The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-02-21
AMERICAN ASTRONOMERS.


Great Work Done In Recent Years Which
Places This Country In the Front Rank.
In no branch of science has this
country made greater progress dur
ing the last quarter of century
than in astronomy. Whether COM
pared with the work accomplished
mere in previous years or with that
of England, France, Germany or It
ally since 1870, our own record for
this period stands out prominently
in astronomical discovery.
More comets, asteroids and binary
stars have been discovered by Amer
lean 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 entirely to the advantage
of superior telescopes. Most of the
new comets and asteroids were dis
covered with Instruments inferior
to the best ones in service across the
Atlantic.
1t is not denied, however, that the
great refracting telescope on Mount
Hamilton has been of great service.
From little pamphlet just issued
by the director of Lick observatory
Professor Holden, formerly of this
city-we learn that, besides Jupi-
ters fifth satellite, "ten comets and
a great number of double stars"
have been discovered with that tele-
scope.
Nor is this all The photographs
taken there of solar eclipses have
put new face on the question of
the constitution of solar corona. I"
The Photographic and visual obser-
vations made there of comets, the
onion and planets have added great
ly to the world S knowledge of those
bodies. Much has been learned, too,
of the Milky Way. Our spectre
scopic observations of nebul4, stars
and comets are of hitherto unattain-
ed accuracy and have led to quite
new views, says the professor, and
for the first time the angular diam
eter of fixed star has been measur-
ed there. Several foreign astrono-
mers are devoting their time largely
to measuring, charging and study
ing the astronomical photographs
taken on Mount Hamilton. Among
them are Director Weinek at the
Prague observatory in Bohemia, Bar
on Rothschild in Austria, Professor
Franz in Germany, DR.. Nielsen in
Denmark and Professor Stanley Will
liams and DR.. Boeddicker in Eng
land.
notwithstanding the fine results
accomplished at other American OBJ
servatories, many of the discoveries
credited to the one on Mount Ham
ilton could not have been made with
their telescopes. All honor, then, to
Lick observatory, an American prod
uct in every detail.
1t is a great thing for America to
have the most powerful telescope in
the world, and still greater to have
the largest too. Theme instrument
for the University of Chicago is
moro powerful than even the one
with which Jupiter fifth moon was
discovered
Another great telescope recently
completed and put in service in this
country is the one at the new oh.
servatory in Arizona, In clearness
of atmosphere it has an advantage
of any in Europe and over any other
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 then
before the close of the century
America is abreast, if not in the
lead, of Europe in the discovery OF
new facts about the heavens.-St
T