| List of Illustrations | |
| Preface | |
| Pt. I | The Early Developments in Astronomy | |
| 1 | The Beginning | 3 |
| 2 | Ancient Astronomy | 7 |
| 3 | The Greeks | 23 |
| 4 | The Interlude | 41 |
| 5 | The Renaissance | 51 |
| Pt. II | The Era of the Telescope | |
| 6 | The Classical Post-Newtonian Period | 93 |
| 7 | The New Natural Philosophy | 121 |
| 8 | Astronomy in the Early Twentieth Century | 157 |
| Pt. III | Modern Astronomy | |
| 9 | The New Astronomies | 173 |
| 10 | Probing the Solar System | 183 |
| 11 | The Stars - their Birth, Life and Death | 205 |
| 12 | The Great Post-war Astronomical Discoveries | 229 |
| 13 | The Nature, Origin and Evolution of the Universe | 257 |
| 14 | Epilogue | 277 |
| Glossary | 281 |
| Bibliography | 293 |
| Index | 295 |
