Of opera-glasses and telescopes
When I was about 10 years old, I found a battered copy of Astronomy With an Opera-Glass, by Garrett P. Serviss, high up on a shelf in our town’s old Carnegie library. I later discovered that Serviss had written a series of astronomy books, including three others that are observing guides. At the end of the 19th century, he began his Urania Lectures — an early multimedia event. With backing from Andrew Carnegie, Serviss took the show on the road, popularizing astronomy and science for the masses.
When he settled down, he wrote books on all aspects of astronomy, science fiction, and even relativity. In addition to with Astronomy With an Opera-Glass, he also wrote Pleasures of the Telescope. His style is delightfully illustrative of attitudes in the 19th century and wonderfully informative. One of my favorite quotes from his writing, “But let us sit here in the star light, for the night is balmy, and talk about Arcturus,” shows how he is truly at ease with the sky. Some of the information is dated, but you can certainly learn your way around the sky with these delightful books. And both books feature star charts that are still useful. I have had my own copies of these books for years. The star maps and descriptions of celestial wonders are fascinating, and I continue to use these guides for observing.
Norton’s Star Atlas
For many 20th-century astronomy enthusiasts, amateur or professional, one guidebook defines the era: Norton’s Star Atlas. The Atlas first appeared in 1910 — the same year its creator, Arthur Philip Norton, became a member of the British Astronomical Association. Born in 1876, he was as a young man given an old family telescope, which sparked a lifelong interest in astronomy and science. Norton spent his career as a schoolmaster teaching science and pursuing his love of the sky as an amateur. His guidebook has become a touchstone for observers.
The original 1910 guidebook was called The Star Atlas and Reference Book. It was so popular that a second edition was published during World War I, even though there was a national paper shortage in Britain. By the 1921 third edition, the familiar star charts and reference layout were well established. An interesting feature of the main star maps is Norton’s use of gores: If sections of a globe are cut off into individual maps, they look like truncated ovals. By using this method, Norton was able to avoid some of the distortions that occur with other map projections.
Over the years, Norton’s Star Atlas has evolved. The Atlas has always had notes on astronomical terms, planets, stars, nebulae, and more. With each edition, these sections have been updated and enlarged. The star maps have also been updated for the changing star coordinates caused by precession. The most noticeable change in the Atlas occurred in 1933. Before 1930, constellation boundaries had not been formalized. Constellations and their stars appeared contained by random wavy lines on sky maps. There was some agreement as to what stars belonged to each constellation, but there were also possible variations, depending on who was making the maps. The first four editions of the Atlas have the old-style boundaries. In 1930, the International Astronomical Union formalized constellation outlines by following lines of right ascension and declination to set the boundaries. Norton brought his maps into the new era for the fifth edition by using these precise boundaries. After more than 100 years and 20 editions later, this beloved observing guide is still a valuable aid to many observers. I imagine that Norton would certainly be pleased and perhaps a little surprised.
