The Elements of the Four Inner Planets and the Fundamental Constants of Astronomy By Simon Newcomb, 1895 Scarce & Important 19th Century Astronomy Reference U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC, 202 pages. Subtitle: "Supplement to the American Ephmeris and Nautical Almanac for 1897." (Was published prior to the Almanac.) First edition. Hardcover, blue cloth with gold-stamped spine. Very good: Slight wear to head/tail/corners; a couple small light spots on top edge; owner inscrip. on front pastedown. Pages very lightly age toned, three pages with a dogeared corner, a couple tiny edge nicks. Clean, well bound, fully collated. Simon Newcomb (1835-1909) was a famed American astronomer, director of the American Nautical Almanac office from 1877 to 1897, editor of the American Journal of Mathematics, and a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the Johns Hopkins University. Newcomb served as Secretary for the American Transit of Venus Commission in 1874; in 1882, he led the Venus transit expedition team for South Africa. Newcomb was also known for his research on the moon's motion and his detailed observations of Uranus and Neptune. This book, perhaps his most important contribution, represented 20 years of work by Newcomb to produce a uniform set of planetary astronomical constants and element values. This information was highly valuable both for maritime navigation and astronomical work. In particular, Newcomb's constants were adopted for use in the nautical almanacs of nearly every country. A desirable addition to any collection on 19th century astronomy or maritime / nautical references. Category: Science & Nature