Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-06-16
Tb THE MOON SO MILES.
SUCH WILL SEEM THE DISTANCE
THRolGH rARIs's NEW TELESCOPE.

The hhge block OF crystal which will
become he mirror for the great telc-
scope his safely arrived In Paris. u all
goes well the exhibition Of 1900 will be
able toI boast of n distinct feature.
whethel the moons features will be
equally distinct is another question
Prof. Llewy thinks not but VI. Deloncle
il still determined 10 carry through his
idea.
The Moon one yard OIL. 1t was thus
the sche Ine OF the gigantic telescope was
spoken N In the papers, hut VI. Dcloucle,
howcvcd ambitious he may be In Central
Africa, Protests that he never had 80
PROPOSITIONS notion. He claims that
IL will "a possible TO throw on TO screen
views ol our satellite brought within a
1istancc|of thrty-eight miles. This re-
mains t,l be- seen. However, everybody
will wish NJ. Delonclc, and still more
especially his share holders, every sue
cess Ia ,ihat one must still regard "a an
experimbnt
The hew telescope mirror il the
largest lever made. IL was cast AT
JeumonI, manufacturing place, and
the lasiI French station on the line To
Liege, Cologne, and Berlin. This
splendid block OF homogeneous crystal
weighs 900 kilogrammes. rs diameter
l. , 0J Lleters. and In its present nearly
rough hate IL cost 1000 pounds. OF
course i WAS conveyed to Paris in a
special train. Ii Was wrapped up in
heavy fdlt blankets, protected by hoops
II soft Wood. with metal tires, mounted
on piyo,E. Thus packed, the mirror was
tightly kedged In case that was placed
i'm the Wagon on bed OF hurdles and
LAYERS 81 hay.
For g,leater safety, the train stopped
only on,Ic, at Tergnier, and went at a.
slow a I,cc as a royal train, escorted by
"A railwaE inspector. IL was Insured TO
its full lyslue. The same afternoon II
was rembved from the northern terminus
% the Workshop. The mirror. before
leaving (eumont, went through second
grindinAof lts facets, being as smooth rs
A fine piIte glass. But for telescope pur-
poses this sort Ot smoothness Is rough
ness itsdf. The finishing process will
take twd years and six months, and by
more expeditions processes than any
hithcrtoIn use, which, moreover, will
give griater accuracy than anything
known.
IIithelto Astronomical mirrors and
lenses hive been polished By hand by
slowly Ibbing the glass with the naked
hand, sometimes. hut not always, moist
ened with oil, albumen, and other sub
stances, which are the makers secret.
The drakback of this process Is that
the nerd heat OF the hanf may cause the
surface ~ warp.
The hew mechanical process, of
which particulars are not given, will
producela surface approaching true
plane. Within one ten-thousandth part of
a millim1ter. Even this marvellous finish
will lea., a margin, astronomers tell US,
for errolE. The whole finishing process
will cost 5000 pounds. The silvering
will notlcost anything 10 speak of.
The mirror will be mounted on two
arms ten meters long. and will be set In
motion Nv machinery of the usual sort.
The rayI gathered from planetary space
will be !ehected horizontally through a
mammoth tube sixty meters long, laid
on piles III masonry. The lenses of flint
and crokn glass VIII be one meter -
ceutlmetIrs, the largest in the world,
and tie images, enlarged 5000 times,
" III be Thrown on 10 screen, "hich
thousands of people will view at time.
The loon will, il all goes well, be
brought within thirty-eight miles, but 1t
il most doubtful whether images on this
scale will prove correct. NJ. Loewy, the
Assistant director of the Paris Observa-
tory, whb has submitted some splendid
photographs OF the moon, believes that
the limid OF ninety-four miles he mas
reached II the utmost practicable lot a
long timt TO come. Larger images will
be indist istinct.-Paris Dispatch in the
London {ews.