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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



That the scientific world is indebted to Mr. 

 Langley for the invention of important appa- 

 ratus and instruments of precis-ion, for numer- 

 ous additions to knowledge, more especially 

 for his epoch-making investigations in solar 

 physics, and for his efforts in placing the im- 

 portant subject of aerial navigation upon a 

 scientific basis. 



That all who sought the truth and cultivated 

 science, letters and the fine arts, have lost 

 through his death a co-worker and a sym- 

 pathizer. 



That the executive committee be requested 

 to arrange for a memorial meeting to be held 

 in Washington. 



That Dr. Andrew D. White be invited to pre- 

 pare a suitable memorial which shall form a 

 part of the records of this board. 



THE SOLAR OBSERVATORY OF 

 THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION 



Early in its history the Carnegie 

 Institution of Washington showed 

 marked interest in the encouragement 

 of astronomical research. In 1902 

 Secretary >S. P. Langley, of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, recommended the 

 establishment of a lofty solar observa- 

 tory, for the special purpose of measur- 

 ing the amount of the solar radiation. 

 In regard to the practical value of such 

 studies Mr. Langley's own words may 

 be quoted : " All the nebula? in the sky 



might be blotted out without affecting 

 the price of a laborer's dinner, or the 

 material comfort of a human being. 

 What shall we say of a similar con- 

 tingency to the sun ? While a slight 

 variation in the radiation of the sun 

 may conceivably cause the death of 

 millions of men by famine, it certainly 

 seems worth while to look at it from its 

 utilitarian as well as from its purely 

 scientific interest. It is the possible 

 immense utility of the solar observa- 

 tory that I dwell upon, and concerning 

 which I may borrow the weighty words 

 of Professor Newcomb in a similar 

 connection, and state that astronomical 

 research may bring to light not merely 

 interesting cosmical processes but ' cos- 

 mical processes pregnant with the des- 

 tiny of our race.' " And in another 

 place he says: "Though we may never 

 hope to affect the original source of 

 solar radiation by any human effort, 

 there is every hope that we may learn 

 to forecast its effects upon the earth 

 and provide for them.'' 



A special committee was appointed 

 to investigate the plan, and, as a result 

 of extended investigations, Mount Wil- 

 son, in California, was chosen for a 



The Court of the Monastery. 



