Excerpt from Other Suns Than Ours: A Series of Essays on Suns Old, Young, and Dead; With Other Science Gleanings, Two Essays on Whist and Correspondence With Sir John Herschel Two-thirds of this volume may be regarded as completing the preliminary study of astronomical facts and theories, which I have deemed necessary in the preparation of a treatise on general astronomy, announced long ago, when I had not as yet learned fully to appreciate the amount of investigation, dis cussion, and thoughtful study which the production of such a treatise would require. I have sometimes felt inclined to wonder at the ready rapidity with which such treatises have been produced in recent times until I have recognized that they have followed each other along well-worn tracks, each repeating (in company with the small quota of original matter) statements, ideas, and illustrations which have been common property for generations. I hope to show, in the course now of a few months, that what Tennyson has called the New Astronomy really is an advance on the astronomy of a quarter of a century since. The correspondence with Sir John Herschel will, I believe, be found full of interest. His latest views on the subject of our galaxy are therein presented. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.