58 MOXJNTAIN OBSERVATORIES IN AMERICA AND EUROPE

were found

in tlie

spectrum

of

y ^Argus when

its altitude

was

less than 6°.*

The

probable-error of a single observation of the velocity in the line ofsight ofa star like Arcturus, forexample, is certainlynot

above

0.35 mile persecond.

The

probable-error of the determination of the wave-length ofthe chiefnebularline is 0.03 tenth-metre,f

Motion of^{Nehulce in the line} of ^sight:

The

determination of the

motion

of nebulae in thelineof sight

was

first

made

at

Mount Hamil-

tion

by

Dr. Keeler.:}:

The

preceding

summary

of results actually attained is the best pos- sible testimonyto thesuitability of theastronomical conditions

which

prevailatMt. Hamilton.

Almost

all departments of practical astron-

omy

are represented

by

longseries of observations,

and

in nearlyevery

department

the actual

achievement

is satisfying.

During

the year

1888

I requested Professor

Barnard

to

keep

a record ofthe steadiness (only) of thevision atMt.

Hamilton on

a scale of 1

= images

extremely unsteady, 3

=

average steadiness,5

= images

perfectly steady,

and

this recordwillsubsequently

be

published

by

him.

Dr. Langley's Expedition to Mount Whitney

(14.900 feet).

The

expedition of Dr.

Langley

to the

summit

of

Mount Whitney

in the

summer

of 1881, presents

an

excellent

example

of the advan- tages

which mountain

-stations

sometimes

^afford forthe prosecution of special researches in

astronomy

orastronomical _{physics. §}

The

particular objectof Dr. Langley's expedition

was

to determine the solarcoiistant, that is to evaluate thequantity of radiant heat re-

ceived

from

the

sun by

the outer layer of the earth's

atmosphere

in a unit of time (as the quantity falling

on

each square centimetre per minute).

This determination involves

an

investigation of the selective absorp- tionof theearth's

atmosphere

at

two

stations near to each other

but

differing greatly in altitude.

And

^{it is} further indispensable thatthe

sky

should

be

clear

and dry

at

both

stations.

Mount Whitney

in

Southern

California fulfilled all the required conditions admirably.

Its

summit

^is 14,900 feet in altitude, so that

about

one-third of the earth's

atmosphere

^{lies beneath} its level.

The mountain

is

very

abrupt, so that the lower station, at

Lone Pine

(about

3700

feet),

*Astronomy andAstrophysicsforJune,1894.

fPublicationsoftheLickObservatory,^vol. in.

XIbid.

§ Dr. Janssen's observatioastodetecttliepresence of oxygen inthe sun,

made

at

Chamounix

and onMont-Blanc,areacaseinpoint.

FIGURE

/^.--MOUNTAIN CAMP, MP. VVHrPNPIY CALIFORNIA,

(12,000 feet).

MOUNTAIN OBSERVATORIES IN AMERICA AND EUROPE.

59

was

close to the

upper

one,

and

in full

view from

it.

Much

of the

work was done

at a third station, "

Mountain-camp

^" (12,000 ^feet).

No

point east of the Sierras possesses equal advantages for the particular (solar)

work

referred to.

The

high peaks in the

Rockj

Mountains, while admirable as meteorological stations,

and

compara- tively very accessible (Gray's Peak, Pike's Peak, Mt. Lincoln,

and many

others), are

much

affected

by

mist

and

cloud.

Many

stations in the Sierras

and

in otherranges inCalifornia

and

neighboringStates are entirely suitable, but as

Mount Whitney was

the highest

and most

southerly of thegreat peaks it

was

chosen.

On

^the

recommendation

of Dr. Langley, seconded

by

a

Committee

of the National

Academy

^{of Sciences, the} Congress of the

United

States has reserved

from

sale a considerablearea,includino;the

summit and

surroundingsof Mt.

Whitney,

so that this station will be forever available for the study of physical problems.

A

railway passes near the footofthe mountain,

and

acomparatively small expenditure

would open

practicable trails for

baggage

animals to the

Mountain-Camp above

mentioned.

During summer

there is comparatively little

snow even

atthe highest partof the

mountain

mass.

Mt.

Whitney

has, thus,

many

advantages as a high-level station for meteorological

and

special astrophysical researches. Itshould be

borne

in

mind

that its

summit

is

but 880

feet lower than Mt.

Blanc

^;

and

especially that it is very easy of ascent as far as 12,000 feet.

The summit

itself,

some 8000

feethigher, can

be

reached in

about

three hours

from

the

mountain-camp.

From

Dr.

Langley

's notes I extract a

few

sentences bearing

on

the astronomical conditions

on Mt Whitney

:

August 16. The sky to-day, as always,isof themost deep violet-blue, such as

we

never, underany circumstances,seeatthesea-level. Itisabsolutelycloud- less,andthereisonlyaslightorangetintaboutthe horizonat sunset. Carrying ascreeninthehand betweentheeyeandthe sun, tilltheeyeisshadedfrom the directrays,itcanf

oUow

thisblueuptotheedgeofthesolar discwithoutfinding anylossofthisdeepvioletoranymilkiness of theskyas

we

approach the limb.

Itisanincomparablybeautifulskyforthe observer's purposes,suchasIhave not seen equalledintheRockyMountains, inEgypt,oronMt. Etna.

It is perfectly safe to

add

to Dr. Langley's enthusiastic testimony that there areliterally

hundreds

of stations in California

and

the neigh- boring States of equal altitude with his

mountain-camp

(12,000 ^feet)

where

equally satisfactory observing conditions prevail, so far as transparency is concerned.

Dr. Langley's

remarks above

relate principally to the clearness of the sky. Its steadiness^ as

judged by

the absence of twinkling of the

no

MOUNTAIN OBSERVATORIES

^IN

AMERICA AND EUROPE.

stars, etc., wiis nottlioroughly tested.

Such

testsascould

be made

are, however,

spoken

ofas satisfactorj'.

Further tests of the clearness, the transpareucj, of the air

proved

to Dr. Langley's that the

atmosphere above

12,000 feet still contained a considerable

amount

of dust. This dust-shell existsallover the world,

illEurope,Asia,

and America, and

itextends considerably

above

12,000

feet,

though by

far the greater portion ofit iswithin

2000

or

3000

feet of the earth.

The smoke from

forest-rires in the

neighborhood

also did its part.

Inspite of these

drawbacks

the

sky

atthe

summit and

at themountain-

camp always showed

itself

very much more

transparent than at the various stations in the

Rocky Mountains

^or in

Europe which

Dr.

Langley had

previously occupied.

Even

the station at

Lone Pine had

a

sky much

purer than that seen at the

Allegheny

Observatory, except

on

rare occasions.

During

^the dry season in California the weather islikely to

be

^fair for

months

ata time

(May

to October).

After

an

experience of

some two months on

the mountain, Dr.

Langley sums up

as follows:

IhopeIhave

made

^plain

my own

behef that

Mount

Whitney^is an excellent station for thepurposeforwhichitwaschosen. Thegreatdrawbackinourcase wastheinabilitytoremain permanently at the very summit,for to do this re- quires a permanent shelter. But a railroad will shortly run through Inyo VaUey,* and from^this, bythe aid ofaneasily constructed mule-path, theascent oftheveryhighestpeakcanbe

made

inadaj^while thetelegraphwiUputitin directcommunicationwithWashington. ^{Ido not}think theItalianGovernment

initsobservatoryonEtna, theFrenchinthat of the

Puy

deDome,oranyother nation, atany other occupied station,has a finersite for such a purpose than theUnitedStates possessin Whitney and its neighboring peaks, and ^it is most earnestly tobehopedthatsomethingmore thanamere ordinary meteorological stationwillbe finally erected here,and that the almost unequalled advantages ofthissitewillbe developedbytheGovernment.

Stations

in

Colorado Occupied by the Harvard College Observatory.

In

1887

the

Harvard

College Observatory

became

possessed of the

Boyden Fund,

left

by

Mr.

Boyden

to aid in the establishmentof an observatory ^'at

such

an elevation asto be free, as far as practicable,

from impediments

^{. . .}

due

toatmospheric influences." In

1887

the

Harvard

College Observatory ^sent

an

expeditionto

occupy

^various stationsin Colorado.

A

¹²-inch equatorial

was

set

up

atthree stations

—namely,

^{Colorado Springs (6035 feet).}

Seven Lakes

(10,964^feet),

*It^is

now

inoperation.

—

^{E. S. H.}

MOUNTAIN OBSERVATORIES

IN

AMERICA AND EUROPE.

61

and on

the

summit

of Pike's

Peak

(14,1-17 feet). Stations at Mt. Liu- coin (14,200^feet)

and

vicinity

were

also examined.

Professor

William

Pickering reports that ^"with regard to ^tlie steadiness of seeing

no

appreciable

advantage

over

Cambridge was shown

at

any

ofthe ^stations.

The

skies

were undoubtedly somewhat

clearer."

The Meteorological Observatory on

Pike's

Peak

(14,134^feet).

The Annals

of the

Harvard

College Observatory, vol. xxii, 1889, contain

very

complete series of meteorological observations

during

fourteen

and

a half years (1874-1888), compiled

by

Professor

H.

A.

Hazen.

As

this

was

for

many

years the highest meteorologicalstation in the

world

(Leh,

Ladakh,

being 11,503 feet, the

Sonnblick 9843

feet), it will

be

of interest to give a short

summary

of the different tables.

In the ^first place it is well to

remark

that the station

was

con- tinuously occupied, without accident, for fifteen years,

from

Octobei", 1873, till September, 1888.

A

^{telegraph line}

from

the

summit

to the

town

of Colorado Springs,

some

ten miles distant

and 8000

feet lower,

was

maintained for a considerable portion of this time. It

may be added

in this j^lace that a railway

was completed

to the

sum-

mit in June, 1891,

and

that it is regularly operated for the benefit of touristsduringthe

summer. The running

time

from Manitou

(6563 feet) to the

summit

^station(14,115 ^{feet) is}

an hour and

a lialf,

and

the fareis $5.

The

distance

from Manitou by

^{rail is}

8

miles.

The maxi-

mum

^{speed is} 8 miles, the

minimum

3 miles perhour.

Here we have

a station

which

can

be

constantly occupied, is very accessible,

and

only

1646

feet lower than

Mont

Blanc. Mountain-sickness does not affectobservers

permanently

^{stationed thei'e.}

The mean

temperature of Pike's

Peak

is about 19° F.

The

highest observed temperature

was

^64°

and

the lowest

—

^39°.

The

daily range of temperature is never large, tlie

maximum

being about ^14°.

The

average velocity of the

wind

is high,but

by no means

excessive;

theaverage hourly velocity being

about 27

miles for January, 12 for July.

Severe and prolonged wind-storms are unusual,andthedays

when

the

mean

hourlyvelocity equals or exceeds 50 miles are comparatively infrequent. The most remarkable wind-storms on record were those of September28-89,1878,

when

the

mean

velocity for24hourswas 71 miles,andDecember25, 1883,

when

the

mean

velocitywas70 milesperhour. The highestextremevelocityrecorded was112miles.

The

mean

annual cloudiness on Pike'sPeakis 40 per centum, ranging from 33percentumin

November

to74percentuminJuly.