"Hitherto we have considered the apparent motion of the star about its true place, as made only in a plane parallel to the ecliptic, in which case it appears to describe a circle in that plane; but since, when we judge of the place and motion of a star, we conceive it to be in the surface of a sphere, whose centre is our eye, 'twill be necessary to reduce the motion in that plane to what it would really appear on the surface of such a sphere, or (which will be equivalent) to what it would appear on a plane touching such a sphere in the star's true place. Now in the present case, where we conceive the eye at an indefinite distance, this will be done by letting fall perpendiculars from each point of the circle on such a plane, which from the nature of the orthographic projection will form an ellipsis, whose greater axis will be equal to the diameter of that circle, and the lesser axis to the greater as the sine of the star's latitude to the radius, for this latter plane being perpendicular to a line drawn from the centre of the sphere through the star's true place, which line is inclined to the ecliptic in an angle equal to the star's latitude; the touching plane will be inclined to the plane of the ecliptic in an angle equal to the complement of the latitude. But it is a known proposition in the orthographic projection of the sphere, that any circle inclined to the plane of the projection, to which lines drawn from the eye, supposed at an infinite distance, are at right angles, is projected into an ellipsis, having its longer axis equal to its diameter, and its shorter to twice the cosine of the inclination to the plane of the projection, half the longer axis or diameter being the radius. Such an ellipse will be formed in our present case..."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
ClergyAnglicans from the United KingdomUniversity of Oxford facultyAstronomers from EnglandUniversity of Oxford alumni
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Bradley
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
James Bradley
FRS (March 1693 – 13 July 1762) was an English astronomer and served as Astronomer Royal from 1742, succeeding Edmond Halley. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the Earth's axis (1728–1748).
61 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by James Bradley →
Related Quotes
"When the year was completed, I began to examine and compare my observations, and having pretty well satisfied myself …"
"I give all my printed books to Samuel Peach, son of Samuel Peach, in my Will named, and desire that this may be a cod…"
"Sir, Having long deferred to make any report relating to the observations that were taken at sea by captain Campbell,…"
"Such is the ingenious Theory of the Aberration, which Mr. Bradley published in the year 1727, and which was received …"
"But before I proceed farther it may be proper to take notice, that since the time when I gave their lordships an acco…"
"This fundamental and most important article being established upon such full evidence, it remained to be examined wit…"
"I would by no means attempt to infer from hence, that the longitude found by observations of this sort may in all cas…"
"If we suppose the distance of the fixed stars from the sun to be so great that the diameter of the earth's orbit view…"
"For common purposes we may without sensible error suppose the earth's motion equable and neglect the corrections, and…"
"My Instrument being fixed, I immediately began to observe such Stars as I judged most proper to give me light into th…"