The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-30
AMERIoAN AsrRoNomERs.
Great Work Done in Recent Years Which Places this Country in the Front Rank.
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Great Work Done in Recent Aears WhiCh
 Places this Country in the Front Rank
 [From the Sit. Louis Republic.l
 Tn no branch of science has this coun- try made greater progress during the last quarter of a century than in as- tronomy Whether compared with the work accomplished here in previous years, or with that of England France, Germany. or Italy since 1870. our own decord for this period stands out prom inently in astronomical discovery.
 More comets, asteroids. and binary stars have been discovered by Ameri- can astronomers than by those of all other countries put together. The two satellites of Mars were first seen by an American astronomer. as was Jupiter's fifth moon. Nor was this work due en- tireIy to the advantage of superior tel escapes. Most of the new comets and asteroids were discovered with instru- ments inferior to the best ones in ser- vice across the Atlantic.
 It is to be denied, however, that the great refracting telescope on Mount Hamilton has been of great service. From a little pamphlet just issued by the director of Lick observatory-T lessor Holden, formerly of this city-we learn that, besides Jupiter's fifth satel- lite, ''ten comets and a great number of double stars" have been discovered with that telescope. Nor is that all. The photographs taken there of solar eclips- es have put new face on the question of the constitution of the solar corona. The photographic and visual observa- tions made there of the comets, the moon, and planets have added greatly to the worlds knowledge of those bod ies. Much has been learned too, of the Milky Way. "Our spectroscopie obser- vations of nebulae stars, and comets are of hitherto unattained accuracy and have led to quite new views" says the professor, and for the first time the an- gular diameter of fixed star has been measured there. Several soreign as- tronomers are devoting their time largely measuring, enlarging, and stud ying the astronomical photographs talk en on Mount Hamilton. Among them are Director Weinek at the Prague ob- servatory in Bohemia, Baron Roths- child in Austria, Professor Franz in Germany, Dr. Nelson in Denmark, and Professor Stanley Williams and pr. Boeddicker in England.
 Notwithstanding the fine results ac- complished at other American observa- tories, many of the discoveries credited to the one on Mount Hamilton could not have been made with their teles- copes. All honor, then, to Lick obser- vatory, an American product in every detail
 It is great thing for America to have the most powerful telescope in the world, and still greater to have the largest too. The new instrument for the University of Chicago is more pew erful than even the one with which Jupiter's fifth moon was discovered.
 Another great telescope recently com plered and put in service in this coun- try is the one at the new observatory | in Arizona. In clearness of atmosphere | it has an advantage of any in Europe | and over any in this country. except. | perhaps, Lick observatory.
 Judging from discoveries made by | American astronomers in the last few | years we cannot doubt that many | more will be made by them before the close of the century. America is abreast, If not in the lead, of Europe in the dis 1overy of new facts about the heavens.