90 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION 



hemisphere presented in Appendix A may not be realized in full for 

 many years to come, but we have thought that it may be possible 

 to make the preliminary studies for its location and scope now, and 

 we respectfully submit the question for the consideration of the 

 Carnegie Institution whether it may not be also soon possible to 

 make a modest beginning in the actual establishment of such an 

 observatory. We regard this question to be exceeded in importance 

 only by the urgent need of provision for current work to which we 

 have already alluded. 



Cooperation in Research. 



We think that the Carnegie Institution might do well to encour- 

 age a greater degree of cooperation among astronomers, and we 

 believe that its organization and scope would be well suited to this 

 purpose. There are large fields of astronomical work involving 

 masses of observations and computation which cannot be success- 

 fully dealt with by any single existing observatory. Numerous 

 examples of effective cooperation upon extensive plans of observa- 

 tion are to be found in recent astronomical work. The catalogues 

 of stars prepared by various observatories under the auspices of the 

 Astronomische Gesellschaft represent a case of this kind. In order 

 to produce the most valuable results and to escape the dead level of 

 mediocrity, organization must leave room for the exercise of indi- 

 vidual genius. 



Problems for Research. 



In the following suggestions regarding certain lines of research 

 which we believe could be wisely aided by the Carnegie Institution, 

 we have done little more than enumerate specific problems. For 

 details we would especially refer to the appended individual reports 

 of members of the Committee. 



The work of astronomy may be broadly classed under two heads: 

 ( I ) Investigations which involve the determination of the positions 

 of the heavenly bodies and of their motions of every kind, real and 

 apparent ; (2) investigations on the ph^-sical and chemical constitu- 

 tion of celestial objects. 



The Sidereal System. — Fundamental determinations of star posi- 

 tions lie at the foundation of the science. It is of the first impor- 

 tance to know the exact positions and motions of the brighter stars, 

 since all other observations for the positions of celestial bodies are 



