Arniiial Report of the Conncil. xli 



equipped by his preliminary training to enter the new field of 

 investigation, and employing, such sound methods, he was soon 

 rewarded by a rich harvest of results, and for a number of years 

 he was able to surprise the scientific world with important 

 discoveries. 



One of the most striking of these was liis discovery of the 

 simple bright line spectrum of nebuljc, which he observed with 

 feehngs of awe, for the first time, on the evening of August the 

 29th, 1864. At that time there was a growing belief that all 

 nebulae would ultimately be resolved into innumerable stats. 

 He was able, however, to distinguish at once between nebulae, 

 giving a bright line spectrum, and star clusters, giving a con- 

 tinuous spectrum crossed by dark lines. 



When the difficulties of one line of investigation liad been 

 overcome, Huggins was always ready to leave the smooth path 

 for fresh difficulties. Almost from the beginning of his stellar 

 work he had looked forward to so far perfecting his instruments 

 and methods as to be able to detect displacements of the 

 spectrum lines of the stars due to their motion towards or away 

 from the earth. Finally, in 1868, he was able to announce that 

 he had measured the velocity of Sirius. It is not surprising 

 that many astronomers, who at that time had not ado])ted 

 spectroscopic methods, did not regard his early work in this 

 direction seriously. 



Huggins was quick to appreciate the advantages offered by 

 photography. His first attempts to photograph spectra were 

 indeed made before the dry plate was invented, and as early as 

 1876 he was employing an Iceland spar and quartz spectroscope 

 attached to a reflecting telescope to extend his j)hotographs into 

 the ultra-violet region. 



By his marriage in 1875 he secured an enthusiastic assistant 

 in his scientific work. Lady Huggins collaborated with her 

 husband in much of his later work, and the " Atlas of Repre- 

 sentative Spectra," published in 1899, is a beautiful monument, 

 both in a scientific and artistic sense, of their joint labour. 



