A CENTURY'S PROGRESS IN 

 ASTRONOMY, 



CHAPTER I. 



HERSCHEL THE PIONEER. 



IN astronomy, as in other sciences, the past 

 hundred years has been a period of unparalleled 

 progress. New methods have been devised, 

 fresh discoveries have been made, new theories 

 have been propounded ; the field of work has 

 widened enormously. In fact, the science of 

 the heavens has become not only boundless in 

 its possibilities, but more awe-inspiring and 

 marvellous. 



To whom in the main is this great advance 

 due ? To the great pioneer of what may be 

 called modern astronomy William Herschel. 

 Not only did Herschel reconstruct the science 

 and widen its bounds, but his powerful genius 



