TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 



What is Done at This Observatory. 



Duluth, Mich. 

 To the Editor: 



Replying to your note of the 6th in- 

 stant I take pleasure in saying that my 

 nine-inch refractor is performing well 

 and it appears to be a first class instru- 

 ment both as to its optical parts and the 

 mounting. My 19-foot revolving dome 

 and the shutter are also operating well. 

 In designing the dome I simplilied the 

 construction and reduced the weight 

 of some of the members where I found 

 it could be safely done, as compared 

 with the design of several other steel 

 domes that I examined, and made sev- 

 eral improvements in details. It is al- 

 so I believe as nearly weather-proof 

 as is practically possible to build it- It 

 has already passed through some storms 

 of wind and rain and snow which gave 

 it a crucial test. 



Already I am realizing the pleasure 

 and luxury of viewing the fine celestial 

 objects with which the sky abounds, 

 and the telescopic observations prove 

 also a useful supplement to the printed 

 information in standard treatises on 

 astronomy, in my study of this great 

 subject. Will add that I am not a pro- 

 fessional astronomer but an engineer, 

 and had given forty years of service to 

 the Government in the work of surveys 

 and harbor improvements up to the 

 time of my voluntary retirement four 

 years ago. Always fond of astronomy, 

 I followed up the study as far as op- 

 portunity permitted although my exact- 

 ing profession gave but little leisure for 

 this. With a small telescope I did some 

 observing in our back yard and to this 

 primitive observatory with a tripod for 

 the pier and the clear sky for my dome 

 I occasionally invited neighbors to join 

 with me in looking at planets, the moon 

 and an occasional comet. Of course I 

 tried to tell my visitors some of the 

 most interesting facts regarding these 

 objects, and these modest efforts seem- 

 ed to be appreciated. 



Mv new observatorv is in fact but 

 an enlargement of the simple plan just 

 mentioned. I am giving to the public 

 one week of consecutive evenings dur- 

 ing e^rh month, the time selected be- 

 ing when the moon is at its best phases 

 for observation, which I find to be the 

 most attractive object for the general 



visitor. Planets, double stars and star 

 clusters are also viewed as far as time 

 permits during the two hours of the 

 early evening given to the public. 

 From fifteen to twenty persons are ac- 

 commodated at one time, and dates are 

 arranged by phone in advance. Usual- 

 ly the first part of the evening is given 

 to an illustrated talk, explanatory of 

 the objects which are to be viewed and 

 including something of the broader 

 general features of our solar and stellar 

 systems- Further explanations are of 

 course given in the telescope room. No 

 charge is made for admission nor col- 

 lection taken. 



More than five hundred have visited 

 bv observatorv since its opening last 

 Mav. For many of these it was their 

 first look through a telescope. The vis- 

 itors have generally seemed very ap- 

 preciative and pleased and quite a num- 

 ber evinced a keen interest in astrono- 

 my. Ouestions were asked and discus- 

 sions followed. All this is gratifying 

 to the owner and encourages the hope 

 that this observatorv wi 1 l provide an ef- 

 ficient means of promoting a popular 

 knowledge of this fascinating and in- 

 spiring science among our citizens. 



J. H. Darling. 



The Sun Dav and the Star Day. 



BY PROFESSOR MARY E. BYRD, LAWRENCE, 

 KANSAS. 



Those who are not confirmed star- 

 gazers are often puzzled by what seem 

 erratic changes in the heavens,. One 

 watches, perhaps, the twin stars. Castor 

 and Pollux, low in the east, near the 

 time of rising; but a few weeks later 

 they are seen much higher and further 

 south, though the time of observing is 

 the same as before. A young college 

 girl has long kept a place in my memory 

 because, early on a September evening. 

 she insistently demanded to be shown 

 Orion. 



Why is it that the same constella- 

 tion appears sometimes in one part of 

 the sky, then in another, and then can- 

 not be found at all? 



Every one understands in a general 

 way that the earth's rotation makes the 

 stars as well as the sun appear to re- 



