Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-09-17
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attached. permanently to perpendicular wall"
1t is used for measuring arcs of the meridian. He
took time to its construction. 1t was fitted out
with telescopes and very finely graduated. He
was rewarded. With 1t he was at last able to
observe the stars in the meridan-exactly in the
north or south when they were at their highest
above the horizon.
Flamsteed published his observations in detail
just before his death in 1719 And Flamsteeds
British Catalogue" has been called zone of the
proudest products of the Royal observatory at
Greenwich" AT that, this Catalogue" was not
by any means accurate Miss Herschel made an
exhaustive examination and found that Flamsteed
had catalogued Ill stars that he had never OBJ
served and had observed 500 that he had not
catalogued
Nevertheless, Flamsteed's work was of vast i'm
portance, due to the fact that it was the first
Of its kind made with telescope and clock. 1t may
fairly be said to be the beginning of modern
precision astronomy, inasmuch as it determined
the precise position of many of the stars.
Its immediate effect was to fix the meridian
of Greenwich. It's later effect was to make the
Greenwich meridian the standard meridian from
which all longitude is measured and all time
counted.
Edmund Halley-of Halley's comet fame-suc-
ceeded Flamsteed as astronomer royal Bradley
succeeded HALEY in 1912
There have been four astronomers royal be-
tween Bradley and the present incumbent Sir
Frank Dyson. And, Of course, the equipment has
been enlarged and modernized. There is a new
observatory, for one thing The old observatory
is still standing and is venerable relic. The
time ball. known to shippers of the Seven Seas,
drops at exactly one O'Clock p. m.
The United States accepts Greenwich time,
but it does not have to watch for the falling of
the Greenwich ball to know when il is one D. M
The United States Naval observatory gives the
nation it's time. It's standard clock is kept in an
underground vault at a constant temperature and
air pressure. Noon is announced to the nation by
telegraph lines. This clock is corrected con-
stantly by series of observations of the sun and
certain fixed stars.
When Greenwich accepted by the world as
the standard meridian from which longitude is
reckoned, 1t was necessary to fix on a place
"where days begins"-where dates are changed
by navigators. This international date line' is
the 1SOth degree of longitude in mid-Paciic
Here is example of the way it works:
When it is u o'clock Monday at New York
(and in other places having eastern time) it is
IL 100 a. m. in Chicago; 10 100 a. M in Denver;
100 a. m. in San Francisco 1853 a. m. in
Sitka Alaska; 6:29 a. M in Honolulu-all Mon
day. But it Is Tuesday in the following places:
:03 a. m in Manila; :35 a. M in Apia Samoa;
2: 80 a. m. in Melbourne; 2:1S in Tokyo; II As
a. m. in Picking. When it is II noon Monday in
New York it Is 5 100 p. m. Monday in London
(Greenwich).
In the United States Naval observatory at
Washington is what the astronomers who use it
call the zenith tube" 1t is said to be the only
instrument of it's kind and the best in existence
for it's purpose. Anyway, it was devised by DR..
Frank E. Ross. Prof f. B. LtteT is shown using
the instrument to determine the variation of
latitude at Washington. 1t has been determined
that the axis Of the earth's rotation changes its
position continually. The result is that the North
pole moves around in circle, completing the cir
cult in about fourteen months This circle is
never greater than sixty feet in diameter. So
Pearys North pole AMERICAN flag is not far out
of the way.