36-inch telescope during 1888-90. His faithful and artistic drawings of Jupiter have no equal.
He was in charge of the very successful expedition sent by the Lick Observatory to Bartlett Springs, Cal., to observe the total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889.
Professor Keeler resigned from the Lick Observatory staff on June 1, 1891, to succeed Professor Langley as director of the Allegheny Observatory, and professor of astrophysics in the Western University of Pennsylvania. The Allegheny Observatory has perhaps the poorest location of any observatory in this country for spectroscopic work. But in spite of this disadvantage Keeler's investigations continued and promoted the splendid reputation established for the observatory by his predecessor. He comprehended the possibilities and limitations of his situation and his means, and adapted himself to them. His spectroscopic researches were largely confined to the orange, yellow and green regions of the spectrum, since these would be less strongly affected by the smoky sky for which that vicinity is famous.
The Allegheny spectroscope, designed and constructed soon after his acceptance of the position, contained several valuable improvements. The use of three simple prisms in its dispersive train was a departure which has been followed with great advantage in many later instruments. With this instrument he made an extensive investigation of the Orion Nebula and the stars immersed in it, establishing the fact that the nebula and the stars are closely related in physical condition.[1] His beautiful observations of Saturn's rings, proving that they are a cluster of meteorites—myriads of little moons—have never been surpassed in interest in the entire astronomical field. These observations are so well known to every one interested in astronomy that one sentence suffices. He proved spectrographically, using the Doppler-Fizeau principle, that every point in the ring system is moving with the velocity which a moon would have if situated at that distance from the planet. Professor Keeler's main piece of work at the Allegheny Observatory, on the spectra of the third (Secchi) type stars, remains unpublished, but the measures and reductions are left in an advanced stage.
The regents of the University of California appointed Professor Keeler to the position of Director of the Lick Observatory on March 8, 1898. The ties which bound him and his family to Allegheny were difficult to sever; but the greater opportunities offered by the instruments and the atmospheric conditions at Mt. Hamilton decided him in favor of accepting the appointment. He entered upon his new duties on June 1, 1898.
Without making any rearrangement of the work of the staff, but
- ↑ Simultaneous observations of the same object made at another observatory led to the same conclusion.
