4 . EDWARD EMERSON BARNARD— FROST [Memoirs [ vo"xxi'; 



careful delineator of what he saw, and many of his early sketches of Jupiter were published in 

 the first volumes issued by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 



In 1887 the Lick Observatory was nearing completion, and Prof. E. S. Holden had been 

 chosen director, functioning ad interim as the president of the University of California. He 

 corresponded with Barnard, and in that summer offered him a position on the staff then in 

 process of formation. Barnard accepted the opportunity to join this finely equipped institu- 

 tion, and in September he and his wife started on their interesting journey to California. They 

 found temporary lodgings in San Francisco, until they should be able to make their home on 

 Mount Hamilton. There were delays in the completion of the observatory, and the regents 

 of the university were unable to make provision for the astronomers until the trustees of the 

 Lick estate had formally turned over to them the completed observatory. Mr. Barnard, again 

 finding himself in need of the salary which was not forthcoming, obtained work in copying 

 legal papers in the office of a lawyer. Early in the next spring the Lick trustees invited him 

 to come to the mountain and make an inventory of the observatory's equipment. Finally, 

 on June 1, 1888, Director Holden was able to write, with evident relief after the trying delay: 

 "The observatory begins its active existence to-night." S. W. Burnham and J. M. Schaeberle 

 were senior astronomers, J. E. Keeler and E. E. Barnard, juniors; and work began enthusiasti- 

 cally. Mr. Barnard became very warmly attached to these members of the staff. This was 

 his first opportunity to be regularly associated with astronomers of considerable experience, 

 and it was of great importance to him. In turn, his associates highly appreciated Barnard's 

 ability as an observer and his tremendous capacity for work. 



The 12-inch telescope was assigned to Barnard, together with the comet-seeker, and his 

 technical knowledge of photography was very soon utilized by Director Holden. On September 

 2, Barnard discovered Comet 1889 I, and in October, Comet 1888 V. He also observed their 

 positions assiduously with the excellent equatorial and filar micrometer. He further observed 

 nebulae and planets, and in 1889 made a notable observation of the eclipse of Japetus by the 

 ring system of Saturn. He could see that the sunlight illuminated the satellite through the 

 crape ring, thus indicating that the ring was quite transparent, and supporting the view that 

 it was made up of small particles. During that year he discovered Comet 1889 II, as well as 

 1889 III, which has a computed period of 128 years. His most important work, however, was 

 the beginning he made during that summer in photographing the Milky Way with the Willard 

 lens, which became a famous instrument in his hands. This was a portrait lens of 31 inches 

 focal length, which had been used by some photographer and had received its name from the 

 dealer in such lenses in New York. This camera was strapped to the 6H-hich equatorial, 

 which served as a guiding telescope. Barnard's long exposures with this instrument brought 

 out the wonderful richness of the star clouds and other features of the Milky Way as they had 

 never before been revealed. They thrilled him and his associates with their significance and 

 beauty, and later the entire scientific world shared in this appreciation of them. 



Barnard was the first to observe the return of d' Arrest's comet in 1890, and, in the follow- 

 ing year, of comets Encke and Tempel-Swift, and he discovered Comets 1891 1 and 1891 IV. 

 In 1892 he made the first discovery of a comet by photography, finding on his plate taken on 

 October 12, Comet 1892 V, for which a period of 6.5 years was computed, but which has never 

 been observed at a subsequent return. 



As a junior member of the staff of the Lick Observatory, Mr. Barnard did not receive a 

 regular assignment at the 36-inch telescope, but his friend Burnham was always glad to check 

 any important observation for him or give him opportunity of examining the object with the 

 great refractor. Mr. Burnham resigned his position in June, 1892, and resumed work as clerk of 

 the Federal Court in Chicago. Mr. Barnard had naturally been eager for an opportunity to make 

 regular use of the great refractor, but he was unable to secure this privilege until the first of 

 July, 1892, when he received the coveted assignment for one night each week. On the eleventh 

 night of his use of it (September 9, 1892) he made his brilliant discovery of the fifth satellite of 

 Jupiter. We quote from his own account of his observations in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 

 11:749, 1892: 



