On the Proper Motion of the Solar System (Galloway) EXTRACT from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 137, pp. 79-109, Read on April 15, 1847; Published 1848

Galloway, Thomas

Published by Richard and John E. Taylor, London

About this Item

FIRST EDITION, EXTRACT OF THE EARLIEST DEFINITIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PROPER MOTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM; Thomas Galloway was a Scottish mathematician; this paper was the most important of his career and won him the prestigious Royal Medal. The â??Proper motion of the Solar System' is a phrase used to describe the absolute motion of the Solar System through deep space toward or away from the â??fixed stars.' Galloway's paper presented the results of his calculations for determining the direction of the proper motion of the solar system from the apparent proper motions of stars in the southern hemisphere. (The â??proper motion of the stars' refers to the change in position of the stars relative to the Earth over the course of many years, as measured in seconds of arc per year.) Galloway "used Gauss' method of least squares and principle of least constraint to attribute individual motion components to each star and our Solar System to develop his equations for the motion of 300 southern hemisphere stars" (History of Physics: The Wenner Collection). Galloway drew his data from a comparison of the observations made in the 1750s by Lacaille at the Cape with the observations of Johnson and Professor Henderson at St. Helena and the Cape in the 1830s. CONDITION & DETAILS: London: Taylor and Francis, Printers to the Royal Society. Complete extract. (11.5 x 9.25 inches; 288 x 231mm). pp. 49-109; In-text illustrations throughout and tables. Bright and clean throughout the text. Very good condition.

Seller Inventory # 1191

Bibliographic Details

• Title: On the Proper Motion of the Solar System (Galloway) EXTRACT from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 137, pp. 79-109, Read on April 15, 1847; Published 1848
• Publisher: Richard and John E. Taylor, London
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Astronomy, Cosmology, & Astrophysics