The study of the surfaces 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 small
that a long series of years was required and, in general, for want of
early observations of the precise positions of the faint stars, this
work was confined mainly to the bright stars. Photography is yearly
adding a vast amount of material available for this study, but the
minuteness of the quantities to be measured renders an accurate
determination of their laws very difficult.
Pages:
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32