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Script for 'The Night Sky in February', 1958-02

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0180/RGO 45/331

Scope and Contents

A annotated copy of Porter's script for 'The Night Sky in February' on the disappearance of Venus as an evening star and its reappearance as a morning star, Jupiter rising at midnight near Spica, and Saturn and Mars in the sunrise; Mars to be at opposition in November, the plotting of planetary positions, and the 'Nautical Almanac' and the tables of Simon Newcomb and George Hill; the advent of electronic machines for calculations of these ephemerides; the high degree of accuracy of the tables required for comparison with observations given that time is now available to a 1000th of a second; older theories of planetary motion being badly in need of revision, with this being done in the U.S.A.; and the method of calculation, firstly for the five outer planets, and then the four inner ones, by a general theory giving new tables to allow for the errors becoming noticeable.

Dates

  • Creation: 1958-02

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Management Group:

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Extent

4 page(s)

Language of Materials

English

Finding aid date

2007-04-13 12:43:08+00:00

Includes index.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
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Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom