Contribution of Astronomy to General Cultur^e 363 



In celebrating to-day the opening of the beautiful observatory 

 which will hereafter develop in this institution the science which 

 has been my theme, it is fitting that we should briefly consider the 

 advantages to student and teacher of the study of astronomy, 

 both general and practical. The eminent classical authority. 

 Professor Mahaffy, once told me that at Trinity College, Dublin, 

 there were but two required subjects in the curriculum: logic and 

 astronomy; and he justified this choice. It is surely true that no 

 other subject of college instruction so instantly or so greatly 

 broadens the horizon of the pupil. It is likely to catch the imagi- 

 nation and interest as few other topics do, and particularly when 

 an observatory is at hand, where celestial objects and their 

 phenomena may be demonstrated to all the members of a class. 

 The vision of the planet Saturn or of a fine star cluster, in a good 

 telescope, is likely to produce an impression that time will hardly 

 efface. As a foundation for geology, geography and meteorology, 

 and as affording constant applications of principles previously 

 learned in mathematics, physics and chemistry, astronomy has a 

 particularly important place in the college curriculum. Mere 

 familiarity with the principal constellations, once acquired in 

 connection with a course in astronomy, will always prove a pleas- 

 ure to its possessor, perhaps increasingly so in later life. The under- 

 standing of the general facts of planetary motion, as of the changes 

 from evening to morning star, is also likely to be a permanent 

 source of satisfaction. 



The pursuit of courses of practical astronomy in an observator}^ 

 is essential to the education of an engineer, and very desirable 

 for those specializing in the physical sciences. The art of deter- 

 mining the time and the observer's position on earth from obser- 

 vations of the stars, gives the student who acquires it a certain 

 self-reliance that is of lasting value to him. The accuracy neces- 

 sary in all computations involved in the reduction of his obser- 

 vations gives an exceptionally good drill in applied mathematics. 

 The principle that no observation made by the human eye is 

 absolutel}^ precise, and that no instrument is ever in perfect 

 adjustment, and that these errors must be determined and allowed 

 for — this principle is of obvious use in the training of any student 

 for precision in any future work. 



Courses or studies in astrophysics, such as observing, measur- 

 ing and following the motions and changes of sun-spots, examining 



