Arizona weekly citizen., 1894-03-03
OBSERVATORY,
Expedition to Leave Har-
ward for Arizona at Once
ATMOSPHERIC ADVANTAGE.
Mr. Percival Lowell of Boston
Provides the Means FIR the
Expedition and will Ac-
company the Party.

coveries so immediate, that it has been
the meacs OF trying to find a like point
OF observation somewhere in the
Rocky mountains, within the limits of
the United States.
Tnis has been long cherished hope
OF Prof. Pickering of the Harvard
observatory, but the scheme has been
lying dormant all this time because
there were 40 available funds to carry
out the work.
MIR. Percval Lowell of Boston now
comes to the rescue and provides the
necessary means for starting the
Arizona expedition. 1T was great and
an agreeable surprise on Observatory
Hill. The Boy den fund. which was
originally given TO establish some OBJ
servat0ry, had been expended on the
South America station, and this dona-
ton If Mr.. Lowell came like a benedc-
lion.
Arrangements were begun at once,
and Hll necessary apparatus for the
expedition are now being ordered. Mr.
William II. Pickering, brother of
Pro-. Edward c., director Of Cam bridg
observatory, has been placed at the
heat of the ArizOna eX loreTs. He has
returned from the Arequipa expedition,
which he managed SO well, just il time
to take charge of this new one.
Mr.. Pickering was for years engaged
in similar work N Germany, and manag-
I'd several similar trips On the Continent,
before joining his brother, in
Cambridge. Tbs past experience has
fitted HIM especially.
FOR THIS NEW EXPEDITION.
Mr.. A. E. Douglass, who has been a
regular assistant of Prof. Edward G.
Pickering for years, vii! leave
C4mbriige Ia Z short time aud do the
work IF an alv8nce agent After
reaching Arizona he will fr.t 90 to
Prescott, then TO Phoenix, and finally +"
Tucson. All these different points will
BE- tested with sIx-inch Telescope,
which be will carry with b IN. The one
which promises the best atmosphere
will be selected as the centre of opera
tions, and to this point the other
members of the party will 90, with
other Instruments Of much higher
poses.
ttr Lawcii will not only furnish the
necessary financial support for these
experiments, but he will 90 in person
as a regular member of the party. He
is deeply interested 10 ali astron meal
otservat ons, and has written several
valuable books on this branch of
science. Before leavi on this expedi-
ton be will deliver course OF lectures
in the Lowell Institrts series. H.
has always taken an active part in the
workings Of this free lecture institution.
and is a grand nephew of John l. well,
the orignal founder of the Lowell
Ins titute.
not now known, but it was stated at the
observatory yesterday that the cost
would reach we'll up in the thousands.
The telescope used will be an Is inch
lens, made by J. A. Brasher or Pitts
burg. This instrument has already
been ordered, and it will be slipped
west in sections, piece by piece. as
they are completed.
An lS-lnch instrument is not nearly
so large as other telescopes now 10
use, but 1t can be handled much easier
and be mounted 10 PARKWAY uus set ed
district much better than a more
clumsy one. Then Prof. Pickering is
of the opinion that better results can
be accomplished there 10 that clear, dry
air, with the Is inch aperture than
with much larger instrument here In
this eastern atmosphere.
The founding of this new station 10
Arizona will not change the work Of
the Harvard station at Arequipa, in
Peru, but will.
CHANGE THE CAMBRIDGE WORK.
The great Bruce Photographic teles
cope is now IN testing on Observatory
Hill. 1t has an aperture of a inches,
the largest now in actual use. 1t will
soon be transported to Arequipa, where
a regular system of photographing the
heavens will be begun. This statiOa
will oe used for Photographic work
almost entirely, while the primary
inter ton of the Arizona observatory is
visual.
Again, communications between tIe
chief in Cambridge and the Arizona
etanon will b. much more exped ent.
and thus greatly facilitate the work of
tracing certain phenomena which must
be done from two different ints
Prof. Pickering expresses him elf as of
the opi' ion that much of the regular
investigation which hsd been carried
on IN Cambridge would be turned over
t. the new station because of the more
favorable atmosphere. Plans will stil
continue to be work. d out here at the
lad station, aud then they will be
referr to this better location for
verltication.
Founding an observatory in n Rocky
mountain state is an entirely new
undertaking for an American College.
When asked why Arizona was chosen
in particular, Prof Edward c. Picker
ing said to a Herald reporter: 1--WE
chose it because that section is
moderately high but not on the extreme.
We are rot looking for height alone
What we want j. dry air. l b we tried
obs excavations from the top % Pixies
Peak. and that was no better than here
in Cambridge. The air is not good
thrre, but. OF course, the height is there
The exact location is not settled, and
it Will not be until our men have made
some te- t.. Everything is ter ding 10 drive
obs rv4 tories from large cities. That is
one reason why we want to get good
station out in that section of the Tn ted
States. Often there are many nights
IN succession when satisfactory OBJ
servations cannot bs made here. The
powerful electrical currents used for
electric cars aud electric lights disturb
our instrumt nts.
There must be a charge In the sites
of observatories. To the past it has
nearly always been the case that tele-
scopes were erected near capitals of
countries, or
NEAR LARGE UNIVERSITIES,
instead of in places where Tire meteoro-
logical conditions would permit the
best results to be obtained. The very