The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-19

South America. These are especially Ana
AZ AreQu.pa, which has il addition. the
ADVANTAGE Of being south OF the equator
at one Of the best points for viewing the
southern heavens.
There is. you know. nothing duplicated
in the sky, and there are here wonderful
stars and considerations which We never
see. The milky way south OF the equator
Is far more brilliant than II Is in our heav-
enA. and there are many other different
stars with different movements. You have
ali heard Of the Southern Cross. which my
friend. DR.. Talmage, says looks 10 him
like the handwriting OF GOD on the face OF
the sky. I don't think much OF IL. L; Is a
meaxiy cross al best. There are only four
stars in IL. that are not At all bright, and
you have 10 look hard TO find them. There
are. however, wonderful things outside Of
this. and the best observations 50 far made
IN recent years OF the southern heavens
have been made by these Harvard scien-
lists They have four great telescopes at
Areou!pa, which night after night through
the nine clear months OF the year are
pointed at the stars. Connected with each
OF these telescopes Is a Photographic appa-
ratua which records the movements Of
such stars as the scientists wish to study,
and which by fine machinery move along
with the stars until their images and those
or their surroundings are registered on the
Photographic plate The Bruce telescope
for instance, Is. / believe, the largest Of its
kind in the world. though 1 am not sure
OF this. 1t has a lens "a inches In dame
ter and gives photographs on plates IA by
II Inches in size. l took a look through
the Bruce telescope during my visit 10 the
observatory. The tube OF the instrument
must weigh more than a ton. but II il so
delicately hung that child could move IL.
II runs by a cock and heavy weight.
The chief part Of the work dona at the OBJ
servatory Is photographng the heavens
Five Photographic instruments are kept
going. and about fifty plates are made
every night. Last year more than 5000
plates were exposed and developed The
negatives are shipped at once to- the Uni
yersity OF Harvard at Cambridge. and are
there used for study and scientific work.
They are kept on file there. and form a
wonderful astronomical library OF the
southern heavens Through this obserya-
tory Harvard college has the hes; advan-
tages of the world for astronomical re-
search. The scientists of Cambridge are
always watching the northern heavens.
but they cannot see much below the euus-
tor The AreQuipa observatory takes IN
the whole sky from the equator TO the
south pole, the two giving q compete view
Of the heavens.
Highest observatory OF the WORLD.
Within the last few years the Arequipa
astronomers here have established sta
ton On the top OF Mount Misu. This
mountain Is one OF the highest OF the
Andes. It lies just back OF AreQuipa.
standing out against the horizon almost
alone in its grandeur. its top kissing the
sky at an altitude OF 200 feet above the
sea Il is some thousands OF feet higher
than any point in America, and is fun
mile higher than our observatory on
Pixies Peak 1t IS by more than $500 feet
lofter than any other scientific station OF
the world. The site OF the station IS on
the edge OF a huge crater, which now and
then sends clouds of yellow sulphuroua
vapor thousand feet into the air. Mount
Mist. Is an extinc. volcano, but It is not
dead, and 1t may at any time break out
into eruption. AT .his great altitude
nearly four miles above the sea, the Har-
ward men have now the finest OF scientific
Instruments for registering the conditions
OF the atmosphere. the velocity of the
winds, the pressure OF the barometer and
other conditions. The instruments are et
course automatic. running for three
months without being touched. No one
could live at such an altitude, and the SCI
entists go up only periodically to get the
records and rewInd the Instruments As 1t
Is. the trip Is a. very hard one. Some OF
the men get soroche. or mountain sick
ness. and many men cannot make the trip
at all. The observatory has other sta
tons on the sea near Molendo. or the
high plateau where I now am. and at
Cuzco the famed capital of the Incas.
which Is a little more than 100 miles from