378 Literary Notices. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



The Astronomical Observer : A Handbook to the Observatory 

 and the Common Telescope, by W. A. Darby, MA., F.R.A.S., 

 Rector of St. Luke's, Manchester. (Robert Hardwicke.) — Mr. 

 Webb's " Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes" has proved the 

 forerunner of other works, more or less competing with it, in the 

 endeavour to supply the guidance which amateur observers need in 

 the use of their instruments. This is satisfactory, as leading to the 

 belief that the number of workers with telescopes is largely on the 

 increase, and that a consequent demand for more help is springing 

 up. As Mr. Webb's book is not an expensive one, and takes in a 

 greater range of topics than the volume before us, we should still 

 recommend that every observer should obtain it ; but while Mr. 

 Darby does not appear to have selected his objects with so much 

 personal care as Mr. Webb has displayed, there is a feature in his 

 work which Mr. Webb's does not possess, and which will save 

 students a vast deal of trouble, we mean the uniform carrying out 

 of the plan adopted by Mr. Webb in the articles on Double Stars, 

 etc., communicated to our pages, of giving alignments from con- 

 spicuous stars to the special objects described. Of course all com- 

 pilers and describers of double stars are deeply indebted to Admiral 

 Smyth, whose catalogues remain as invaluable authorities ; but 

 beginners, and those who have only small telescopes at their 

 command, need a less voluminous list of objects they are likely to 

 find without an equatorial, and likely to see with instruments of 

 from two to four inches aperture, and with moderate magnification. 

 Mr. Darby commences his work with a well- written "Introduction," 

 containing a good deal of information necessary to start an observer, 

 with or without an equatorial. He then gives a list of Double 

 Stars selected as test objects by Admiral Smyth. Then follows a list 

 of nebulas and clusters that make good test objects ; then we have 

 refraction tables, a list of constellations, with their positions on the 

 1st of each month at nine p.m. ; after which comes another valuable 

 table of the approximate mean times when the principal stars are 

 due east or west of a spectator in lat. 50° on the 1st of each 

 month, and this part of the work concludes with Mr. Chambers' list 

 of variable stars. 



The constellations are then noticed in alphabetical order. The 

 general form of the group and the position of the chief stars is given, 

 together with the date when the constellation rises, culminates, 

 and sets, and the names of the adjacent bounding constellations. 

 Following these introductory remarks is a list of nebula?, and then 

 one of double stars. The R. A. and D. will suffice for those who 

 have equatorials, and, for those who do not possess them, the task of 

 finding is facilitated by pointers, and alignments. It would be a 

 great advantage to students if Mr. Darby would compile a good set 

 of alignment maps to accompany his treatise. Even better than a 

 set of maps would be a movable planisphere sufficiently large to 

 take in the chief objects in his list. Mr. Darby's book is well cal- 



