The Washington herald., 1907-09-01

! noted citizens
What" exclaimed the United States
district attorney. who had been friend
OF Burnham for dozen years. when he
heard the news. Our Burnham, the big
astronomer? / never heard him say a
word about H.
He did double work for many years, re-
porting law cases by day. star-gazing by
night, making good use OF the min
utes." he says lie is now professor OF
practical astronomy at Chicago Univer-
sity, and does a lot Of work at the Yerkes
| Observatory He was at Lick for some
time he selected Mount Hamilton as the
site OF that observatory and he has dis
| covered more double stars than all the
other living astronomers IN the world
He Is a member or associate Of every
astronomical society In existence. and has
won medals and other prizes a-plenty
In many quarters his work Is esteemed
even more highly than Barnard's.
The Brothers SearIe.
One OF the most iinteresting of all the
American astronomers is the Rev George
NJ Searle, now sixty-eight, the brother of
Arthur searle, Phillips professor Of
astronomy at Harvard. The Searle broth
ers are London born. but were brought
to this country when Arthur was three
years aid and George was less than two.
Arthur was graduated from Harvard in
1885, his brother a year later. Both are
men of standing In their profession but
despite the fact that George NJ. has de-
voted most OF his attention IN another
direction for nearly thirty years he is the
! leader OF the two
| George NJ Searle. born a Protestant. be-
came a Catholic I'm 1862; six years later he
Joined the Paulist Fathers and was made
| first teacher Of science In the Paulist Sem
mary and later professor Of mathematics
at the Catholic University, IN Washing
ton. His progress as a young man was
rapid: he was assistant at Dudley OBJ
| servatory. Albany. \. Y, before he had
been out of college a year, and there he
discovered the asteriod Pandora. in 1858. He
was with the United States Coast Survey
for some time. and when-at thirty-he
joined the Paulsts had risen 10 be as
sistant at the Harvard Observatory, hav-
ing already served two years as assist
ant professor Of mathematics at the An
napolis Naval Academy.
/ Three years ago Father Searle was
made superior general az the New York
headquarters OF the Paullsts. where he Is
noted for his good works among the peO-
pie, but he still takes great interest in
the physical heavens He makes frequent
visits TO the most noted observatories in
the country and everywhere is esteemed
| for his accurate and profound knowledge
of the stars
In Charge at Mount Wilson.
| No American star-gazer of to-day is re-
ceiving more attention. either at home or
o.. r
rector Of the Solar Observatory OF the
Carnegie Institution, located at Mount
| Wilson. in Southern California, near Pas
adena. Hale is now year less than
| forty. lie was not a poor boy. his father
being a well-to-do manufacturer Of Chi
cago, who gave his son chance TO exer-
else his own bent
This boy began with set of tools after
the fashion Of many another hoy; next he
acquired workshop. and then. hearing OF
the spectroscope. he procured a prism
and made a scope for himself. His glee
when he was able 10 reproduce the eolors
Of the rainbow with his homemade in
strument was as great. probably as
when, after long and patient work. he
succeeded in producing the spectro-heIio-
graph, without which much OF the re-
markable solar observation work he is
now doing would be impossible.
Hale was graduated from the Massa-
ehusetts Institute Of Technology. and
took postgraduate work at Harvard and
at Berlin lie devoted a year in Europe.
before the great Yerkes Observatory was
built, to visiting the famous Old World
obseTyatories and preparing plans for the
new observatory. of which he was made
the first director and also professor of
astro-physics at Chicago University.
Haie's spectre heliograph really is a
wonderful device. BY It's use II is pos
sible 20 photograph the prominences Of /
the sun at any time. whereas, formerly
they could be photographed during eclipse |
only. An ingenious attachment makes it /
possible TO do the photographing auto /
matically, and thus procure a record |
Of the great sun storms which are sup |
posed 70 affect the weather Of this earth |
IN no small degree AS Mount Wilson /
Is 6.SS6 feet high and has a Cloudless I
sky most of the year. II will be seen
that Prof. Hale has an opportunity 10
do far greater work in the future than
he has yet accomplished
Prof Lewis Boss OF the Dudiv OBJ |
servatory at Albany who will head the 1
Carnegie Institute star-gazing expedition /
IN Argentina TO be sent out next year. /
VIII have an equal opportunity Ia the |
work there to be undertaken Boss was
graduated from Dartmouth thirty years 4
ago; twenty-odd years ago he was +
newspaper man. being editor and mana /
ger Of the Albany Express.
Two Great Harvard Men.
Harvard University boasts the services
Of two Of Americas ablest and most /
famous star-gazers: Asaph Hail. profess /
scr of astronomy there for the last dozen
years; and Prof Edward c. Pickering. /
director Of the observatory since 1877. /
Hall is a farmers son. who worked 4
in the fields when a boy and went to /
district school, later learned the carpen- I
ter's trade and worked at it: and still /
later paid his way through special courses
at Yale and the University of Michigan.
lie is only two years less than eighty
now, he has headed many government ex-
petitions, and he discovered ''Delmos'
and "Phebos." the two moons of Mars.
Prof Pickering Is a Bostonian. born ard
bred. At sixty-one years of age he is
famous the world over. He comes of a
family Of astronomers, and his education
at the Lawrence Scientific School. Har-
ward was directed with special reference
to the career which he has wrought out
so we'll His discoveries include Saturn's