42 presidential address section a. 



Problems and Needs of Modern Astronomy. 

 The great problem of Astronomy to-day is to unravel the 

 structure of the starry heavens, to determine the distances of its 

 component parts and their mutual relationships and movements, 

 and the forces at work producing these movements; to trace the 

 life history of the individual stars, the compositions of their 

 atmospheres, and the changes which take place in them. 



Let us turn now, for a few moments, to the more human side 

 of Astronomy. 



So recently as 1832, Prof. Airy, afterwards Astronomer Royal 

 of England, made a Report to the British Association on the con- 

 dition of practical Astronomy in various countries. In this Report 

 he remarked that he was unable to say anything about American 

 Astronomy because, so far as he knew, no public observatory 

 existed in the United States. And yet, to-day, the foremost 

 country in the world, as regards the advancement of astronomical 

 knowledge, is undoubtedly the United States of America. The 

 reasons are not far to seek. In America a knowledge of Astronomy 

 is regarded as a necessary part of a liberal education. Many 

 colleges and the Universities are disseminating astronomical know- 

 ledge and making astronomy a popular study, which is further 

 encouraged by opportunities of a real study of the heavens at the 

 telescope and by lectures and meetings at numerous centres 

 throughout the country. 



There are many opportunities for post-graduate study at the 

 larger observatories, and some of the students develop a taste for 

 Astronomy which grows into an enthusiasm sufficient to decide 

 them to make it their life's work. 



Newcomb says: "In all ages Astronomy has been an index to 

 the civilisation of the people who cultivated it. It has been crude 

 or exact, enlightened or mixed with superstition, according to the 

 current mode of thought. When once men understand the relation 

 of the planet on which they dwell to the universe at large, super- 

 stition is doomed to speedy extinction. This alone is an object 

 worth more than money. . . . Prof. O. M. Mitchell, the founder 

 and the first Director of the Cincinnati Observatory, made the 

 masses of our intelligent people acquainted with the leading facts 

 of Astronomy by courses of lectures which, in lucidity and 

 eloquence, have never been excelled. The immediate object of the 

 lectures was to raise funds for establishing his observatory and 

 fitting it out with a fine telescope. 



"The popular interest thus excited in the science had an 

 important effect in leading the public to support astronomical 

 research. If public support, based on public interest, is what has 

 made the present fabric of American astronomy possible, then 

 should we honour the name of a man whose enthusiasm leavened 

 the masses of his countrymen with interest in our science." 



The American people have not depended on their Government 

 to provide them with the means of carrying out their studies in 

 Astronomy, they have found the means themselves. 



