A Ready Reference Handbook of the SOLAR SYSTEM
A CONCISE SUMMARY OF OVER 1,000 Interesting Items and Deductions
By W. G. COLGROVE, M.A., B.D.
2 Christie St., London, Ont.

Preface

This little volume is the result of several years of careful search in many libraries in Canada and the United States for the most informing and reliable data about the various members of the Solar System. Our object is to furnish the reader with a simple summary of fact and theory so that he may obtain an adequate understanding of this very interesting part of astronomical study.

Most of the material in these pages was published in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in recent years. Some necessary brief chapters have been added and for the sake of uniformity in treatment as well as for easy reference and comparison the same number and order of items has been given for each member of the System, although some do not apply in the case of the sun and the earth.

It will be noted that the first thirty items have to do with the body itself while the last thirty deal with the orbit and orbital relations.

The planets within the earth’s orbit are often spoken of as “inferior” and those outside of it “superior”, while those within the orbit of the planetoids have been called “minor” or “inner” and those outside “major” or “outer.” In this handbook we shall use only the terms “inner” and “outer” as separated by the planetoid orbits.

In expressing large numbers we shall use the well-known French System of numeration, viz.:—units, thousands, millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions, quintillions, sextillions, septillions, octillions, nonillions, decillions, etc. The best way to read a large number is to count the commas in it except one and translate into the latin; e.g. 5,250,000,000 is read 5 billion, 250 million while 7,385,462,100,000,000 is read 7 quadrillion, 385 trillion, 462 billion, 100 million.

Many thanks are due to Professor C. A. Chant, of the University of Toronto, for reading the manuscript and making some much-needed corrections, and to Professor H. R. Kingston, of the University of Western Ontario, for numerous excellent and valuable suggestions.