Adams and Liberty was an American song written by Robert Treat Paine Jr, and which enjoyed great popularity during the American resistance to French aggression in 1798 and 1899. The song, sung to the tune of 'Anacreon in Heaven' was later renamed the 'Star-Spangled Banner'. Research Adams and Liberty
Algol is a star in the constellation of Perseus. It was catalogued by Ptolemy as the Lucida of the Gorgon. It is the model 'eclipsestar' varying in brightness over a two day period through the interpositions of a revolving dark satellite. The light-changes of Algol were noticed by Montanari in 1669 and methodically observed and explained by Goodricke in 1783. Research Algol
The Alta California was a weekly publication established at San Francisco on January the 3rd 1849 by Samuel Brannan. It was the first newspaper of any importance issued in California, and arose from a consolidation of the older journals the Star and then Monterey Californian. In 1850 the Alta California commenced daily publication. Research Alta California
Castor is a star (Alpha Geminorum) of magnitude 1.6, the fainter star of the zodiacal constellationGemini, or the Twins. In 1719 it was discovered to be a visual binary star, with components of magnitudes 2.8 and 2.0 separated by 6 seconds of arc and revolving around each other in about 350 years. Each of these components has been found to be a spectroscopic binary. In addition, a faint companion, separated from the other two by 72 sec of arc, has been discovered. This star is also a spectroscopic binary, the two components of which revolve around each other in about one day. Hence, the entire system of the star Castor contains at least six stars. Its distance is about 45 light- years from the earth. Research Castor
Censorship of books is the supervision of books by some authority so as to settle what may be published. After the invention of printing the rapid diffusion of opinions by means of books induced the governments in all countries to assume certain powers of supervision and regulation with regard to printed matter. The popes were the first to institute a regular censorship. By a bull of Leo X. in 1515 the bishops and inquisitors were required to examine all works before they were printed, with a view to prevent the publication of heretical opinions. As this decree could not be carried out in countries which had accepted the reformed religion, they prepared a list of prohibited books (known as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum), books, that is, which nobody was allowed to read under penalty of the censure of the church. This index continued to be reprinted and revised as late as 1906, as well as another index commonly called the Index Expurgatorius, containing the works which may be read if certain expurgations have been made.
In England the censorship was established by act of parliament in 1662, but before that both the well-known Star-chamber and the parliament itself had virtually performed the functions. In 1694 the censorship in England ceased entirely. In France the censorship, like so many other institutions, was annihilated by the revolution. During the republic there was no formal censorship, but the supervision of the directory virtually took its place, and at length in 1810 Napoleon openly restored it under another name (Direction de rimprimerie). After the restoration it underwent various changes, and was re-established by Napoleon III, but again abolished. In the old German empire the diet of 1530 instituted a severe superintendence of the press, but in the particular German states the censure was very differently applied, and in Protestant states especially it was never difficult for individual authors to obtain exemption. In 1849 the censorial laws were repealed, but were again gradually introduced, and still existed in a modified form in most of the German states in 1906. The censorship was abolished in Denmark in 1770, in Sweden in 1809, in the Netherlands in 1815. Research Censorship of Books
Centaurus (the Centaur) is a southern constellation, which is visible chiefly south of the equator. The brightest star in this constellation, Alpha Centauri, is also the third brightest star in the sky. It is about 4.3 light-years from the earth and is the closest visible star to the earth's solar system. The star is actually a double star, with a third star, Proxima Centauri, revolving around the others. Research Centaurus
A day is either the interval of time during which the sun is continuously above the horizon, or the time occupied by a revolution of the earth on its axis, embracing this interval (the period of light) as well as the interval of darkness. The day in the latter sense may be measured in more than one way. If we measure it by the apparent movement of the stars, caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis, we must call day the period between the time when a star is on the meridian and when it again returns to the meridian: this is a sidereal day. It is uniformly equal to 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.098 seconds. But more important than this is the solar day, or the interval between two passages of the sun across the meridian of any place. The latter is about 4 minutes longer than the former, owing to the revolution of the earth round the sun, and it is not of uniform length, owing to the varying speed at which the earth moves in its orbit and to the obliquity of the ecliptic. For convenience an average of the solar day is taken, and this gives us the mean solar or civil day of 24 hours, the difference between which the actual solar day at any time is the equation of time.
The length of the days and nights at any place varies with the latitude and season of the year, owing to the inclination of the earth's axis. In the first place, the days and nights are equal (twelve hours each) all over the world on the 21st of March and the 21st of September, which dates are called the vernal (spring) and autumnal equinoxes. Again, the days and nights are always of equal length at the equator, which, for this reason, is sometimes called the equinoctial line. With these exceptions, we find the difference between the duration of the day and the night varying more and more as we recede from the equator, and at the poles the year consists of one day of six months' duration, and one night of the same.
The Babylonians began the day at sun-rising; theJews at sun-setting; the Egyptians and Romans at midnight, as do most modern peoples. The civil day in most countries is divided into two portions of twelve hours each. The abbreviations PM. and AM. (the first signifying post meridiem, Latin for afternoon; the latter ante meridiem, forenoon) are requisite, in consequence of this division of the day. The Italians in some places reckon the day from sunset to sunset, and enumerate the hours up to twenty-four; the Chinese divide it into twelve parts of two hours each.
For astronomical purposes the day is divided into twenty-four hours instead of two parts of twelve hours. Formerly it began at noon, but since the 1st of January 1885, the day of twenty-four hours begins at midnight at Greenwich Observatory; and this reckoning is now generally adopted for astronomical purposes elsewhere than at Greenwich. The Greenwich day practically determines the date for all the world. At mid-day at Greenwich the date (day of the week and month) is everywhere the same, though there are all possible differences in naming the hour of the day. But mid-day at Greenwich is the only instant at which we ever have the same date all over the world. The meridian of midnight, which is then at 180 degrees east or west, goes on revolving, gradually bringing a new date to every place to the west of that line, but obviously not bringing that new date to the places immediately to the east of that line until twenty-four hours after. From this it follows that whereas places on the one side of the globe never have a different date except when midnight lies between them, places on the opposite side of the globe, and on different sides of the meridian of 180 degrees east Or west never have the same date except when midnight lies between them. The actual difference of time between Wellington in New Zealand and Honolulu in Hawaii is only about two hours; yet a person at Wellington may date a letter 9 o'clock AM 26th June, while another writing at the same instant at Honolulu dates his 11 o'clock AM 25th June.
The dog days are the hottest part of the year in Europe, being part of July and August. Formerly the dog days were specifically the period of about forty days during which Sirius, the dog-star, rises approximately with the sun. Research Dog Days
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Adams and Liberty
