The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1893-04-20
SEARCHING THE HEAVENS.
Something About The Gigantic Ne'
Telescope Now in Progress OF
Continuation.

revolution when they perfected the es
sentials of spectrum analysis in 1850
and the application of the Photogra
phv on an extensive scale within th'
last dozen years has marked an era
in the science. These two discover
les transformed the old into the new
the lesser into the greater astronomy
and out of its needs has come tho
perfection of the magnificent Lick
equatorial, which crowns Mt. Hamil
ton. Cal.
The old telescope, like the old as.
tronomy, was comparatively simple
Spcctroscophy and photography null
tiplied its functions by thee. The
old telescope, every one in fact, prior
to the Lick, was capable of but one
function. If used in regular obser'
walton it could not be readily charged
for use in spectroscopic study, and il
fitted for work with the spectroscope
it was difficult to arrange for pho
Biography. Indeed, an instrument
was usually built for one of the three
uses; the Lick was bull for all three
the first of the kind ever constructed
1t was so successful and its advan-
taScs were so great and obvious that
the United States Government at
once threw away the old mounting OF
the fine 26-inch equatorial iii the ma
val observatory at Washington, which
cost $50, 900 no longer ago than 1870,
and entered into contract with
Alessrs. Warner d Swascy, the Clcvc-
land builders, who achieved such a
triumph in the Lick, for telescope
new throughout, and similar to the
Mt. Hamilton instrument. 1T has
lust been completed, and all that re-
mains from the old telescope arc the
lenses
The Washington instrument was
not vet out Of the shops, before work
ing drawings being made for another
and vastly greater onc-the new
Ycrkcs telescope for the University
of Chicago. The Lick has 36-inch
object glass, the largest ever mount
ell; the Ycrkcs will have one forty
inches in diameter. The Lick COM
pletc weighs forty tons, the Washing
ton equatorial thirty tons; the Icrkcs
will almost if not quite, equal the
weight Of the two. The lenses for
this great instrument were ground
several years ago by the Clarks Tor
the University of Southern Califor-
MIA. but the instrument was never
built, and when Mr.. Yerkes, the Chi
cago street railway millionaire, hit
upon the splendid gift of an observa-
tory to the great University of Chi
cago he was able to secure these lenses
without difficulty. The Cleveland
builders will accordingly be able to
complete the great scventy-ton tele-
scope, an instrument % per cent.
more powerful than the Lick, and
nearly 30 per cent. more powerful
than any other in the world, within
i wear. The vast size of this magnifi-
cent star-scarchcr is best conveyed
perhaps, in the fact it would require
six-story building for its construc-
ton as a whole, and that it will ac-
cor'lingly be impossible to set it up
until it reaches the observatory, the
location of which has not yet been de-
cidcd. The construction will be in
sections, and even to do that the sec
ond and third floors of the large shops
of the builders will be partially
removed. The tube which holds the
lenses will alone weigh six tons
The mere mention of these great
weights and dimensions gives a faint
idea of the greatness of such a tele-
scope, but it is only when we begin
to analyzc the fact that we really APP
preciatc something Of the difficulties
met and the wonderful niccties of
construction and adjustment involv-
ed. Such an instrument with its
complex functions is in fact a great
machine combining the ponderous
weight of the locomotive with the
aelicacy of a watch. For this rea-
SON it is that the Cleveland builders
have made such notable success
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