The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-10-20
BEYOND REACH OF TELESCOPES.
stars Mapped by Astronorers That Have
Never Been Seen.


Never Been Seen.
In the Cosmopolitan Of September
there is an interesting discussion by
Camille FlammaEion OF the Tho New
Eye of Science"-the sensitive plate OF
the astronomers Photographic apPar-
atus-and of the international under
taking OK producing by photography
chart of the whole heavens The human
eye is an admirable instrument, but its
powers are severely limited. 1t sees
slowly. 1t requires for vision COM
paratively strong light, and it retains
no record of what it has seen. The
Photographic apparatus of the astron-
omer, on the other hand, vastly sur
passes the natural eye in these par
ticulars; it sees more quickly, has q
steadier gaze, reaches farther and
makes an unerrin3 record of its visions.
It requires bat the half thousandth part
OF second for an observation ano with
in that brief period accurately maps the
whole field in view. Directed toward
any point of the sky it discerns in the
depths Of infinite space worlds the hui
man eye has never seen and never could
see, even with the aid OF the hest tel
escope. What the sensitive plate does
not detect at the first glance 1T beholds
after time. In fve-thousandths of
second it photographs n star of the first
magnitude; in half q second it includes
all smaller stars to the sixth magnitude,
in - minutes it has taken In all stars
to the 14th magnitude. The human eve
is capable Of seeing all up to the SIKH
magnitude, inclusive, or 1851 stars
whereas the number that may be
mapped by the exposure of the sensl-
tive plate for Is minutes Is over 10000
600.
Recently a congress OF astronomers
met in Paris TO arrange for the con-
certed mapping of the whole heavens,
agreed upon n 1887. Two thousand
years ego Hipparchus made a catalogue
Of 1,o22 stals- Present catalogues con-
tain over 1.ooo, 900. But the effort of the
astronomical congress is to make
Photographic chart which will contain
all the &c, 900, 900 or 40, 00o, 900 stars that
can be found with the light gathered by
O telescope 2h yards long. having al
The work has been divided among I6
Observers situated at different points
on the globe. Each observatory - 20
mako 200 plates and each plate
photographs two degrees square. Ar
many as 11,o27 plates are required &c
cover the entire heavens, and the eel.
estial chart they win be used TO con-
struct will represent sphere having
radius of over 81 yards. Some of the
plates ere to be expo7ed 20 the heavens
for five minutes; others for an hour
Toe shorter exposure viii give ma
terial for = chart 90 CERTAIN $50 SEQ
stars.
How many viii be revealed BIZ The
longer exposure il i impossible TO say
TIL the 11.027 sections hare been pscced
together and the aggregate made ~
after careful inspection II viii do1bt
less contain many whosc exEstelce hss
hitherto been unsupported TIE loua
exposure viii produce rcoor5 q star
or suns SO distant from rs as 10 b- .:
the 18th or 18th mseBitn5e-s.zr.
whose light requires millions Of year
10 reach Us. The vast spacio8Eness Of
the uiHyerEe VIII be evidenced Ga ths ras
mute dots that reveal 20 p-astseeti eyei
systems ofworlds not previously known
Large co1ciIssicrs az 20 the structure o. /
toe physical lIoaverss VIII perhaps b
suggested by the great chart when con |
pleted- In itself tic char VIII DO
monument OF the patient isboTs o. /
science and Of tie ssntinent Of frater !
nifty which enables many dIhcrca. nD
tons AID racrE 90 cooperate Il rs pro
Sun.