TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 



59 



an amateur astronomer) increased in 

 brightness within three days until it was 

 the brightest star in the northern heav- 

 ens, Sirius alone excepted. The behavior 

 of every new star that has appeared has 

 been most remarkable and, generally 

 speaking, entirely inexplicable. 



"It is true that any single observer 

 might observe for a long time without 

 finding anything; in fact he might never 

 find anything new. Yet the work would 

 be its own reward, and there would al- 

 ways remain the hope of a striking dis- 

 covery to spur him on to continue in it." 



What Allegheny and Pittsburgh Have 

 Done for Popular Astronomy. 



I recently visited the astronomical 

 obser-vatory at Allegheny for the 

 second time within a few months. The 

 establishing of that observatory was 

 indeed an inspiration. It is strictly 

 astronomical, and strictly altruistic. It 

 shows what may be done by an intel- 

 lectual and generous community. 



It was only a few years ago that ^Ir. 

 John A. Brashear. an enthusiastic 

 lover of astronomy and maker of lenses, 

 decided to circulate a subscription 

 paper among his friends and acquain- 

 tances and the other citizens of Alle- 

 gheny and Pittsburgh. 



At that time there was a small obser- 

 vatory in Allegheny with a thirteen 

 inch telescope. This had been bought 

 in 1859 by popular subscriptions. That 

 this telescope had been appreciated for 

 a half century was evinced by the fact 

 that Mr. Brashear's plea for something 

 larger and better met with an immediate 

 and satisfactory response. The public 

 gave generously and the observatory 

 was erected at a cost of $300,000. A 

 new telescope with a thirty-inch objec- 

 tive was paid for by members of the 

 Thaw family. Friends of the late Di- 

 rector Keeler erected a thirty inch re- 

 flecting telescope as a memorial to him. 

 Mr. ]\Iellon paid for a spectrograph and 

 Mr. Porter for a solar spectrograph, 

 various other enterprising citizens sup- 

 plying other forms of apparatus, most 

 of them as memorials. But here enters 

 a surprising fact that shows the altru- 

 istic spirit in which it was all done. The 

 thirty inch telescope is not used for 

 popular observation. None of the citi- 

 zens have access to it. So far as local 

 people are concerned they receive no 

 more benefit directly from the greater 



part of the building and equipment 

 than if the observatory were located in 

 California. The gifts are entirely dis- 

 connected from local use. They are 

 employed for the benefit of humanity 

 in general. People of the vicinity are 

 invited four evenings a week to look 

 through the old thirteen inch public 

 telescope and to hear a lecture on as- 

 tronomy, illustrated by lantern slides. 

 Nearly all that this observatory, the 

 third largest in the United States, is 

 accomplishing with its $300,000 equip- 

 ment for the people of the cities of 

 Alleheny and Pittsburgh could be done 

 in the Sound Beach, Connecticut, ob- 

 servatory, with an equipment costing 

 not more than $1,000. The six inch 

 telescope that it is proposed to erect 

 here would show practically everything 

 that can be shown in larger observa- 

 tories. The projection of astronomical 

 slides in the Welcome Reception Room 

 cannot be excelled by any observatory 

 in the United States. 



The great Lick Observatory, on 

 Mount Hamilton, California, is not 

 available to the people of the locality 

 for astronomical purposes, but only to 

 give tourists an incentive for a pleasing 

 excursion from San Jose. There is no 

 hotel on Mount Hamilton and no vis- 

 itor is allowed to remain there over- 

 night. He may look at the big tele- 

 scope, but rarely through it. At Williams 

 Bay, Wisconsin, he may look at the larg- 

 est refracting telescope in the United 

 States but never through it. No large ob- 

 servatory is readily available to the gen- 

 eral public because on all fair evenings it 

 must be used for technical work. Time is 

 precious Such a telescope cannot be used 

 for even a single minute, unless its use 

 adds to our store of astronomical knowl- 

 edge. But what shall be done for the 

 public by this accumulation of astrono- 

 mical information? Just what is done in 

 other great establishments. In com- 

 merce the large factory or wdiolesale 

 house distributes through many similar 

 but smaller establishments. The United 

 States does not so much need more big 

 observatories as it needs numerous places 

 for distributing the accumulated product. 

 Such a distributing center it is purposed 

 to establish at Sound Beach. 



When one hears that many hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars have been spent to 

 establish a single observatory, and that 

 the expenses are enormous, it looks as if 



