The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-04-06
PRODUCT OF FIFTY-THOUSAND
PHOTOGRAPHS.
Astronomers of All Nations Are At
Work on An Immense Chart of the
Heavens.

Advance sheets are being received at
the astronomical observatory at Tacu-
baya of the star charts which are being
prepared as a result of the Information
al photographic congress convened at
Paris in 1889, at which Mexico was re-
presented
TO photo graph and map out the en-
tire heavens-to search with the cam
era the depths of space, to bring to
light all the heavenly bodies far beyond
the vision of the most powerful teles-
cope and to tabulate and catalogue mill
lions of stars-was the task self-impos-
ed by the congresses of 1887 and 1889
held in the capital of France. The di-
rector of the Tacubaya observatory, Mr..
Angel Anguiano, was the delegate to
the second congress. His fine work in
connection with the mission of the as
geographic congress entitled him to
Justly acquired membership in that and
other French scientific organizations.
Mapping the entire heavens has prov
ed to be an enterprise of vast import
ance, and one of the greatest scientific
achievements of the century Just closed
Delegates from fifteen of the most en-
| ligbtened nations of the world 1elib-
Grated for nine days in Paris in 1887.
Then decided to make great star map
and eighteen observatories We're APP
pointed to do the work. The meeting
was direct result of the suggestion
made on June 4, 1886, by DR.. Gill of the
Royal observatory, Cape Of Good Hope.
/ 1t seemed fitting that DR.. Gill should
! originate the work, for it was his ia
| nous photograph of the comet of 1882
! that first turned the attention Of dstro-
nomers to star photography.
The department of celestial photo
! graphy at the Tacubaya observatory
was placed in charge of Col. Theodore
! Quintana, the only military attache OF
the observatory. This department was
housed in the north wing of the pre-
/ misses and is three stories in height.
The rooms are each about SoE1e twenty
feet in diameter. The windows face
! east and west. A pyramidal column
| shoots up through the round tower,
enirely separated from the structure,
and reaches upward nearly forty feet.
| It's isolation helps to demonstrate the
steadiness so indispensable to celicate
operation.
Upon the column top rests a granite
slab four feet high, supporting the in
strument. The point of intersection of
! the polar axis and the declinatiOn is
! nearly ten feet high. The length of the
| polar axis is about forty inches. On
the solid column like a double barrel
ed rifle rests the instrument, with its
| Photographic telescope and it's aStrOno-
mical telescope guide. The longitudinal
| focus of each is nearly ten feet. The
object glass of the photographer is
/
! telescope is almost ten inches. The cir
| Gle of decination has a diameter of two
! feet, divided up into sections of ten de-
grees.
Electric light is employed in the deli
| cate operations, a perfect Witchery of
| light given in the tiny size of the illu-
minators. ct the condensation of ra-
| dance is remarkable, flooding as it
| does the field with most penetrating
| touch and comprehensive scope. The
! circle of light ascension is also unique.
| Perhaps the most notable feature of
! the instrument, the most intent one
| might say, is the clOck-WOrk electric
correctOr. 1t is elaborate and labor
! saving. The instrument itself is the
make of Sir Howard Grub of Dublin,
! Ireland.
The work done by this instrument is
! simply wonderful. For instance, the
! Pleiades, as seen by the unaided eye,
are a group of seven beautiful stars,
! with AlsyOne as a center gem, but they
are indistinct and dimly defined to the
| naked vision. But the Photographic
! instrument throws the gems as broad
! cast as Marguerite did the jewels Of
! Faust and shows bewidering mass of
! brilliant stars occupying the field of the
! Pleiades in varied shapes of exquisite
| beauty. Another attractive revelation
/ is the nebula of Orion, magnifed nearly
I !. 900 times The stars seem to hang
| like diamond dust on the belt of the
! heavenly hunter.
| To form the best idea of lunar for
nations the Tacubaya astronomers are
accustomed to take numerous views of
! the moon when it is in it's third qu2l-
ter, just as it enters, gibbous Snapped,
into quadrature. AS seen thus a lunar
/ photograph shows the ragged edge
/ against the Illuminated portion, and
| gives a very startling and vivid idea of
! the crater formations. They seem to
yawn against the very eyes of the spec
tator. Saturn and it's circling satellites
have the appearance of dropping in on
! the lens, so distinctly are they caught
/ by the splendid instrument The neer-
! ness of the heavenly bodies has the e.
/ feet of making one withdraw inVulun-
tarly, awed by their seeming approach,
The new star maps are amazing In
! their detail and finish The patchwork
| of photographs will cover an immense
globe having a diameter of twenty four
! feet. During the work no less than 3d.
/ 600 photographs We're taken and a ca
| talOgue of about 100000 stars made.
Each country represented in the con-
' crosses was assigned certain sectional
work and general survey duties IS well.
To avoid errors each photograph is be-
ing duplicated, and altogether more
than 30, 900, 900 stars will be photograph
ed to complete the chart.
Previous to the middle of the nine
teenth century such a work would have
been considered as impossible as wire
| less telegraphy. To tabulate these stars
in the ordinary way would take thou
sands of years, and the stars mean
while would shift positions, and, in fact,
do so before the work could be half
completed. 1t is only through photo
graphy that it can be done at all. The
entire work could be done in one niLht,
for that matter, by simultaneous oper-
atoms in the United States, Mexico Eu-
rope and Asia, at least so far as the
actual phOtographing is concerned, but
the varying conditions of atmosphere,
climate and season. make it a work of
many years. 1t is not known when the
| entire work will be completed.
VOLTS great map of the Plelld as,
wherein GIL stars We're shown took
many years of closest visual ohsorva-
ton to complete. Today pilot Dgr9 Oily
in an hours exposure shows |, t2l stars
| of the same group, furnishing accurate
data for calculations unattainable by
mere visual means. Rapidly changing
objects in the heavens, that are too