ii2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



would have funds at their disposal to furnish him, if necessary, with 

 suitable measuring instruments, assistants for reducing the results, and 

 means for publication. They would thus obtain the services of the 

 most skilful living astronomers, each in his own special line of work, 

 and the latter would obtain in their own homes material for study, the 

 best that the world could supply. Undoubtedly, by such a combination 

 if properly organized, results could be obtained far better than is now 

 possible by the best individual work, and at a relatively small expense. 

 Many years of preparation will evidently be needed to carry out such a 

 plan, and to save time we have taken the first step and have sent a 

 skilful and experienced observer to South Africa to study its climate 

 and compare it with the experience he has gained during the last 

 twenty years from a similar study of the climate of South America and 

 the western portion of the United States. 



The next question to be considered is in what direction we may ex- 

 pect the greatest advance in astronomy will be made. Fortunate in- 

 deed would be the astronomer who could answer this question cor- 

 rectly. "When Ptolemy made the first catalogue of the stars, he little 

 expected that his observations would have any value nearly two thou- 

 sand years later. The alchemists had no reason to doubt that their re- 

 sults were as important as those of the chemists. The astrologers were 

 respected as much as the astronomers. Although there is a certain 

 amount of fashion in astronomy, yet perhaps the best test is the judg- 

 ment of those who have devoted their lives to that science. Thirty 

 years ago the field was narrow. It was the era of big telescopes. 

 Every astronomer wanted a larger telescope than his neighbors, with 

 which to measure double stars. If he could not get such an instrument, 

 he measured the positions of the stars with a transit circle. Then came 

 astrophysics, including photography, spectroscopy and photometry. 

 The study of the motion of the stars along the line of sight, by means 

 of photographs of their spectra, is now the favorite investigation at 

 nearly all the great observatories of the world. The study of the sur- 

 faces of the planets, while the favorite subject with the public, next to 

 the destruction of the earth by a comet, does not seem to appeal to 

 astronomers. Undoubtedly, the only way to advance our knowledge in 

 this direction is by the most powerful instruments, mounted in the best 

 possible locations. Great astronomers are very conservative, and any 

 sensational story in the newspapers is likely to have but little support 

 from them. Instead of aiding, it greatly injures real progress in 

 science. 



There is no doubt that, during the next half century, much time and 

 energy will be devoted to the study of the fixed stars. The study of 

 their motions as indicated by their change in position was pursued with 

 great care by the older astronomers. The apparent motions were so 



