The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-03-22

wen'y two feet eight inches, and is mounted equa
orally on the German plan. IL Is furnished with
eighteen eye-pieces These consist OF four annu-
lar mcrometers, with powers, rs determined by the
Director, ranging froR l03 TO 373 five plain eye
p,s ces, with powers from 222 10 l. lis, and nine
spider line m.crometers, with powers from III TO
|, co., The field view of he latter il only q single
minute Of arc, somewhat less than a ihirtieth Of
the moons apparent diameter. The motion of the
ear;h, which, with ordinary Instruments, Is con-
stantly throwing the object out OF the field, is here
CO unteracted by clock work, which communicate co
sidereal motion to the telescope. The defining ex-
cellence OF this telescope is without example with
a power OF two thousand, the dicks of the satel-
lite OF Jupiter and that OF Neptune have been we'll
shown. With power of efRh! hundred, stars have
been separated, whose measured distance was only
three tenths OF second. With this telescope the
edge OF Saturn's ring never disappears
II reflects great credit upoa the manufacturer,
strument, with all its complicated and delicate
chinery, was performed in such manner AZ TO Sc.
cue It's safety through the various modes of con.
veyance necessary IN its journey from MUNICH
The granite pedestal. already alluded to, and to
which the bed. plate OF the equatorial mounting OF
the telescope is attached, was prepared previously
10 the arrival OF the telescope, and the mounting
OF the instrument, with all ITS equa and CLOCK
work movements, attests the skill OF the director
Indeed, his mechanical gifts, end Judgment IN the
adjustment of instruments OF every description,
have at ell times given him an acknowledged ad-
vantage over most observers 10 this country ana IN
manufacture, had impressed upon his minds eye az
perfect an image OF every JOINT and screw ana
pnon, as was subseq ieaIly impressed on his reti-
ma in the observatory. The weight OF the tele-
scope, with its iron diaphragms and brass strength
enng. rods, is upwards of three tons, and yet the
fIctien is so ssuy relieved by the JudiciOus
arrangement Of wheels and counteTpoises that the
finger of q child may change It's direction. The
Improvements " hich the director hae made IN the
observing chair, must be gratifying to every one
who has witne ssed the awkward and painful twist
ing 10 which observers are usually subjected, espe-
cially in observations on zenith objects IL Is in
genlousy balanced by weights suspended by chains
constructed in the manner Of the fssse cham OF
watch. IL moves horizontally on rails OF round
inch-ron let into the floor of the dome, and the
observer Is enabled with perfect ease, at all times,
without leaving his seat, or disturbing the chro-
nometer which may lie beside him, 20 move the
chair round on the railway, adjust his position in
altitude, and change, at pleasure, the direction Of
the telescope.
those brought from Dorche ster the most important
are an exec leet hve.foot achi omatlc, mounted in
a detached building, a comet-seeser, BY Merz, so
fruitful in the hands Of the younger Bond, and a
uansitcircle the plan OF that successfully used
by Groombridge at Bla heath.
We come now to the results of the labor ia the
discoveries which have been made during the
short period in which the instruments have been
in working order. In discussing these, which We
shall do briefly, it must be borne in mind, that
the entire force employed in the Observatory.
I'LL within the last six months, have consisted OF
the director, William c. Bond, assisted by his son,
George p. Bond The latter, graduate of the
unive rsity, had already distinguished himself as
a mathematician, and though young, has CON-
n1unicated several learned memoirs 10 the Ameri-
can academy and other institutions. Their tirst
labors were necessarily directed to the minute
determination of the latitude and longitude of
the Observatory. In doing this, the wide differ
ence between the skill and labor requisite
in the minu.e determination of these elements,
and thar employed by the navigator or the
gtoerspher, must be understood and appre.
ciaied An approximate result is all that 10
ever obtained at sea, except II be by accident.
Observations OF this kind are deemed OF no i'm
pccrtance TO the observatory. The position Of the
observatory is the starting point In all future tame,
and 10 obtain il with sufficient accuracy ID a work
OF ma gniiude For Their latitude, besldes various
other methods, they obtained three hundred prime
vertical observations, and for their Ion gitude, the
transit Of six hundred moon eliminating stars, two
hundred OCCUPATIONS Of stars BY The moon, and all
the visible eclipses that have occurred in clear
weather. Besides these, the Director has been
Engaged, the last two years for the service, and at
the expense, OF the Coast Survey, in accommodating
results from chronometers Of his own and those
belonging to the Cunard line of steamers, for rela-
tive Longitude and, In order TO obtain the beat de-.
termination of LEGAL time AT Liverpool, All arrange
mept was lastvear made with the Director OF the
new ONE vaiorp Of that CITY, who has obhgingly
taken charge of all the chronomsters The NUN.
Der OF results hitherto ma re IL one hundred and
seventy 1--WE py my chronOmctefS IN tniftctu
sges. IL may W, II be conceded that thr data OBJ
tanned by this variety ut me ans, 81 m Iii llief,
should eniite the observatory 10 be considered the
standard Of longitud on ibi side Ct the AtlantIc.
Perhaps here IL nc spot on the whole face OF the
earth, whose position IS so &C curaI-ly determined.
An imms nse labor has been involved IN tbs ex-
animation OF nebu te, as appears by the p1pers on
this gu ject N the transactions of the American
Academy. The well known bula OF Andro-
media, and that of Orion. were feds Of SPECIAL
labor Both OF these uebula have interested as-
uonomers from early times IN Al in Andromeda
long before The invention OF the telescope. In Sep
ieniber, lSi7, very soon after the adjustment Of
the great reractor was completed, an examination
Of this intere sting object was commenced, when II
was found TO have al immense Number of lars
scattered over It's surface, and seeming TO have no
conr ction with II. Fifteen bundled were found
10 be within Its limits; but the most remarkable
features, now for the first time presented to the
human eye, were two narrow, dark bands, in
which no deviation from perfect stra CHM could
be detected, and scarcely any devIation from para
lehsn. These banos street he'd quite across the
field OF vision, ana through the enure nrbala IN
the direction OF the longer axis. la view OF the
distance Of This nebuIa assigned tn II by Sir w.
Herschel, the youDg'r Bond mas estimated the
length Of these bauos tn be twenty times the dis
lance OF Sirius from the solar system. These
phenomena have been since observed by Lord
Rose, and made the subject Of an address 10 The
British A ssociatiop.
With regard to the gseat BebuIa Of Orion. the
Cambridge discovered very early after mounting
the great telescope, that, IN con non with most
nebulI, this also was compose OF the blended
light Of an infinite number Of stars clustering m
ODE denoe 10 some Law. or IN accidental juxtaposi-
tion. The director has more recehtly subjected
this beautiful ebua e. rigorous scrutiny, and com
muB.cated his results N a learned memoir TO the
Academy, with a catalogu Of the stars embraced
in II and having no connection with its nebulosity
By means of this catalogue, and the maps aud
telescope vie WIS which both observers have drawn,
thy have dets cted three new stars near the tape
ziurn, and sfcertained the curious fact, that one
star IN its neighborhood, Of the sixteenth msgni-
tude, ~ variable Ia lie hight; at its minimum en-
urtly disappearing Probably this Is the only
variable telescope star known, and extends this
curic US properly 70 very distant region. Other
nehula and clusters have engaged the attention OF
the ohssrvrrs at G am oridge, aud among their da-
grams they have completed a map of every sta
steadily visible by the great rrfrsctor the cluster
IN Hercules, with view Of ascs raining, at dis
tsnt day, Their relative motions and coBiiguration
A. different periods through the years lsi7 and
lsts, laborious observations were made upon the
satellite OF Neptune near the tine Of greatest eloa-