The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-18
A Very Elaborate Scientific System
whereby star Movements
Are Measured.
A YOUTHFUL FATHER TIME
CARE WITH WHICH THE NOON SIG
NAL Is TRANSMITTED.
with All the Effort Mt Accuracy There
Is Often Variation of "A Few
Hundredths of n Second.

Correspondence OF the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, May 81 spent yester-
day at Uncle Sans big white time factory.
on Observatory hill. 1 there saw the time
manufacturers turn out the hour of noon
for the common use OF all inhabitants of
the United States east of the Rockies. At
the Mare island navy yard, san Francisco,
Uncle Sam maintains a secondary time
factory, which grinds out the noon Of the
Pacific coast States. 1 am told that my
description of the Washington establish
ment will apply to the methods of thai
located across the continent.
Uncle Sam manufactures no other hour
except noon. Eastern time. His automatic
time machine throbs this as far as the
Rockies daily. II arrives in the central
time belt at IL a. m, the mountain time
belt at 10 a.. m. In these belts it is bottled,
so 10 speak. for one and two hours, re-
spectively. after which it is let loose.
1 had an interesting interview with the
man who acts as Father Time for Uncle
Sam. He is neither white-bearde nor bald
headed. after the fashion of the mythical
Father Time of the New Year pictorial
sheets. He is young and in the prime of
manhood. His hour glass is one of the
most wonderfully regulated clock systems
in the world. and his scythe. with which he
cuts each day in twain, is an electric
spark. This real Father Time is Lieuten-
ant Commander Everett Hayden, L. S. n.
Timemaking is. indeed, a fine art, as ac-
complished at this government factory. Be
fore being turned out as the finished prod
uct the official noOntide passes through az
many different processes as does any
watch which endeavors TO record it.
The raw material is the very heavens
canopy of stars. 1t is from these lesser
celestial lights-not the sun-that we get
our best seconds, minutes, hours, days,
years, centuries.
THE FIRST STEP TAKEN.
The first step in time-making is accom-
plished within a white iron barn which
stands in the foreground as we approach
the great domed observatory building. By
the turning of a series of cranks, opening
Sits up and down two sides and across the
roof, this little barn can be sliced in half
just as neatly as if sawed by some ogre.
Directly beneath the slit in the roof runs a
miniature railroad track. upon which rolls
a comfortable eather-covered couch on
wheels. Lying upon this and looking out
through the narrow opening continued
through the walls and ceiling. you can trace
the complete path of the meridian line,
which, passing through the zenith of the
heavens, connects the north and south pole.
In other words. this slice in the little white
barn is as il would be if cut by a giant
blade directed north and south and de-
scending exactly through the center of the
building. Every part of the heavens which
you can view from the rolling couch
through this slit is either north or south.
Beneath the middle of the slit is mounted
a brass telescope, pivOted in the center and
directed so that il commands a view of any
star passing the meridian line. Across the
object glass are stretched, UP and down,
eleven pieces OF spider web. Any star which
appears to cross the central spider web,
actually crosses the meridian. The OBJ
server. Mr.. r. A. Boeger-who has charge
Of the first stage of the time-making-illus-
trated TO me how. with a telegraph key in
his hand, he records the time a selected star
passes each OF the eleven webs. Afterward
he figures out the mean Of the total time,
and thus. with the very maximum of accu-
racy, determines the exact time of transit
across the central web. His electric key
connects by wire with a queer sort of clock,
whose dial is a revolving cylinder Of paper
and whose thrObbing second land Is a foun-
tain pen. The regular thrcbs of the pen
mark seconds in saw-teeth bitches upon the
paper. Each pressure OF the telegraph key
no matter how far distant-punctuates
the space between these bitches with a line.
a delicate scale determines how many frac-
tions Of a second this line may be from the
hour mark.
THE ALMANAC STARS.
This first step in time-making is accom-
plished at night. Three nights a week Mr..
Boeger lies upon the rolling couch, with
his eve 20 the little telescope and his finger
upon the electric key. He has before him
the nautical almanac, a never-failing time
table, which tells 10 the exact fraction of a
second when certain stars are due TO cross
the meridian each day. These almanac
stars have been observed by astronomers
from all parts of the world thousands of
times. from the days of Ptolemy down to
the present.
Close by the observer stand a large clock
which keeps the time of the stars, in what
are known as siderial seconds, minutes and
hours. II is this clock which is connected
with the other time keeper recording sec
onds in penstrokes. The mark Of the cleo
tric key in the observers hand shows the
error of the big clock keeping the time of
the stars. The day counted by the star
clock is the actual time required by the
earth In making one complete turn on its
axis. This day-the siderial days twenty
three hours. ffty-six minutes and five sec
onds long. and is. therefore three minutes
and ffty-fve seconds shorter than our or
binary day OF twenty-four hours even.
The siderial or star clock having been cor
rected. the next step is the conversion OF
exact siderial time into mean solar time,
such as we use for every day purposes.
While the siderial day represents the in
variable time required by the earth in max
ing one revolution on its axis. a solar day
varies in length from day TO day by reason
OF the changing motion OF the earth o. its
orbit. The mean solar day. therefore. is the
average o. mean OF all solar days in a year
lin other words. our twenty-four-hOur day.
The next step calls our attention 10 the
'timeroom." in the main observatory build
ing. At one side stand two large stand
ard clocks" ticking mean solar time. one
Of these does actual duty. the other be-
reserved 10 serve as alternate. in case