A Text-Book of Astronomy

by George C. Comstock

A very common observation relating to the plane of the horizon is called "taking the sun's altitude," and consists in measuring the angle between the sun's rays and the plane of the horizon upon which they fall. This angle between a line and a plane appears slightly different from the angle between two lines, but is really the same thing, since it means the angle between the sun's rays and a line drawn in the plane of the horizon toward the point directly under the sun.

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2011

About the author

Professor George Cary Comstock was an American astronomer and educator.

He studied mathematics and astronomy and earned an PH.D. from the University of Michigan in 1877. He also studied law and was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1883, but he never practiced.

He was employed by the U.S. Lake Survey, by a Mississippi River improvement project and in 1879 became assistent director of the Washburn Observatory, where he would later be the director. In 1887 he was appointed professor of mathematics and astronomy at the Ohio State University.

Since 1897 he played an important role in the organizing of the American Astronomical Society, serving first as secretary and later as vice president and since 1925 as president.

In 1904 he was appointed first chair of the University of Wisconsin graduate school, later becoming Dean. He held this position until 1920, then retired in 1922 as Professor Emeritus of Astronomy.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Kevin Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dated; not well suited for the beginning amateur astronomer.