That planet has now nearly completed its circuit around the sun, and the last of its satellite eclipses to be observed will occur on Dec. 17 ensuing. During the period of 12 years about 450 of these eclipses have been observed and recorded. Perhaps as many others for which preparations were made at the observatory, passed unseen, because of interposing clouds. Except to an expert these figures give no hint of the magnitude of the work. All that need here be said is that in its completed form it will be one of the great achievements of the observatory.
The enumeration of these unfinished works and those completed, which has now been made, will have fulfilled its purpose if it shall have impressed upon the mind of the general reader the fact, with which it is presumable everybody is somewhat familiar, that a great oak has grown from the little acorn planted on Harvard College campus 50 years ago.
Transcriber’s Notes: - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - Blank pages have been removed. - Silently corrected typographical errors.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Harvard College Observatory During the Period , by Daniel W. Baker