University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1912-05-08

nothing less than new comets or
canals on the moon. And when we
can't produce discoveries of this
sort every few days or weeks, they
are disappointed in u.s.
1t was Prof. II. Fl. Baker. director
of the Laws Astronomical Observa-
tory at the University. who was talk
ing. The visitor had half expected
to see an old man with long white
beard, sweeping the sky with a tel
eScope. pausing only to eXclaim with
excitement over some astonishing
discovery he had just made. This
was weIl-tailored young man who
was explaining the work of the as
trOnOmica! observer by means of
small Photographic plates and some
pictures of the huge telescopes that
are used in the modern observatory.
THE work in an astronomical OBJ
servatOry is as systematized as the
work in factory" he said. Each
one has his own particular Observa-
tions to make and record, and there
is as little of the accidental about it
as there is about the product of a
factory.
The Photographic plate is one of
the most valuable pieces of the equip
ment of an observatory. BY photo
graphing the spcctra of stars, we can
detect twin stars which are so close
together that they are seen as one
through the telescope. These are
called Spectroscopic Binaries.
by photOgraphing their prism
refracted rays we are able to tell the
/ distance, their constitution, their
| size and the direction of their mo-
ton. whether toward or from the
earth. In the ease of the Eclipsing
Variables. which are known as
| winking stars. We have made dis
coveries of a size five times that of
| the sun, and density one-seventieth
| that of water. which means that such
Il body would float in water much
! more easily than cork. These discOv-
cries were made possible by observa-
| tions of brightness and motion of the
star recorded on a Photographic
plate.
How many of these important
discoveries have | made?" Well.
you see, in astronomy the personal
equation counts for very little. 1t
really doesn't matter in the least
which one of the inhabitants OF our
globe found out something new about
some other body out there in the
heavens. The fact itself is the I'M
portant thing"
learn from another source that the
director of Laws Observatory has ac-
quired for his very own. i'm the last
ten years. a number of important BIZ
nary STARS, by right of discovery, and
has published an accepted theory ac-
counting for their motion i'm their Or
bits and summarizing the work of
many intricate observations. He
has worked in the Amherst Observa-
tory has been assistant director of
the Allegheny Observatory. was in
charge of Ladd Observatory at
Brown University. and has taught
courses in astronomy at the Univer-
Sity of Michigan. He came to the
University of Missouri last Septem-
Der and will have charge of the OBJ
scrvations which are to be made
here in astrO-physics.
THE science of astrO-physics is a
comparatively new one he explained.
1T was not until within the last
fifty years that it came to be recOg-
nized as of high Importance. We are
going to study changes in the bright
ness of stars with some new i'm
proved apparatus which is now be-
ing made for the purpose. 1t will be
a continuation of the work done in
laws Observatory in the past
THE observer works, of course,
entirely at night. While this is very
ricasant on summer nights. it is |
sometimes decidedly the reverse The
atmosphere in the observatory must |
be at the same temperature as that |
outside on account of the delicacy |
of the Instruments. and the observer !
IS obliged to be wrapped up like an
Eskimo to be able to work in the
cold.
while the telescope is large OBJ
servatOry like the Allegheny are
run by clock-work. they still require !!
strength and accurate manipulation
to keep them focused on the star. !
which is moving all the time. The
stars rays must be kept on the pho
tnUranbic nIato oil tho timo Tbaca