Hutchinson gazette., 1899-01-05
ARE pEEPINo AT A NEW pLAMErl
Local Astronomers Take Observations Of
Hnrr NHIIlln alnn

ARE PEEPINo At A NEW PLANET
Local Astronomers Take Observations Of
Herr Wits Star
Luckily Chicago has astronomers OF
It's own. who can see as far and ~
accurately into Infinite space az can
the astronomers OF any other portion
OF the United States or OF Europe.
Professor Edward 10. Barnard OF the
Chicago university and 8, W, Burn
ham, once a professor, but now clerk
OF the United States district court In
this city, have worldwide renoVn
as men OF science and keenost Vision
for peerlng into the heavens, Being
great dlscoyerors themselves In that
field, 30 soon no Mr., witt, the German
astronomer, announced his discovery OF
n new planet, they began at Geneva
lake a search for II, which was not ae
first rewarded by O sight OF II, but by
much persevering they were at last
able to make out tho strange object.
The original announcement OF this
new discovery was to the effect that
Mr.. Witt OF the Ilranla observatory,
Berlin, had discovered a minor plan
ct with 80 remarkable an orbit that
astronomers In oil parts Of the world
would be led to give II earnest atten-
tion. This Ia already proved to be the
case, as p. II. Cowell of Greenwich
observatory, near London, has bestow-
ed much pains In investigating the lat
est discovered planet, and has In \
printed statement confirmed the most
that was said about II In Berlin as
Economical periodical. In oil the
United States there is equal interest.
All the large telescopes have been
pointed to the quarter whero Wits
planet was said to be dscernible, but
not all those that have used the tele-
scopes have seen the object Of their
quest. Mr.. Burnham is home authority
for saying that II Ia so very small, and
at the samo tlmo 80 very swift, that
II is almost impossible to see 1t, and
next to impossible to keep Dyes on II
when II has been seen. II looks like
one OF the smallest OF stars, and, said
Professor Barnard, mny have been OBJ
served before and regarded as q star,
its motion not having been noticed,
This was tho case with far larger plan
cts, as Neptune, for instance, which
was observed enormously as o star
for long period, The new planet re-
wolves round the sun In strongly
olliptical orbit, between the earth and
Mars, In 145 days. It Ia about as near
to the earth as the moon, and Is likely
to be of great use In determining the
exact distance OF the earth from the
sun. Its discovery was purely acci-
dental. BY photography a streak Of
light was detected and then II was
known that not a star, but a planet,
was In view. 1t seems that when as
tronomers know what II ls they arc
looking for, and about where II Is, they
have comparatively little difficulty In
finding 1t. The streak Of light, very
short and very faint, that was caught
In the process OF photographing, Ia.
now that II is known to be light re-
fiected from a planet easily seen
through to the planet itself But II
moves SO Swlftly that In barely two
miutes 1t may be lost sight Of behind
the fixed stars, Interesting as this
discovery is, Mr. Burnham says II is
only one Of 15O minor planets that
have been discovered the past ten
years. But this, more than any other.
has an interest Of Its own, from It's
position on the constantly changing
map of the heavens, so near to our
earth, and also, apparently, so near to
Mars. Every such discovery serves
strongly TO stimulate the astronomers.
and In that fact is promise continually
Of other discoveries In the future Of
perhaps far greater Importance.