Thus was
completed the most colossal instrument for the exploration of the
heavens which the art of man has ever constructed.
[PLATE: ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AT PARSONSTOWN.]
It was once my privilege to be one of those to whom the illustrious
builder of the great telescope entrusted its use. For two seasons in
1865 and 1866 I had the honour of being Lord Rosse's astronomer.
During that time I passed many a fine night in the observer's
gallery, examining different objects in the heavens with the aid of
this remarkable instrument. At the time I was there, the objects
principally studied were the nebulae, those faint stains of light
which lie on the background of the sky. Lord Rosse's telescope was
specially suited for the scrutiny of these objects, inasmuch as their
delicacy required all the light-grasping power which could be
provided.
One of the greatest discoveries made by Lord Rosse, when his huge
instrument was first turned towards the heavens, consisted in the
detection of the spiral character of some of the nebulous forms.
When the extraordinary structure of these objects was first
announced, the discovery was received with some degree of
incredulity. Other astronomers looked at the same objects, and when
they failed to discern--and they frequently did fail to discern--the
spiral structure which Lord Rosse had indicated, they drew the
conclusion that this spiral structure did not exist.
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