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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

  • 1958-02

Conditions Governing Access

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
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom