Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1908-04-15
|1HE OPENING LECTURE
Prof. Frank N. Notestein Gives a
Discourse on the history
OF Astronomy.

fessor Frank n. Notestein, acting
President. Professor Notestein took
for his subject the history of astronomy
and delivered an intensely Interesting
discourse. II is to be regretted that
many of The students had not returned
to college in time to hear his opening
lecture
We reproduce below few of the in
teresting portions of Dr. Notestein $
lecture. "In its theories Astronomy
reaches back TO period long before
the Sun. in his golden mantle clad,
rent the curtain of darkness to wei
come into his genial embrace his
daughter Earth and with its prophetic
finger points forward TO the time
when the heavens shall be rolled
together as scroll " IL is above all
others "A science that culivates the
powers of Imagination and arouses
a feeling of awe and reverence. Yet
its theories are based upon the most
rigorous mathematical calculations
and demonstrations. AS study it
possesses at once the beauty and fas-
cination of poetry and the exsctness Of
mathematics. In considering this
subject we must bear in mind that its
progress is most closely connected
with that of our race II has always
been the foundation and lite of geog-
raphv and navigation and the very
soul of chronology. lt is a well known
fact that some of the leading advances
and discoveries ia abstract mathe-
MATES have been made in its service
also the methods of observation
and analysis once peculiar 10 its use
now furnish the firm basis upon
which rests the group of sciences
we call physics
THE introduction of the Copernican
System. took place abont the middle
of the 10th century. II is said that
Copernicus noticed how when we are
riding rapidly we forget our motion
and think the trees are gliding by us
in an opposite direction He spoiled
this thought to the movement of the
heavenly bodies and saw how beauti-
fully simple il rendered the celestial
phenomena He now saw ii was pos
sible for the sun to be the center of
the solar system and how the earth
revolved annually around the sun in
stead of the sun around the earth.
He also saw how, instead of the whole
starry universe revolving about the
earth in twenty-four hours. the earth
simply rotates on its own axis. Co
pernicus left his system very imperfect.
1t was the discoveries of Kepler. Gal
ileo and Newton that forever settled
this question. kepler adopted the
Copernican System and the prevailing
and romantic idea that the circle is the
most beautiful figure in nature, the
symbol of perfection, and hence the
only form worthy of God, and there
fore He must have used ii for the or
bits of the worlds He had created.
Being imbued with this idea he COM
menced a rigorous comparison of the
position of Mars as observed by Tycho
Brahe, with the places as stated in
the best constructed tables on the
circular theory For time they
appeared TO agree. but at length the
observations of Brahe would not tally
with the computed position by eight
minutes of arc Kepler exclaimed:
"Out of these eight minutes will
construct a new theory that will ex-
plain the movements of all planets. -
He abandoned the circle and adopted
the ellipse, but unfortunately placed
the sun at the center, and again fol-
lowed Mars on his course only to
meet with failure At last he deter
mined to placee the sun at one of the
foci and once more hunt down the
theory For whole year he joyfully
traced the planet along its orbit and
found that il conceded exactly with
its computed positions Thus after II
years diligent toll the truth was dis
covered and Kepler gave to the world
his first great law. viz: Planets re-
vovle in elliptical orbits with the sun
at one focus.
"Galileo the great Florentine Phil
osopher and contemporary of Kepler,
constructed the first telescope and on
the night of January sth, 1910 he
turned his telescope upon Jupiter and
saw his moons.
Here was presented to the view of
the great philosopher complete min
nature Copernican System. suspended
in the sky for all to behold and ex.
anime for themselves. Newton by the
discovery of the law of gravatioh In
the 18th century, laid the foundation
of physical astronomy. Astronomical
science has been making great strides
since tho beginning of the 18th cent
ury. The names of Lagrange and
Laplace SHINE forth from the galaxy
of great names of his period like
stars of the first magnitude. The
analytical methods introduced by
them for solving the most intricate
astronomical problems, marks a new
era in mathematical and physical
astronomy. In the present century
Young, Langley, and others by means