The next question to be considered is in what direction we may expect
the greatest advance in astronomy will be made. Fortunate indeed would
be the astronomer who could answer this question correctly. When Ptolemy
made the first catalogue of the stars, he little expected that his
observations would have any value nearly two thousand years later. The
alchemists had no reason to doubt that their results 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 judgment 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.
Pages:
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31