The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1907-02-23

Is always a hunger for something big.
ger, and better than the present pos
session and attainment Scarcely has
the world become familiar with some
great achievement which eclipses all
former effort before still larger things
are in process of the making. The
20story sky scraper is soon distanced
by the 30-story one which the daring
builder erects, and that by still high
er structures. The 60mile-an-hOur
train is soon considered slow as the
70-milean-hour train speeds over the
country, and that in turn by the train
which makes still faster time. And 50
it goes until the world has come to
expect that the biggest thing known
will soon have rival in the thing
still bigger.
So it has been with the instrument
which the astronomers use to search
the heavens. Years ago the widest
dreams of the scientists would not
have thought a 60-nch telescope pos
sible, but when at last through the
years such an enormous development
had been reached, was the scientist
content? Did he believe that he had
attained the Ultima Thule of telescope
construction? Nay, verify. For when
the possibility of constructing a co
inch mirror had been demonstrated,
the scientist at once began to plan
for still larger telescope, and now it
is the hundredinCh glass that is the
goal Of ambition.
The first step in such an enormous
advance in the size of telescopes has
just been taken by the officials of the
Carnegie Institutions Solar observa-
tory on Mount Wilson, California. The
sum Of $4,000 has been contributed
by John d. Hooker, of Los Angeles, to
cover the expense, and glass disk
of uneXampled magnitude has been
ordered made in France, and from
this disk Mr.. Ritchey will construct a
mirror for new rejecting telescope
100 inches in diameter. Mr.. Ritchey
has nearly completed a mirror of 60
inches diameter in the shops of the
observatory at Pasadena, and hitherto
dertaking of extraordinary holiness;
but the 100-inCh mirror will so far ex-
coed the 60-inch in its power to grasp
the light OF the heavenly bodies that
20 compare them is like comparing a
full-grown man with a child. To
show this it is only necessary to re-
member that the capacity of a tele-
scopic objectglass, or mirror, to col
lect light varies directly with the
square of its diameter The square
OF 60 Is $500, and the square of 100
is 10000, therefore, the power of the
contemplated telescope will be to that
OF the telescope nearly completed as
10000 is to $500, or nearly three times
greater! The famous Lord Rose tele.
scope, constructed in Ireland in the
middle Of the last century-and still
in existence, and to some extent in
use-is u inches in diameter but il
g so imperfect in figure, and in re-
Aecting quality, that it cannot be com
pared with either Of these two Cali.
fornian giants.
In truth, a hundred-inch telescope
is no less than an innovation, ana
many astronomers, knowing the i'm.
mense difficulties which beset the
use Of large instruments, difficulties
both mechanical and atmospheric.
will be disposed to doubt the success
of this undertaking. The new disk
will be Is inches thick, The 6O-inch
disk is eight inches thick, and weighs
ton These facts give an indica.
ton Of the enormous weight the pro
jected mirror will possess, and sug.
gest TO those who are familiar with
the mechanical problems involved III
the mounting of huge telescopes some
Of the practical difficulties that will
have to be overcome before this new
astronomic eye opens its mighty lids
TO penetrate among the yet undiscoy.
cred marHels Of the starry universe.
One On two other comparisons be
tween the projected instrument and