Abstract
THE object of this work, which has run through four editions, is to supply within a convenient compass the formulæ that are used most frequently in the determination of time, and of terrestrial coordinates, together with tables by which the application of these formulas can facilitate the ordinary work of an observatory. But the author has contrived that the book should be more than the mere collection of formulae and tables. In an illuminating introduction he considers the sources of error which are likely to affect each class of observation, and uses his familiarity with different processes to show how many of these errors can be eliminated or rendered harmless, by due precaution in the manipulation of instruments or by judicious selection of methods of observation. In this way the treatise becomes a practical guide in those matters of which it treats. These include the formulæ involved in the reduction of observations made for the determination of time, latitude, longitude, and azimuth. The instruments may be used on the meridian, on the prime vertical, or in the vertical of the Polar Star; they may be altazimuths or zenith telescopes; each finds its suitable application here; similarly, the particular methods which have been suggested to meet practical difficulties are discussed with the thoroughness of the expert.
Formeln und Hilfstafeln für geographische Ortsbestimmungen.
By Prof. Th. Albrecht. Vierte Auflage. Pp. viii + 348. (Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, 1908.) Price 20 marks.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Formeln und Hilfstafeln für geographische Ortsbestimmungen . Nature 79, 338 (1909). https://doi.org/10.1038/079338a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/079338a0