The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-03-31

gRCrEes1l ". II. PlCEEBING.
ma in search Of lie best possible location
for the observatory. He Is q devoted as
tronomer and the author of several valu-
able astronomical books.
Professor William H Pickering.
brother Of Director Pickering, is in com
mand of the exploring party and will be
at the head Of the new establishment. It
was lac who managed the expedition to
Peru and tablished the observatory al
AreQuiua. and he has had years of valu-
able astronomical experience. TIA 1887
he was in charge Of a party which spent
several days on the summit of Pixies
peak making observations at the alti-
tude of 1900 feet. the highest ever at
tanned by Astronomical observers with
telescope. He is especially interested I'M
telescope photography and has achieved
some famous results in that line at the
Peruvian observatory.
The new station, " the professor said
just before leaving Cambridge, sis in
tended principally for visual work, while
ia the near future only Photographic
work is to be carried on at Arequipa
The Bruce Photographic telescope. which
has an aperture Of "a inches, we are
testing here. and within few months it
viii be shipped to Peru. where a regular
system of photographlng the heavens VIII
be begun.
aCur work here at Cambridge will be
greatly facilitated by the ease Of com
munication with the Arizona station,
and we can better trace certain phenom-
ena at each point. Then. too a larger
amount of the regular investigation can
be better carried on at the new station
than here because Of the atmospheric
conditions OF course we shall work
ont plans here. but we shall seek their
verihcation at the station
Arizona was decided on because that
section of the country is moderately
high, and the air is dry. We We're not
looking for height alone. for what we
want most isdry atmospheric conditions
Pixies peak sound by personal observa-
tions to be no better than here. Often
there are many successive nights when
satisfactory observations cannot be made
here, and I think the same - true ut
most observatories located in large cities.
Then. too, the powerful electric currents
used for lighting and the high tension
trolley sres disturb our Instruments.
-sThare must he a change 81 the sites
on observatolles. III the past Il has near
IS always been the case that large tele-
scopes were erected near capitals of cCun-
tries or near large universities instead Of
ia places where the meteorological con-
ditious would permit of attaining The best
results.
.sThe conditions Of climate which rem
Ger a city on country great are often
those most unfav0rabie to Astronomical
work. The climate of western Europe
end the eastern portion Of the United
States is not suited to good Astronomical
work and yet these are tine sections
where nearly all the large observatories
Of the world are situated. Among the
exceptions to this rule that 7 note are the
observatories Of California and Illinois
the Lick and the Kerlzes stations.
..It has not been the policy Of Harvard
college observatory to attempt to obtain
large telescope to be erected in Cam
bridge because Of the bad climatic con-
diricns. lit was on this account that q
station was established for this observa-
tory near Arequ3pa ct an altitude of
more than 5000 feet, and now the new
one in Arizona we hope to locate at ana
altitude of some 1900 feet.
ssTha special reason for hurrying this
expedition and getting the station ia
working order IS the opposition of Mars
next summer Two years ago Mars was
near tile earth. but farther south. and
we made some valuable observations at
eur Areuuipa observatory. This coming
summer Mars comes near the earth
again. burt much farther north. and our
Arizona station Win be just right for the
observation.