Richard A. Proctor
Published: 2015-06-24
Total Pages: 346
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Excerpt from Other Worlds Than Ours: The Plurality of Worlds Studied Under the Light of Recent Scientific Researches I refer to the observation made by Admiral Smyth, that on one occasion the second satellite of Jupiter, twelve minutes after entering on the disc of the planet, was seen outside the limb, 'where it remained four minutes, and then suddenly vanished. Two other equally competent observers, Maclear and Pearson, witnessed the same phenomenon. Here, says Webb, 'explanation is set at defiance. But it is precisely where explanation seems set at defiance, that the true student of Nature is most hopeful of gaining instruction. The observation is very startling, it is true; and the explanation may be expected to be also surprising. But I think it is not far to seek. The satellite cannot have retraced its course; Jupiter cannot have shifted his place; our atmosphere cannot be in question: surely, when all these explanations are eliminated, our task is rendered easier instead of more difficult. A change of shape in Jupiter, corresponding to that which I have endeavoured to exhibit as explaining Saturn's occasional assumption of the square-shouldered aspect, would obviously account for the phenomenon. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This 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.