THE ASTRONOMICAL OUTLOOK 



AS RELATED TO THE PERFECTION OF OUR 



INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS 



OF OBSERVATION 



PROFESSOR C. A. YOUNG 



[Professor Charles Augustus Young has been professor 

 of astronomy at Princeton University since 1877. His 

 discoveries have been chiefly in the field of solar physics: 

 he is the author of "The Sun" in the International Scientific 

 Series. Among his other works are three books which form 

 a capital series for the progressive study of astronomy: 

 "Elements of Astronomy," "Manual of Astronomy," and 

 "General Astronomy." The essay which follows appeared 

 in Harper's Magazine, February, 1899. Copyright, Harper 

 & Brothers, New York.j] 



PREDICTION is always hazardous, especially so 

 in scientific matters. The unexpected is happen- 

 ing continually, as, for instance, in the discovery 

 of the Rontgen rays, which has so transformed 

 our views of the range of radiant energy. And 

 yet the growth of science is, on the whole, an 

 orderly evolution. The germs of the future are 

 now present in various stages of development, 

 and many of them so far advanced that we can 

 already form some idea of what the product is to 

 be. 



Or, to put it differently, we are situated some- 

 what like persons standing on a little eminence 

 53 



