Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-10-02

been much overestimated. and that
he was not at all molested there dur
ing his lhhurs,
/ asked him If he enjoyed mothemat-
icHl calculation.
He replied: Did | not, should
never have made It my lie work"
SOMETHING ABOUT TELESCOPES.
Prof Newcomb probably knows as
much about telescopes as any man on
Garth II was he who superintendent
the construction ana mounting Of the
great telescope of our naval uhscrva-
tory In 1919. This telescope had diam
etcr OF % inches and 1t was for some
years the largest Telescope of the
world Later on the Russian govern
ment wanted a telescope. Arrange
ments were pending to ward the max
ing contract for its construction in
Europe, whQn the Russian commits
nissioncrs sent to the United States
To- got the advice of Prof Newcomb.
lie replied that the best telescope
maker living was IN the United States,
and the result was that the commits
sionora came here, and Mr.. NcwComb
introduced them to Alvin Clark. He
supervised tho contract and the max
ing OF the great telescope which th"v
then ordered. For his services in this
work the car sent Prof Newcomh
magnificent Jasper vase on pedestal
OF black marble. This vase now stands
ia Allt DNl lbl va A'ANlH aN'.fN 'btAAb
home, and he seems more proud of II
than of his monument IN the adioin
ing library, consisting of volumes up
ON volumes of books and tables OF
which he is the author.
1t was Prof. Newcomb who super
intended the mounting Of the Lick
telescope, and he Will | am told. make
an address at the coming celebration
OF the putting up of the YerkeB tele-
scope during the present month.
We STILL HAVE GOOD TELESCOPE
MAKERS.
asked Prof. Newcomh whether the
United States could keep its reputa-
ton as the maker Of the best telc-
| scopes now that Clark had died.
He replied: "Who can tcll2 1t may
be that we shall turn out as good in
strumcnts as in the past. Brashear Of
plttsburg is making as fine glasses
as any Clark has made, and thcre are
now other places where good lenses are
ground. There are now also some good
telescope makers in Europe
What are the qualities needed in a
good telescope maker2" / asked.
There are many things replied
Prof. NewComb. 81 sometimes think
that the successful man in this, as In
some other profession, Is born, not
made. He must have the most delicate
| perceptions, ana must be accurate IN
| his calculations. There are parts of a
! lens which must not vary the one
! hundred tbousandth-i might almost
| say, the one illionth-ot an inch in
| thickness. The glass must be of the
| purest quality, and 1t must be ground
| just 50. MIR. Clark was genius In SUCH
/ matters. He began life as a portrait
| painter and made small telescopes for
! amusement. He soon began to grind
] lenses Tor liyelihuod,an 1t was found
! that his lenses We're the best that were
/ made. He went on until in this branch
/ h. surpassed every one else
But, professor, is it easy to tell
| whether telescope is correctly
| made?"
yves; all you have to do Is to look
! through 1t at the stars. If they are
| clear points of light the glass is good,
/ otherwise not"
Dots the difference In the size of tbs
| diameter make much difference in the
| power of the instrument2'
Yes, the greater the diameter the
higher the power"
what astronomical work are yor
now engaged upon?" l asked.
II am going over my tables of thC
planets, shall finish my work of theil
| revision within few weeks"
1T seems to me, professor, that yoI
have done enough to take rest thl
remainder of your life. How long DC
you expect to continue worltlng2"
Nai4lpi Ntllt was ibis -NtN
combs reply, Il shall keep on until
stop. / enjoy my work and | hope t
do great deal more of it,"
ORIGINAL WORK IN ASTRONOMY
as there much original work nov
being done in astronomy
yes, indeed. Good work Is bcinl
done all over the world. There ar
more good astronomers now than eve
before. one of the great troubles foun
in making my computations for tn
Nautical Almanac years ago was tina
! had to do all the work myself. Nov
there are many men who can max
such computations. In my recent wor
have been helped by my assistant
at the observatory Indeed the
should have part of the credit 70
much that / have done"
do you think that we will eve
know much more than we now d
about the stars? ?" l asked.
Eyes, we are learning more RICH
along"
rs there any good reason to thin
that the stars are lnhablted?"
THAT Is "A question" was the repl!
There Is no proof that some of theI
may not be. There are some of IN
planets, such as Mars, which We al
led to believe have all the condition
which would make life upon them pos
sibe. Whether there are beings upo
them We do not know, and II there al
we do not know If such beings are Xix
ourselves"
FRANK G, CARPENTER,