Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-06-12
The National Observatory.

We find the following brief description
of this institution in a late number of
the Oakland (Cal.) Times: "a trestled
staging on wheels moves around the
walls Of the telescope-roOm in the Ma
tlonal Observatory, and a sliding seat,
that can be run up to the roof and down
to the floor, gives them an advantage,
at whatever elevation their object may
be. No pie asanter occupation for
starry night could be found than to sit
up in the armchair and look through
the largest telescope in the world. The
instrument cost $4,000 in all; the great
glass at the end, six inches thick and
twenty eight inches in diameter, cost
$4,000 by itself, The glass was melted
and cast by that celebrated firm in Paris
that has such a long name, and ground
and polished at Cambridge, Massachu-
sets. 1t consists Of one piece of ground
glass and one of greenish flint glass,
closely joined together, and the polish
OF It's surface is most perfect. The great
steel tube is nearly twenty feet long, the
large glass at one end, and a combina-
ton of small but powerful lenses at the
eye-plece. The balance of the great in
strument is so exact that it swings ODE
dent to the slightest touch. A clock
work arrangena ent moves it with the OBJ
ject it is appointed, so that having once
set it towards the moon the telescope
will follow it in it's triumph across the
heavens from horizon to horizon.
The clouds nebula morton, through it,
was resolved into four bri ght-colored
stars forming a square, three smaller
ones in the same position as the larger
one in the belt of Orion, and an infirmi-
ty of small lights and pin-points in a
vista of millions Of miles The double
star in Castor was flashing and burning
with its bright orange and purple fires,
and great Sirius, the dog star, was a
globe of golden orange light. SO beauti-
full that one could believe this gold star
to be window of. heaven. Alebran,
the bright star Of Orion's shoulder, was
a bright red lantern hung in the sky,
and the elusive pole star was cold.
shivering twinkler off by itself. Down
below was shown the delicate transit
instrument, across whose spider webs
the passage Of sun, star and asteroids
are watched, the latter most accurately,
for the use Of surveyors and navigators,
who take their bearings from them.
The sidereal clock, which keeps infalIi-
BILE time, is shut up in metallic-lined
vault, and a roaring fire is kept going
winter and summer to keep it always
free from dampness and at one temper
ature. The pendulum of this perfect
timepiece swings over ball of mercu-
~ and at each stroke a spark flashes
and is responded to by the click of
telegraph instrument in a PARKWAY
room. BY this accurate stroke of sec
onds every clock and chronometer in
the building is regulated ~.
The chrOnOmeter room contains over
fifty timepieces in wooden cases. These
have been sent from the makers here,
and after being kept a year with every
variation recorded and extremes of
temperature applied to them, they are
ready to be taken on board men-of-war
and government vessels. At high noon
every day, just the second the sun
crosses the line, a black ball is let down
from the top of the high, white dome of
the observatory, and by this signal the
citizens set their clocks and watches to
ball time, as it is called