THE ANALYTICAL FOUNDATIONS OF CELESTIAL MECHANICS

Abstract

FROM the beginning of civilization one need must make itself felt, namely, for some form of calendar. In turn, this gives rise to the primitive study of astronomy, involving some knowledge of the sun and the moon. When the planets are added in the next stage, the astronomer needs an ephemeris or almanac ; the modern Nautical Almanac, with its perfection within narrow limits, is the final outcome. There have been many stages on the road, and some apparent interruptions. But the urge has always been the same, essentially a practical one.

The Analytical Foundations of Celestial Mechanics

By Aurel Wintner. (Princeton Mathematical Series, No. 5.) Pp. xii + 448. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1941.) 36s. net.