TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 



23 



ings? To the average person the hea- 

 vens are irregularly sprinkled with 

 tiny, bright sjiecks called stars. To 

 most people a planet is only a "star," 

 and the moon only a light to light cer- 

 tain nights in the month, or in erro- 

 neous popular opinion to regulate the 

 weather. 



To give, especially to another gene- 

 ration, a clearer idea of the wonders of 

 the heavens is the reason for the estab- 

 lishing of this observatory. Yet it is 

 not intended primarily for children. 

 Few, if any, children are sufficiently de- 

 veloped mentally to grasp the signi- 

 ficance of any celestial view. A special 

 invitation is therefore extended to the 

 business man, in the midst of the life's 

 activities, to stop occasionally and ask 

 where he is travelling in the infinity of 

 space and what his next door neighbors 

 are, where they are, what they are do- 

 ing and what they signify to him. 



And you, gray-haired man or wom- 

 an, devoutly singing, "The heavens de- 

 clare the glory of God ; and the firma- 

 ment showeth his handiwork," stop 

 and seriously ask yourself. Do these 

 words mean anything to me? How do 

 the heavens show the handiwork of 

 God, what is He doing with that 

 work, with what material has He fash- 

 ioned the glory, and what is He intend- 

 ing to do in the future. "Day unto day 

 uttereth speech." What is the utter- 

 ance? What is the message? What 

 does it mean to you? How do the days 

 speak, and why? "Night unto night 

 showeth knowledge." What know- 

 ledge? What value has such know- 

 ledge, and in what way can it influence 

 the human race? Do you believe that 

 the heavens are trying to speak to you? 

 Why do you not listen? Do not ac- 

 cept general statements. Do not chant, 

 "O all ye Works of the Lord, bless ye 

 the Lord ; praise Him and magnify 

 Him forever," and in the next breath 

 say, "I think we shall have a change of 

 weather, as the moon will change to- 

 morrow." 



You read with some interest the dis- 

 cussions about the canals on Mars. You 

 hear about enormous spots on the sun. 

 Do you know what a sunspot looks 

 like? Have you the slightest concep- 

 tion of the appearance of Mars, or in 

 what part of the heavens it is at the 

 present time? Do you know where 

 Jupiter or Venus or Mars or the moon 



is at the present time, and which way 

 in the heavens is it travelling? Can 

 you name the brilliant constellations 

 now in the southern skies, and can you 

 anticipate what will be in that position 

 three months from now? 



I ask not to puzzle you, but to say 

 that the Sound Beach astronomical ob- 

 servatory is ready to make such things 

 clear to you. The observatory does 

 not hope to compete with modern sen- 

 sational amusements, yet in itself it is 

 the most sensational thing in the world. 

 It is a joy to gaze on the dim nebulae 

 when one knows what they mean. The 

 observatory will teach you what they 

 mean. There is nothing of greater vi- 

 tal interest than the sun, gazed upon 

 its surface as revealed by the telescope. 



Every person in Greenwich enjoys 

 health because the moon lifts the tides 

 that wash out the harbors. Without 

 the tidal influence of the moon the 

 water of Long Island Sound would be- 

 come stagnant, putrid, evil. That it is 

 not so, we may thank the moon. It is 

 worth while to make the acquaintance 

 of this friend of humanity, it is worth 

 while to know something of its history 

 and to study its friendly face. If there 

 were a volcano in Greenwich, throwing 

 its lava westward as far as New York 

 City and in a radius of thirty or forty 

 miles in every direction, I am thinking 

 that you would look at it. That is what 

 has taken place on the moon. The 

 Sound Beach observatory will show 

 you those gigantic rings of cold and 

 hardened lava. 



To help the observatory the public 

 has responded generously, although 

 there have been so many calls in other 

 directions for other purposes. The ob- 

 servatory is completed. It is ready for 

 use. Every resident of Greenwich and 

 of Stamford, or of any other place, is 

 invited to share in the gifts of our in- 

 telligent friends who believe that intel- 

 lectual pursuit and enjoyment in the 

 "grandest of sciences" are really worth 

 while. 



Truly to him who has sensed the in- 

 finite charm of the celestial host be- 

 longs untold riches — treasures not to 

 be envied because others fail to appre- 

 ciate the subtle significance which 

 lends them a rare tone. — Henry Handy 

 McHenry in "Popular Astronomy." 



