Bisbee daily review., 1908-07-01
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Eyes of astronomers, as well as of | star gazers among the ranks of the laymen, have been directed with spe cial interest towards Jupiter of late owing to the reported discovery of the | sighth satellite of the great planet l whose history-in an astronomical rather than a mythological sense-is 1 B marvel of scientific romance. There Is probably no object in the heavens around which such rich associations cluster It was the Jovian orb that presided over the first intimations of the speed of light in the days when Roemer watched the eclipses of it's moons To Jupiter was directed the first telescope ever trained on the skies by an earthly astronomer. It fell to the lot of Jupiter to intervene In the great struggle between rival theories of the world order and con meet itself forever with a most thrill ling period in the history of science. Measured and weighed since then with all attainable exactness, it is known for observers today as the planet of l colossal dimensions and terrific speed, of numerous progeny and troubled countenance, yet it never shines without casting its luster away back toward the middle ages upon the serene. indomitable and undying figure of Calico. The surprising fact about Jupiter, so far as its moons are concerned, is that the planet was lost to astro- nomical investigation for nearly 300 years in that time the telescope | underwent enormous improvement. Herschel mapped the heavens with his i great tube, and Lord Rosse's reflector l at Parsonstown showed such light gathering capacity that the star Sirius | shone in it like coach lamp" Later
 still, with the introduction of archro- | mstic object lenses and advance in the ! art of glass making, the comparatively 1 tremendous range and defining power l of the modern refracting telescope 1 were placed at the disposal of the ob- server. The Lick instrument, with it's l clear width of three feet turned toward ! the night sky, seemed well nigh the | limit of the Investigating power which astronomers could hope to command. 1 Yet after all this advance and almost
 at the beginning of the twentieth cen 1 tury Jupiter showed no mere of her | moons to the modern scientists than | she had revealed nearly three cen 1 tuFies before to the unpracticed eye | and rude instrument of Calico. The | planet was known in 16t0 to have four
 satellites; in 1892 no sane astronomer
 expected to see any more. It was a
 comfortable provision, and the count
 seemed closed. Yet all this time there
 were seven, possibly eight. moons,
 though the fact was hidden from the world, just as magnetism had been
 hidden until Gilbert brought it into
 notice, and as radium was hidden until
 the Curies raised it from the dust
 Jupiter was reserYing his secret for
 some daring observer who should
 bridge the gap of nearly 900 years
 with a new discovery. The first chap
 ter of the revelation came in 1892, and
 the revealer was Prof Edward Elmer
 son Barnard of the Lick observatory.
 A southern man, who had already ] uOilt SACciItuL HOih III GClSStloi phc
 tography, besides discovering a num-
 Der of comets, he was one of the first,
 ir the clear air of Mt. Hamilton, Cal,
 to turn the new 36-inch telescope to
 the planets. He was doubtless eager
 to know what of new detail and phys.
 ical construction the big glass would bring forth. Happening one Septem' ,, Der midnight to be examining the disc
 of Jupiter he glimpsed a tiny speck , 1 of light near the edge of the planet |. It soon became lost in the glare of the , larger body, but the quest was re , | sumed on succeeding nights, and then ! ] the news was flashed to every Ameri
 can and foreign observatory that Jupi
 ter had five moonss This unexpected : and momentous discovery thrilled the astronomical world, but there were ! other surprises yet to come. Early ' in January, 1904, Prof. Charles Dillon s Perrine of the same obseryatOry-als
 a comet finder and expert in the studI 3 | of eclipses-announced sixth satel
 lite, the existence of which he haC
 suspected in December of the previous y year; and the observation was con e frmed by experts at the United State' naval observatory. In January, 1905 F Prof. Perrine followed up his success !, Uy discovering a seventh satellite, ant
 now what may turn out to be tn