The Day We Found the Universe (46 page)

60 simply good training for a life on Mount Hamilton: LOA, Curtis to Campbell, June 9, 1902; AIP interview of Douglas Aitken by David DeVorkin on July 23, 1977.

60 covered in thick yellow dust: Stebbins (1950), p. 2.

60 saw three miles of fire-front, burning fiercely: Campbell (1971), pp. 62–64.

60 “And, naturally, the lens inverted everything”: AIP, interview of Douglas Aitken by David DeVorkin on July 23, 1977.

60 “Queer how completely we seem to have taken root here”: LOA, Curtis to Richard Tucker, March 23, 1909.

60 Halley's Comet: LOA, Curtis Papers, Folder 1, Halley report.

61 amassed a photographic library of around one hundred nebulae and clusters: Curtis (1912).

61 boosted that number to more than two hundred: LOA, Curtis Papers, “Report of Work from July 1, 1912, to July 1, 1913.”

61 “Many of these nebulae show forms of unusual interest.” Ibid.

61 rich diversity in their appearance: Curtis (1912).

61 “Crossley still has its old reputation”: MWDF, Box 153, Curtis to Walter Adams, May 27, 1913.

61 “If you got a little bit sleepy at night”: AIP, interview of Mary Lea Shane by Charles Weiner on July 15, 1967.

61 observe from a boat: This popular tale, often heard at the Lick Observatory, was told to me by Lick astronomer Tony Misch.

61 “of smooth nebulous material and also of soft star-like condensations or nebulous stars”: Ritchey (1910b), p. 624.

62 “rotatory or otherwise…. As the spirals are undoubtedly in revolution”: Curtis (1915), pp. 11–12.

63 “the Greek letter F … for lack of a better term”: Curtis (1913), p. 43.

63 “shows dark lane down center” … “beautifully clear”: LOA, Curtis Papers, Folder 1, “Edgewise or Greatly Elongated Spirals.”

63 “due to the same general cause”: Curtis (1918b), p. 49.

63 Not one spiral had ever been spotted in the thick of the Milky Way: For his doctoral research at the Lick Observatory, Roscoe Sanford searched the length and breadth of the Milky Way for signs of a spiral, using long exposures in hope of bringing to light faint nebulae previously hidden within the Milky Way. He didn't find any. See Sanford (1916–18).

63 “[The] great band of occulting matter in the plane of our galaxy”: Curtis (1918b), p. 51.

64 “Were the Great Nebula in
Andromeda
situated five hundred times as far away”: Curtis (1918a), p. 12.

65 nova in NGC 6946: Ritchey (1917).

65 was sure that the outbursts were not simply variable stars: Curtis (1917c), p. 108.

65 “That both these novae should have appeared in the
same
spiral”: Ibid.

65 “must be regarded as having a very definite bearing”: Curtis (1917b), p. 182.

65 “Such is the progress of Astronomy”: HUA, Harlow Shapley to Henry Norris Russell, September 3, 1917, HUG 4773.10, Box 23C.

65 show off the plate: AIP, interview of C. Donald Shane by Helen Wright on July 11, 1967.

66 He said as much to the Associated Press: LOA, Newspaper Cuttings, Volume 9, 1905–1928, “Three New Stars Are Seen at Lick.”

66 20 million lightyears distant: Curtis was not far off the mark. NGC 4527, the location of the first nova he spotted, is currently estimated to be around 30 million lightyears from Earth.

67 On one plate alone he counted 304 additional spirals: Curtis (1918a), p. 13.

67 “The great numbers of small spirals found on nearly all my plates”: Ibid., pp. 12–14.

67 “Get up a collection of about 40 classy slides”: LOA, Curtis Papers, Folder 3, 1919–20, Curtis to Campbell, February 6, 1919.

68 “The history of scientific discovery affords many instances”: Curtis (1919), pp. 217–18.

68 Over the course of that March evening, Curtis laid out his arguments point by point: LOA, Curtis Papers, Folder 3, 1919–20, Lecture on “Modern Theories of the Spiral Nebulae.”

69 “As to my staying here permanently, I have no idea whatever of doing that”: LOA, Curtis Papers, Folder 2, Curtis to Campbell, December 8, 1918.

69 “The hypothesis of external galaxies is certainly a sublime and magnificent one”: Crommelin (1917), p. 376.

5. My Regards to the Squashes

70 “is not without a considerable atmosphere”: Herschel (1784a), p. 273.

71 “Considerable variations observed in the network of waterways”: Pannekoek (1989), p. 378.

71 news story of the year: “Mars” (1907), p. 1.

71 who had made their fortunes creating the American cotton industry: Strauss (2001), p. 3.

72 “After lying dormant for many years”: Lowell (1935), p. 5.

72
occasionem cognosce
, “seize your opportunity”: Hoyt (1996), p. 15.

72 he once listed his address as “cosmos”: Strauss (2001), p. 5.

72 eventually fired one charter member of his observing staff: Hoyt (1996), pp. 123–24.

72 “The Strife of the Telescopes”: Hoyt (1996), p. 112.

73 “as efficient as could be constructed”: Hall (1970b), p. 162.

73 “I … take him only because I promised to do so”: LWA, Lowell to W. A. Cogshall, July 7, 1901.

73 for many of America's greatest astronomers … red and blue ends of the spectrum: Smith (1994), pp. 45–48.

74 “When you shall have learnt all about the spectroscope”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, December 18, 1901.

74 “kept himself well insulated from public view”: Hall (1970b), p. 161.

75 always wore a suit and tie to work when not observing: AIP, interview of Henry Giclas by Robert Smith on August 12, 1987.

75 “Don't observe sun much. It hurts lenses”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, January 11, 1902.

75 “Permit nobody whatever in observatory office”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, January 24, 1902.

75 “Will you kindly see if shredded wheat biscuit are to be got at Haychaff”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, January 4, 1903.

75 “How fare the squashes?”; “My regards to the squashes”; “You may when the squashes ripen send me one by express”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, October 7, 12, and 21, 1901.

75 “Why haven't I received squashes?”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, December 27, 1901.

75 “Thank you for taking so much pains with the garden!”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, May 26, 1902.

75 “Your vegetables came all right and delighted me hugely”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, July 7, 1902.

75 eventually becoming a virtuoso … watery Mars: Hoyt (1996), pp. 129–45.

76 no sign at all: Not until the 1960s did astronomers confirm that water vapor in the Martian atmosphere was more than a thousand times less than the amount found in Earth's atmosphere, far lower than what Slipher could possibly have measured in the early 1900s with his equipment.

77 gas existed in the seemingly empty space between the stars: Smith (1994), p. 52.

77 “Dear Mr. Slipher, I would like to have you take with your red sensitive plates the spectrum of a
white
nebula”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, February 8, 1909.

77 “I do not see much hope of our getting the spectrum”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, February 26, 1909.

77 Campbell at the Lick Observatory had recently written yet another article critical of the Lowell Observatory: The article was Campbell (1908), 560–62. According to John C. Duncan, then a graduate student at Lick working on his thesis, two astronomers at Lick had “charted several stars not seen there by Lowell … from what I can gather Campbell is preparing a bunch of fireworks to shoot off in the various periodicals. In all probability there will be much entertainment for those who enjoy scientific argument.” (LWA, Duncan to Slipher, September 13, 1908.) Despite these occasional interobservatory tussles, Campbell and Slipher generally maintained a cordial correspondence, most often discussing equipment.

77 to see 173 stars in a given field of the sky, where Lick's 36-incher could see only 161: P. Lowell (1905), 391–92.

77 “I have come to the conclusion”: LWA, Slipher to Miller, October 18, 1908.

78 “This plate of mine”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, December 3, 1910.

78 “there is no more pressing need at present”: Smith (1994), p. 54.

79 “It is not really very good”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, September 26, 1912.

79 November 15 observation details: LWA, Spectrogram Record Book II, September 24, 1912, to July 28, 1913, pp. 34–37.

79 December 3 and 4 observation details: Ibid., pp. 61–62.

79 high-voltage induction coils: Hall (1970a), p. 85.

80 “encouraging results or (I should say) indications”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, December 19, 1912.

80 “I congratulate you on this fine bit of work”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, December 24, 1912.

80 “would doubtless impress all these observers”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, December 19, 1912.

81 On a scale from 1 to 10: LWA, Douglass to Lowell, January 14, 1895.

81 December 29–31 observation details: LWA, Spectrogram Record Book II, September 24, 1912, to July 28, 1913, pp. 69–70.

81 “I feel safe to say here that the velocity bids fair to come out unusually large”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, January 2, 1913.

81 spectrocomparator operation: Slipher (1917b), p. 405.

81 calculations to convert the measured shift: LWA, V. M. Slipher Working Papers, Box 4, Folder 4-9.

82 He also sent a print of the spectrum to Edward Fath: LWA, Slipher to Fath, January 18, 1913.

82 “the shift has no direct bearing”: Fath (1908), p. 75.

82 today, with far better equipment, astronomers measure Andromeda approaching us at 301 kilometers per second: See I. D. Karachentsev and O. G. Kashibadze (2006), 7.

82 “agree as closely as could be expected”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, February 3, 1913.

82 publish his brief account: Slipher (1913).

82 “It looks to me as though you have found a gold mine”: LWA, Miller to Slipher, June 9, 1913.

82 “beauty”: LWA, Wolf to Slipher, February 21, 1913.

82 “It is hard to attribute it to anything but Doppler shift”: LWA, Frost to Slipher, October 23, 1913.

82 “Your high velocity for [the] Andromeda Nebula is surprising in the extreme”: LWA, Campbell to Slipher, April 9, 1913.

83 “I had planned to get at this work years ago”: LWA, Wright to Slipher, August 19, 1914.

83 “It looks as if you had made a great discovery”: LWA, Lowell to Slipher, February 8, 1913.

83 “Spectrograms of spiral nebulae are becoming more laborious”: LWA, Slipher Papers, Hoyt-V. M. Box, Report F4, titled “Spectrographic Observations of Nebulae and Star Clusters.”

83 “heavy and the accumulation of results slow”: Slipher (1913), p. 57.

83 “telescopic object of great beauty”: LWA, Slipher Working Papers, Box 4, Folder 4-4.

83 “no less than three times that of the great Andromeda Nebula”: Ibid.

84 “When I got the velocity of the Andr. N. I went slow”: LWA, Slipher to Miller, May 16, 1913.

84 dust clouds illuminated by reflected starlight: LWA, Slipher to J. C. Duncan, December 29, 1912.

84 “undergoing a strange disintegration”: LWA, Slipher to E. Hertzsprung, May 8, 1914.

84 “more numerous in, rather than outside, the Galaxy”: LWA, Slipher to Miller, May 16, 1913.

84 “I leaned against it”: Hall (1970a), p. 85.

84 his exposures often ran twenty to forty hours: Slipher (1917b), p. 404.

84 “With such prolonged exposures the accumulation of plates”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, May 4, 1913.

84 “It is our problem now and I hope we can keep it”: LWA, Slipher to Lowell, May 16, 1913.

85 “My harty [
sic
] congratulations”: LWA, Hertzsprung to Slipher, March 14, 1914.

85 “It is a question in my mind”: LWA, Slipher to Hertzsprung, May 8, 1914.

85 Slipher inwardly feared … Let the work speak for itself: Strauss (2001), p. 244.

85 confident of what he was seeing: AIP, interview of Henry Giclas by Robert Smith on August 12, 1987.

85 “Spectrographic Observations of Nebulae”:
Popular Astronomy
23 (1915): 21– 24.

86 “about 25 times the average stellar velocity”: Ibid., p. 23.

86 his fellow astronomers rose to their feet and gave him a resounding ovation: Smith (1982), p. 19.

86 “Let me congratulate you upon the success of your hard work”: LWA, Campbell to Slipher, November 2, 1914.

87 “I am … glad to have your kind offer”: LWA, Slipher to Edwin Frost, October 22, 1914.