The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-04-10
PREPARE FOR THE ECLIPSE.
uARvARD PROFESSORS VIEWS on
run ApPROAcHIxG PHENOMENON.
D<partn~ns SaGxests New Porn
Of rel~seop-lnssrun for

Ass-orcre-s already a-e preparing sor
che ~oss- eclipse o. May >, ssss which 3
70 - v.znss II TIE southern states Pans
a.. under discussion for making the raasS
q the ieesIag opportunity. Prot. Z T.
EsScxs-zrg kezG ~ .1S Harvard ast-e-
ro-nkraI deya-sEecf. II circular Letter
10 ASTRONOMERS urges . variation from
existing methods. permitting q greater
arnoxznr - WORK let merely 6T-Eag an
sS,Arsa. bar IN the general research Of
au observatory re says. according 10
IRE Chicago Record that uoSs - tae
es,sssares n Use nowadays are very Eea--
" the sane soxm ard adapted for ire
sa-zs kind ~ werk, leaving other eSxia2ay
xalna5.s Sei3s untouched
Mes -ro&sern instruments have been
made. with two a. three exceptions. n
The gao7a temperate EC2s and placed so-
isca. o. political reas9rs Tss1 rs SEse7caal
reference - the needs q astronomical re-
ssarc@ as -use. they are near large
cites o. towns. where the very conditions
tina. made the cOuzsry prosperous render
81 snerz gait for fze wo-&~
B-sstes, rhs Whole southern hemisphere
has been neglected.
DISADVANTAGE of Like Instrame ats
In ro4n. Of construction. most modern
telescopes are Of the same pattern. with
focal lengths from fifteen 20 eighteen
tines the aperture ard thereby confined
to azze class e work The success 81 the
Bruce teleS caps a. Arsazapa. Peru paoto
graphic Instrument. with focal length
Only SIX tines the aperture, prompts the
professor 20 suggest fha- A development
Of astronomical study on the same lines
would BE- e1lsneatiy desirable All Illus
t-atSoa Of the value ~ permanent reeu-sis
az ssv secured az Areau.pa was striking
IL shovn 10 the case of the planet Eros
discovered in ISIS Calculations show .hac
Il must have been near the earth ami
bright Il fs<& II was ret eiiscoysre. then
but IL proves 20 hav. 5seD taken On the
RrucS r-asss prs-S-vsi al Harvard rTeraey
pictures % Il having been found enabling
the astronomers % follow II through half
a revolution
Prof. p1ckersng's proposal Is to build a
photographic telescope OF great focal
Length. say iss or Is feet. with an aper-
tu-e ot twelve Or fourteen inches II
would he mounted horizontally and in
movable the images 81 the stars To be
reflected into II from mirror TIE mo-
tor % the earth could De coun:eractsd
by moving the photographic rlase by
cIockwu-E Such Az instrument would
BE- only an enormous enlargement of the
photo-heliogrsph which has been found
20 he the best for the study og the sun
=
phe-tc cor.ti,ions possibly could outline
the arer details Of the solar surface. and
IN the coming eclipse probably could H.
sure photographs Of the spectrum OF the
reversing layer and show details OF the
inner corona.
To Determine Suns Distance.
Other lines OF research suggested would
se the securing OF better photographs than
have been obtained Of the zfocn and az
Jupiter. Saturn and Mars The planet Eros
approaches the earth ~ closely that IFS
parallax amounts IN q minute Of arc. The
mex, approach In 1870 VIII be more favor
able than s-y other until 1871. and care
tal observations should be taken of the
planet when east and west OF the mari
dian. since the distance % the sun from
the earth probably can be determined n
this way better than any other yer at
tempted. A. this distance IS the unit
By which all astronomical distances are
measured the importance o. the work
hardly can he oversta:eS. More than 81.
gcn.es was spent IN observations .. the
transit OF Venus In Is7s For this ore aim
only. while the pTosose1 plan IS feasible
ar q cost - s. 0U or sfasa The para1iax
o. The Fixed stars and the locations % .he
major planets are other Ines q fruitful
study possible with a pho.o-heliograph