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Show I II JESUIT STAR-GAZERS. Their Ue-w Teleescope One of the Finest in the World. TV'ashington, Aug. 17. South Africa will shortly have one of the finest telescopes tel-escopes in the world. This magnificent instrumert was ouilt here in 'Washington. 'Wash-ington. It i.- constructed much on the same ln.es as those at Georgetown uni-ersity uni-ersity observatory and the United States naval observatory. It is the same size optii aV.y. the object glass having an aperture of twelve inches. However, as the latitude. of Euluwayo. Ilhodrsia. for which place the instru-t.-ert 1o inur.ded, is 0 degrees south, instep, ,f nearly 40 degm-s north, as , ti e location her0. arrangement of j she i:istrum-nt i-s necessarily different.; 'I he focus is five feet shorter, and on tliis account the .mounting is -lighter. This telescope is very rigidly . built, ;i '.though .mere weight was not the object ob-ject nought. The t(k scope tube weighs about rjit ton. a lid slout ."i.C'CO pounds tire moved 1ihi. Ibe instrument Js tun.ed in right aeensii-n. It consists "j of a heavy iron pillar on top of which j i-'st? the hf,rt(s!;ek. (arrying the polar rnd declination "axes. The former points to the polo, anj it is made to rotate by mean's of clockwork at the exact rate the stars move, s-o that if a star be brought ir.to tin- field of the i telescope it can be kept in view fori hours, as the clock moves with the ut- j most regularity. Should any deviation j o. cur on account of difference in friction fric-tion in different positions, this is in- plainly corrected by jmi ingenious ar- Ir.vngemeiit called the con!'-ol. which is affected electrically and governed by' the standard clock of the observatory that moves easily with the stars. The two ;,X(s of the Inst'-jment the polar-.-nd the declination arc provided with ircles used to point the telescope to a j certain position in the sky, and the fine I graduations can be read from the cye- I r"d by means of mierr scopes. y(,r !s proximate and more rapid setting thes circles are also provided with coarse graduations w hi.-h can be seen with the j r.akcd eye. I George? X. Saecmuiler is the inventor I of this valuable imj rovement. lie I piflnned it in 1SSS. and a few years later j he placed it in the great Denver tel- 1 .-scope of twenty inches aperture, built I in Washington. 1 The lightness of this South African I t lescope is remai k-ible. w hile at the I same lime every part is strong and- j durable. The force necessary to "move f the instrument by means r the hand-! I wheel fc, about four pounds on a ra- I dius of seven inches. The motions i I are also communicated to the eye-end I :.nd it rakes only a fore of about two ounces to clamp and remove the tele- I socpe either in right ascension or de- J clinaiion. The fine hour circles can T; ,e read from the jloor and the decliila- l ;" tlcm circle from the ey-m: of the in- j,1.' rtrumer.t. This eye-end is so arranged 7 that the spectograph and pholographic apparatus can be readily attached. The illumination is by means of incandescent in-candescent lamps " and in addition there is a self-adjusting oil lamp. A very complicated measuring apparatus called the position micrometer' accompanies accom-panies this instrument. Rev. Father" Goetz, S. J.. the celebrated cele-brated Jesuit astronomer who went to South Africa some months ago to erect there an observatory, is preparing I a place for this great telescope. It I will go direct from New York on a South African transport. The observatory observa-tory is being built under the direct supervision of Father Goetz. Observations Observa-tions will begin at the earliest day possible, and the reports will be forwarded for-warded to Georgetown university and be given to the world from Washington. |