THE ORBS AROUND US

The Orbs Around  Us: A series of familiar essays on the moon and planets, meteors, and comets, the sun and colored pairs of suns is the full title of a book from the Bullis shelves written by Richard A. Proctor and published in London by Longmans, Green and Co. in 1872.

The title gives a good description of the contents, and those of you interested in the sky will want to spend some time with this book. Besides the moon, planets, meteors, comets, and suns, the author also includes two essays titled "Other Habitable Worlds." Proctor discusses whether there are inhabitants elsewhere as well as on Earth--and remember,  this is written from the perspective of 144 years ago. Interesting, to say the least!

If you enjoy star gazing, we think you'll want to look through this "old" book and get some "new" ideas about what to look for, when and where to look, and the meaning of it all.

The door to the Bullis Room is open. Come on in.

SPACE EXPLORATION

Today in the Bullis Room, we were thinking about forty-five years ago,  on July 21, 1969,  when Neil Armstrong became the first man to put his feet on the moon.

Nettie Bullis was 76 years old at the time.  For most of her lifetime,  "space exploration" referred to the land out west. Six states were explored and officially became part of the United States during Nettie's lifetime: Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama, and Hawaii. The idea that the space to be explored was "out there in the heavens" was new to many of us who remember that time.

Whether the space is out west, around the world, or simply "out there," the Bullis collection has some interesting books about those places. In fact, there are LOTS of books on getting acquainted with this planet we live on. There is only one book that covers the  moon that Neil Armstrong walked on, and we think it's a very special book:

The Orbs Around Us: 

A Series of Familiar Essays on the Moon and Planets,

Meteors and Comets, the Sun and coloured pairs of suns.

By Richard A. Proctor, published by Green and Co. London, 1872

So again, we extend to you a special invitation to stop by the Bullis Room and let us show you (and show off!) these great classic books.