This section by no means represents all the articles on astronomy available in our collection. The Illustrated London Almanack, for example, ran a regular feature on the night skies of London. The challenge here was to select articles that reflected Victorian astronomy - including Victorian astronomical discoveries, new technologies, and classically Victorian views of the heavens. Hence we've also included the correspondence of one Victorian alien known as "Aleriel," who wrote to Victorian readers about what life was like on other planets!

New Comets (Illustrated London Almanack, 1845)

Two new comets discovered in 1844.

On the Instruments in Use in an Astronomical Observatory (Illustrated London Almanack, 1854)

Instruments for Meteorological Observations (Illustrated London Almanack, 1857)

Comets (Illustrated London Almanack, 1858)

Heliographic Researches, by M. Niepce de Saint-Victor (Art Journal, 1859)

Total Eclipse, July 18, 1860 (Leisure Hour, 1860)

The Comet of 1881, by J. Munro (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1881)

The New Astronomy, by S.P. Langley (Century Magazine, 1884B)

This segment deals with spots on the sun and the sun's surroundings.

The New Astronomy, by S.P. Langley (Century Magazine, 1885A)

The sun's energy; the planets and the moon; plus a look at some "solar engines."

The Photography of the Heavens, by William Huggins (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

A Californian's Gift to Science, by Taliesin Evans (Century Magazine, 1886B)

The founding of the Lick Observatory.

The New Astronomy: Comets & Meteors, by S.P. Langley (Century Magazine, 1887A)

The New Astronomy: The Stars, by S.P. Langley (Century Magazine, 1887A)

Is It a Piece of a Comet? by William Earl Hidden (Century Magazine, 1887B)

The Mazapil Meteorite.

Sidereal Astronomy: Old and New, by Edward S. Holden (Century Magazine, 1888B)

How Man's Messenger Outran the Moon, by David P. Todd (Century Magazine, 1889B)

Tracking an eclipse.

What is the Real Shape of the Spiral Nebulae? by Edward S. Holden (Century Magazine, 1890A)

A Lunar Landscape, by Edward C. Holden (Century Magazine, 1891B)

Observations of the moon's surface from the Lick Observatory in California.

The Total Solar Eclipses of 1889, by Edward C. Holden (Century Magazine, 1892A)

Observations from the Lick Observatory in California.

Picturing the Planets, by James E. Keeler (Century Magazine, 1895B)

Portraits of Jupiter, Mars and Saturn, and how they were made at the Lick Observatory.

The Total Eclipse of 1896, by Sir Robert Ball (The Strand, 1897A)

Trapping Planets, by Walter George Bell (Windsor Magazine, 1897B)

How astronomers locate new planets.

What Is an Aurora? by Alexander McAdie (Century Magazine, 1897B)

The "Other Side" of the Moon, by Walter George Bell (Windsor Magazine, 1898B)

Why we cannot see the "dark side" of the moon, some explanations of those bits we can see, and speculation as to whether, one day, x-rays might enable us to see the "other side"!

The Great Meteor Shower of 1899, by Walter George Bell (Windsor Magazine, 1899B)

What to expect from the coming Leonid meteor shower in November 1899.

How the Great Paris Telescope Was Built (The Strand, 1900A)

The First Moon-Photos Taken with the Great Paris Telegraph, by Francois Deloncle (The Strand, 1900B)

The New Star and Its Discoverer, by Rudolph de Cordova (Strand, 1901A)

Dr. Thomas Anderson, of Edinburgh, discoverer of Nova Persei.

A Bit of Science Fiction...

Letters from Our Planets, by Aleriel (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

Fanciful correspondence from other planets.

Our Second Voyage to Mars, by Aleriel (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

More science fiction on journeying to the planets.

Letters from the Planets: Canal Life on Mars, by Aleriel (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

A fanciful look at Mars' floating cities and underground forests.

Corresponding with the Planets, by Aleriel (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1893)

A fanciful series on life on other planets - part science fiction, part speculation.

Sun-Rise on the Moon, by J. Munro (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1894)

A fanciful look at what the surface of the moon might be like.