and diagrams are preserved, and new text added providing updates in the progress of astronomy since the book was first published. Garrett Serviss wrote with a firm understanding of the science of the period. He was also graced with a delightful imagination and unequaled power of poetic expression in describing the wonders and mysteries of the universe. A few of the topics covered: * The strange unfixedness of the `fixed stars.' * The slow passing of the constellations. * The assembly of stars in immense clouds, swarms, and clusters. * The starless gaps in the Milky Way. * The marvelous phenomena of new, or temporary, stars. * The amazing forms of the whirlpool, spiral, pinwheel, and lace, or tress, nebulae. * The strange surroundings of the Sun. * The mystery of the Zodiacal Light and the Gegenschein. * The extraordinary transformations of comets and their tails. * The prodigies of meteorites and masses of stone and metal fallen from the sky. * The cataclysms that have wrecked the moon. * The problem of life and intelligence on Mars. * The problematical origin and fate of the asteroids. * The strange phenomena of the auroral lights.