Astronomy for Amateurs

by Camille Flammarion

The Science of Astronomy is sublime and beautiful. Noble, elevating, consoling, divine, it gives us wings, and bears us through Infinitude. In these ethereal regions all is pure, luminous, and splendid. Dreams of the Ideal, even of the Inaccessible, weave their subtle spells upon us. The imagination soars aloft, and aspires to the sources of Eternal Beauty. What greater delight can be conceived, on a fine spring evening, at the hour when the crescent moon is shining in the West amid the last glimmer of twilight, than the contemplation of that grand and silent spectacle of the stars stepping forth in sequence in the vast Heavens? All sounds of life die out upon the earth, the last notes of the sleepy birds have sunk away, the Angelus of the church hard by has rung the close of day. But if life is arrested around us, we may seek it in the Heavens. These incandescing orbs are so many points of interrogation suspended above our heads in the inaccessible depths of space… . Gradually they multiply. There is Venus, the white star of the shepherd. There Mars, the little celestial world so near our own. There the giant Jupiter. The seven stars of the Great Bear seem to point out the pole, while they slowly revolve around it… . What is this nebulous light that blanches the darkness of the heavens, and traverses the constellations like a celestial path? It is the Galaxy, the Milky Way, composed of millions on millions of suns!… The darkness is profound, the abyss immense… . See! Yonder a shooting star glides silently across the sky, and disappears!… Who can remain insensible to this magic spectacle of the starry Heavens? Where is the mind that is not attracted to these enigmas? The intelligence of the amateur, the feminine, no less than the more material and prosaic masculine mind, is well adapted to the consideration of astronomical problems. Women, indeed, are naturally predisposed to these contemplative studies. And the part they are called to play in the education of our children is so vast, and so important, that the elements of Astronomy might well be taught by the young mother herself to the budding minds that are curious about every issue—whose first impressions are so keen and so enduring.

Genres: Astronomy, Science, Nonfiction, Reference, Education

119 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 2008

About the author

Nicolas Camille Flammarion was a French astronomer & author.

Reviews

[MJ ᯓ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flammarion writes about the cosmos with such wonder that it reminded me why I've always loved space. The illustrations are gorgeous and by the end I was itching to take my telescope outside again. Now if only the clouds would cooperate with my renewed stargazing plans.

[Kadri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on the Project Gutenberg page.
It was interestingly written compared to popular astronomy books now, mostly because of the style.
As the book was first published ca hundred years ago and the French edition of it was titled Astronomy for Women I understand why Flammarion starts out with a list of famous female astronomers through history.
Ofcourse you wouldn't assume much accuracy from a work of popular science a hundred years later, but this one didn't do too badly - yes, there are different numerical values, and better estimates for things (and so many more different kinds of objects and more complete theories)- so for example we know that the largest object in the asteroid belt isn't with a diameter of just a hundred km, but rather over 900km, and also that most of the craters on the Moon are not volcanic craters etc, but some of it is still as useful now, as it would have been then - including the part about how distances and masses can be measured in space, finding constellations etc.

It was interesting reading for the purpose of reading something by Flammarion and getting a glimpse into what a popular work on astronomy 100 years ago contained. You obviously shouldn't read it for up-to-date information on astronomy in 21st century.

[Henry Heading · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing is that this book is from 1903 so the knowledge is incomplete and has to be taken with a pinch of salt but despite this its a interesting read I enjoy how philosophy is incorporated into this book.(especially that in which the purpose of the world is questioned) Overall interesting and enjoyable

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I will preface this by saying that I know nothing g about the author and had zero expectations going in to this. This was written like poetry. The word choices were unexpected but beautiful. I am sure the information has changed since then, but this was such a wonderful example of the writing style, available information, and imagination of the time. A little dry at times, a little wordy, but definitely worth the read.

[Christina Knowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quaint and poetic look at an early 20th century view of astronomy. More philosophical than scientific.

[Felicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

too much like poetry

I thought this book would explain astronomy in a clear way, like one would find in a classroom setting. Instead, it was more about the glimmering moonlight reflected in the water type reading. I was very disappointed.

[laine · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is a millennial telling you about the history of stars over a 8 dollar latte. the cafe you sit in has an industrial feel to it and nitro cold brew on tap. but nevertheless it’s lively and human and tells us about the particles of our past and future.

[yichen · Rating 5 out of 5]

the prose >

[Lecy Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how someone could read this and not fall in love with astronomy. Flammarion wrote with such a lyrical quality that it made what could sometimes be a dense topic more graspable. I'm so glad I stumbled on this, and I will keep my Kindle version handy for my next star-gazing outing.

[Zhelana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might have been meant to be a book for children. It was not a book for someone who has already taken college, or even high school level astronomy classes. It is overly gushy in a way that made it seem like it was infantilizing the reader. In addition, it just never said anything that a reasonably competent adult doesn't already know. Like it describes how we can name all of the stars in the sky by explaining that just like countries are in their own places on a map, a star is in the same place on a map of the sky. Or it spent an entire chapter explaining that Earth is a planet and planets are in space, therefore Earth is in space. I don't know. I'd give this to a 7 year old, maybe, but not an adult.

[Ken Weinert]

False

[Christina Knowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetic

A quaint and poetic view into early 20th knowledge of astronomy. I like the author's view of not assuming we are alone in the universe.

[m.fleuré · Rating 1 out of 5]

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