Evening star., 1928-12-30
ms of New Worlds Will Be in Range of Monster Telescope


thick -ooze and does not flow so readily
as glass. For these reasons 1t will be
very difficult to cast the 200-inch DISK
as a single mass. But since 1t Is not
necessary that the bulk of the mirror
be free from bubbles and impurities,
the base will be cast in rough. On top
a thin, even layer of the pureSt quartz
will be spread, then polished.
The entire instrument will be m
closed In steel building with double
walls to reduce the daily range OF
| temperature. The rotating portion may
be either a hemisphere or a cylinder
The buildings dimensions will be $50
feet in diameter and $50 feet high, with
the telescope mounted on a pier so feet
above the ground.
A fundamental question Is the OBJ
servatory site. Aside from human con-
venience. there are other factors that
/ deserve consideration, to wit: First is
| loss of light due to absorption and wave
scattering in the atmosphere: the sec
ond Is the fact that air absorbs light
of wave lengths shorter than flxed
amount; the blurring effect introduced
by wind currents and temperature
changes Weather conditions and local
topography are. therefore, Of impor-
tance in choosing the site. 1t seems
probable that zones within few miles
of sea level are most affected by these
factors. Hence ideal conditions for an
observatory would be region in which
atmospheric conditions are uniform,
wind velocity low and in such eli
mate as prevails along the French
Riviera, on the Mediterranean shore.
In recognition Of a sites Importance
the sponsors have sent out scouts and
explorers to investigate Southern Cali
fornia and Arizona. Using small tele-
scopes, observers will experiment at nu-
merouS stations.
Photography will play major role,
because of recent years 80 per cent of
as economical discoveries were made
through plates. Photographs will be a
boon to enthusiasts who can't afford
J trip to California, for we'll be able to
pick up our newspaper and see brother
Canopus as he looked 60,000.000 years
!. ago, when dinosaurs laid eggs on what
is now Rue Pennsylvania. Consider
this: II astronomers on Canopus' plan
cts have as much ingenuity as our
astronomers and their telescopes have
! sufficient magnification, they will be
. able to photograph these same dino
! saurs in the very act Of laying eggs!
! This theme is worthy a poem of epic
proportions.
Through telescopes man may look for
i new worlds to conquer. No field of re-
search has made such rapid progress
|
= Americans have been foremost in this
: endeavor. An American astronomer
> mapped the Milky Way; another Yam
o kee discovered the brink Of our Galax'
), and told of others so far away the
!, light years are as days in the life O.
!. this world.
!, Peeping through modern telescope
: an astronomer sees light that left /:
n star S, 10. so and even 100 millic
!. years ago. And all those years ths
: beam of light has been streakir
: through space at a rate of 1se, 900 mi
per second. Each series of observe
tions serves only to impress upon I
how conservative we have hitherto be-
in estimating time, distance and
locity.
THERE seems to exist great COZ
mon highway-calE 1t heayer
boulevard-along which star grour
clusters. globules and spiral nebulae
travelling. Stars parade down tt
broad avenue like SwarIns Of bee
Along the grand march Of celestic
hosts some stars go of on short d
forth, but the general direction
maintained.
And life-tl1ere are two planets :
cur tiny solar system that may hai
bor the tenacious spark. It has bee
shown that Mars and Venus are s
situated that living things may reason
ably subsist in their environs. Oxyge'
and water vapor have been found b
Mars atmosphere, although In, lesSe
proportion than Is found in our owT
Hence, Martian life, If it really exist
is adapted to atmospheric condition
like those on top of Mount Everest, tf
earth's loftiest eminence.
AS Mars atmosphere is so rare ar
dry, 1t Is unsuitable to retain heat
night. BY midnight, the temperatur
must drop to 40 degrees Cent. High
organized life would be excluded b
such conditions. but Arctic types nigh
conceivably live there. Seasona
changes in color seem to point to Mar
tian vegetation.
On Venus. there seems to be no lacF
Of appropriate temperature, or Of its
uniformity. 1t receives about IA as
much heat as our earth. Hence, tropi-
cal temperatures might be found on
Venus south and north poles. The
the form of heavy clouds. making it
difficult for US to view the planets
real surface.
Astronomers do not believe Venus
rotates rapidly, like the earth or Mars.
It may even present the same face to
the sun at all times, because It's ro-
tation and revolution periods are iden-
tical. If this Is so, the planet has a
hot face and cold face. On Venus,
4 there may be such thing as eternal
4 light and eternal darkness.
: There is mighty moral behind this
sermon on astronomy. DR.. Charles G
. Abbot, secretary of Smithsonian Insti-
I. tuition. points it out:
"The aspect of possible life on Mars
and Venus should yield place to ap-
probation of the value of astronomy
Is to broaden mental outlook, vanquish
|, fear and allay superstition. While yet
: vast masses of stars were unknown,
f their nature unrecognized, other gall
d axies undreamed Of, men regarded the
3 earth as the central object and them
S selves beins for whom all things were
d created.
d Nov, the universe holds such
4 grandeur that the earth sinks to the
n dimensions Of a speck, and we cannot
i but accept an attitude of wholesome
humility. At the same time, the con-
S sciousnesS of having achieved already
= so great command of nature. and so
y considerable knowledge Of her mysteries,
e tempers humility with elation."