Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-19
THE STUDY OF ASTRONOMY.


II n ONE or TIE OLDEST INSTITUTIONS or the
KIND N rHIs OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES scrEx-
TIsrs WHO HAVE TAUGHT rHKRK-TALx WITH
HArKE1 HA0AN, PRoFKssoR or ASTRONOMY.
The fact that the government observatory is
located here makes people forget that there is
| an observatory located at Georgetown college
that is Of the oldest institutions Of its kind
In the country, and at which some Of the most
important observations have been made.
Georgetown college early took high rank in
the cultivation Of the sciences, and TO the VEN
cradle Father Curley, who win be one Of the
central figures in the centennial celebration of
the college, which will take place next month,
| is mainly due the erection Of the observatory
building. Rev. Jas. Curley, who was then the
professor Of astronomy, personally superin-
| tended the erection Of the observatory build
ing in 1874 At that time there we're very few
observatories in this country, and those were
mostly Of rudimentary character. The OBJ
| servatory of Williams college, began in 1895,
was the first established in the United States.
That erected by Prof. Elias Loomis at the
Western Reserve college OF Hudson. Ohio,
observatory Of the Philadelphia high school,
seem TO have been all that preceded the great
national observatory. FIR. Curley had drawn
his plans in ignorance of the fact that gov
eminent observatory was contemplated. Call
ing upon his friend, Captain Gilliss, he showed
him the drawings, and was surprised when the
latter drew from his drawer more elaborate de.
signs to be presented to Congress during the
following winter. Delay occurred in the sale
OF property which was to furnish funds for
building the college observatory, and as Con-
gress was prompt in appropriating $20, 000 the
sum needed for the naval observatory, this was
enabled to precede the college building by
| about one year. The great observatory OF
Harvard was not established for some years
| later.
was betrayed by legacy received by the Rev.
Thomas Meredith Jenkins, professor of ntera-
ture. This eminent man, to a most gentle and
lovable character, added an intense zeal for
learning and the sciences. He afterwards laid
down his life in Rio de Janeiro, while attending
upon and instructing an American boy and girl.
stricken with the yellow fever. The building
thus erected is go feet long and 80 wide and is
divided from east to west into three rooms. The
middle part Of the observatory is three stories
high and has a rotary dome. The dome-room
contains well-mounted equatorial telescope,
made by TrOughton & Simn1s. This instrument
has A lOinch object glass. giving powers from
twenty-five to four hundred. It would have
been one-third larger had it been made in Paris,
as originally intended, but the maker who had
undertaken the contract there dying, it was
transferred to London, and during the delay
thus caused Congress passed tariff bill impos-
ing duty of 50 per cent ad valorem Oh all in
struments imported from abroad even for col
leges. For this reason the diameter of the lens
was reduced by one third to make the available
funds cover the expense. No sooner was the
instrument finished and imported than Con-
country, removed the duty. This instrument,
though of no great diameter as telescopes 60
nowadays,
rs REMARKABLY CLEAR AND PERFECT
in definition. The eastern room contains a
first-class meridian circle, by Troughton &
Simms, Of London. The divided arc of the
circle has a diameter Of As inches, reading by
microscopes to fractions of a second Of an arc.
The telescope is a 4-inch glass. In the western
room is mounted fine transit instrument, by
Ertel Son. Of Munich. 1t il feet long, and
has 41z-inch object-glass. Formerly, when
the eye and ear method OF recording the time
OF observations was depended upon. each of
these instruments was accompanied by fine
sidereal clock, by Molyneaux, Of London. But
at present the clocks one arranged for mean
time, and the other for sidereal, stand beside
the chronograph on the pier of the central
room. There are, moreover, five portable
astronomical Instruments, and q library Of 500
works on astronomy. mathematics and the
physical sciences. Many of these are rare and
curious books.
The total cost Of the building and instru-
ments was about oil, 000 a very considerable
sum to be spent in those days, in the interest
OF pure science. In those early times these
instruments constituted very ample and even
splendid equipment. fully equal to those Of the
university Observatories Of the times.
TIE PROFESSORS OF ASTRONOMY.
Father Curley was the first to make use Of the
building and instruments, and took great salts
faction in knowing that he could furnish to
the students interested in astronomy facilities
so much greater for the prosecution of investi-
CATION in this science than had been possible
before. few years after the establishment
guished italian Jesuits came to Georgetown
College, having been forced to fee their native
country by the revolution of 1847 and l84S.
Among them were Fathers de Vico, Secchi, and
Sestini. The first Of these, Father de vico, had
been the director of the observatory of the
Roman college. Here, besides his more sys-
tematic astronomical work, no had discovered
no less than six comets. for which he had been
the recipient Of gold medal from the king of
Denmark. This medal is still preserved in the
museum of Georgetown College. Father de
Vico remained at Georgetown only short
time, having been called back to London to
transact some important business, where he
died few weeks later. Father Secchi taught
physics for one year and then returned to
Rome to enter upon the career in physical as
trOnomy in which he soon gained prominence
and worldwide celebrity. His first interest in
this study dates from the observations he made
with Father Curley at Georgetown. Father
Sestini, during his seven years professorship
OF physics a: Georgetown made several series
of observations on star col0rs and sun spots,
which were published by the United States
government.
Then Father Curley resumed the work again,
and others less noted also assisted in astronom-
ical Investigations, but this particular science
has languished at the college since the war
until recently, and now it is expected it will be
pushed forward with greater energy and intel
igence than ever before. The ground for this
hope is found in the fact that