Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-01-06
TAKING DIANA'S PHOTOGRAPH.


The Way the Astronomers Make the
Inconstant Moon Sit for Her Like
mess.
From the Baltimore News1
Photographs of the moon are not mere
scientific crriosities. They not only
serve a useful purpose in astronomical
research, but they have commercial
value. Few collections of stereoscopic
views are destitute OF one or more OF
these photographs. They arc as popular
as pictures of some actresses. The way
these views are obtained is interesting.
Everybody knows that a stereoscopio
picture OF person or q waterfall is got
by combining two pictures of the object
taken from different standpoints, 30 that
each shows . little around the corner,
aud the two being combined make the
object appear to stand out in lifelike
perspective. To produce the same effect
with the moon, advantage is taken of the
fact that she vibrates, or rolls . little
upon her center, in swinging about the
earth, SO that at ono time We see little
more Of one side than usual, and at an
other time Of the other side. When two
photographs Of the moon, taken at OPP
posite ibratiOns, are combined by the
stereoscope, the lunar orb seems sus-
pended before the eyes like ball that
the hand can grasp.
America is ahead of Europe in the art
of celestial photography. Englishmen
of science, who, like all Englishmen,
have keen eye for the detection of
special excellence in the work Of their
own country men, admit this. They say
that the photographs of the moon taken
by Mr.. Lewis M. Rutherford, of New
York, are better than those taken by
their own Delarue, who is so conspicu-
Gus an astronomer that one of the oceans
OF the planet Mars has been named after
him. Mr.. Rntherford's lunar photo
graphs are go fine that they can be suf-
fciently magnified to furnish q better
view Of the moons rocky scenery than
many amateur astronomers can obtain
with the full power of their telescopes.
Everybody has seen what is called
"the old moon in the new moons
arms" When the NOON, only few
days old, appears as n narrow crescent,
the unilluminstcd portion Of her orb 10
seen shining with faint, ashy light.
This light comes from the earth, and il
reflected back by the moon just as the
landscape il family visible in fnll nlt Oh
shire. A few weeks ago. NJ. Jansen, OF
Paris, succeeded in making photographs
of the moon that showed this phenome-
non clearly. So light that sprang from
the sun was reflected from the fields and
waters OF the earth to the moon. was
thrown hack from her stony surface to
the earth again, and after thi, triple
journey vet retained enough power to
stamp the faint picture III lunar land
scopes upon Photographic plate.
Moon photographs are taken Ivy the
aid Of telescopes. the prepared plate he
ing fixed at the focus Of the instrument
in the place Of tho eve piece They ara
obtained only one or two inches in di-
ameter. and have to he enlarged. Fine
ones will hear bring enlarged to a diam
oter of two or three feet. Mr.. Ruthcr-
ford uses q refrncting telescope to photo-
graph the NOM, the object glass being
peculiarly rrected 80 that it focuses
tho actinic rays. Most other Hstronomi-
cal photographers use rejecting tele-
scopes, in which a concave mirror takes
the place of an object glass.
The moon is not the only celestial
object whose picture can he taken. Pho
tographs are also ma ie OF the sun, show
ing the spots and the phenomena OF
eclipses. Venus and Mercury have been
photographed when in transit across the
suns disk. Even stars can he photo
graphed, and recently Prot. Draper. of
this city, succeeded in photographing
the Great Nobu'a Of Orion, which as
tronomers believe to bs an enormous
mass of gaseous matter co tanning in
itself the germs of future world and
suns.