Books with author Garrett P. Serviss

The maps show all of the stars visible to the naked eye in the regions of sky represented, and, in addition, some stars that can only be seen with optical aid. The latter have been placed in the maps as guide posts in the telescopic field to assist those who are searching for faint and inconspicuous objects referred to in the text. As the book was not written for those who possess the equipment of an observatory, with telescopes driven by clockwork and provided with graduated circles, right ascensions and declinations are not given. All of the telescopic phenomena described are, however, represented in the maps. Star clusters are indicated by a conventional symbol, and nebulae by a little white circle; while a small cross serves to mark the places where notable new stars have appeared. The relative magnitudes of the stars are approximately shown by the dimensions of their symbols in the maps, the smaller stars being represented by white dots and the larger by star-shaped figures. In regard to binary stars, it should be remembered that, in many cases, their distances and angles of position change so rapidly that any statement concerning them remains valid only for a few years at the most.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at

The book is set following the abortive Martian attack depicted in Fighters from Mars, much more devastating and global than in H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, though in both works the onslaught is thwarted when the aliens die from bacterial illness. Determining that the Martians will inevitably return, Earth's leaders, including U.S. President William McKinley, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Emperor Mutsuhito, unite the world against the common threat and plan an attack on Mars. American inventor Thomas Edison leads a group of scientists studying derelict Martian equipment; they are able to develop an anti-gravity device powered by electric repulsion as well as a disintegration ray. Using this new technology, the allies construct an armada of space ships for the attack. Edison takes some ships to the moon on a test run; using the first known fictional depiction of space suits, the explorers uncover evidence of an extinct civilization of giants. The armada heads on, discovering a solid gold asteroid being mined by the Martians. The humans fight two space battles against the Martians, suffering heavy casualties but ultimately winning thanks to the superiority of Edison's ray gun compared to the Martians' electric weapons. The humans take a captive, from whom they learn the Martian language.

How many thousands of educated people, trained in the best schools, or even graduates of the great universities, have made the confession: I never got a grip on astronomy in my student days. They didnt make it either plain or interesting to me; and now I am sorry for it. The purpose of the writer of this book is to supply the need of such persons, either in school, or at home, after school-days are ended. He does not address himself to special students of the subject although they, too, may find the book useful at the beginning but to that vast, intelligent public for whom astronomy is, more or less, a mystical midland, from which, occasionally, fascinating news comes to their ears. The ordinary text-book is too overladen with technical details, and too summary in its treatment of the general subject, to catch and hold the attention of those who have no special preliminary interest in astronomy.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at

After their devastating attack, the Martians have been defeated by disease . . . yet strange lights soon flicker again upon the Planet of War, signaling the beginning of a new attack upon a weakened and demoralized Earth.Then Thomas Edison announces the development of a new electrically-powered ship -- with which he has already visited the Moon. Earth may not need meekly await the next wave of the Martian invasion!

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The idea of the author is to tell of Astronomy in plain language, but with as much scientific accuracy as plain language will permit, showing the wonder that is in them without getting away from the facts. Among the topics touched upon are: The strange unfixedness of the "fixed stars," the vast migrations of the suns and worlds constituting the universe; The slow passing out of existence of those collocations of stars which for thousands of years have formed famous "constellations," preserving the memory of mythological heroes and heroines, and perhaps of otherwise unrecorded history...

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

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.

Excerpt from Pleasures of the Telescope: An Illustrated Guide for Amateur Astronomers, and a Popular Description of the Chief, Wonders of the Heavens for General ReadersHow to get a good telescope - Difference between reflectors and refractors - how a telescope is made achromatic - The way to test a telescope on stars.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.