178
9 Mount Wilson
in wavelength and even with the 60 in. this only worked for relatively bright
stars. The Plan itself did not involve radial velocities, because the Selected Areas
contained much too few stars that were bright enough to obtain absorptionline spectra and measure the shift of the spectral lines. So this part of Kapteyn’s
program involved bright stars all over the sky. Walter Adams in particular
focused on this kind of work. Frederick Seares was the one who was most
closely involved in photographing the Selected Areas and who was in charge
of the daily management of this work at the telescope. A deep friendship
developed between Kapteyn and Seares.
So the first trip from Kapteyn to California was only a moderate success.
Eventually he had to extend his stay because of the delay in the construction
of the 60 in. The first photographic plates for Kapteyn’s program were only
taken in December (probably on the 12th).
He was able to visit his son both on his way to California and on the way
back. He had settled in Denver, Colorado, after finishing his mining studies.
Kapteyn also visited the Newcombs in Washington, where he also met Robert
Simpson Woodward (1849–1924), the director of the Carnegie Institution,
who financed his position as a Research Associate. Kapteyn left New York just
before the New Year.
9.3 Kapteyn Cottage
Kapteyn did not like to travel without his wife. In Hertzsprung–Kapteyn’s
biography [1] she tells how he had great difficulty making contact with fellow
passengers on board the ship and that he felt uncomfortable in their company.
On later visits to America, Kapteyn did travel with his wife; she came along for
the first time in 1909 (see Fig. 9.6). He immediately felt much more at ease.
Mrs. Kapteyn’s correspondence with Mrs. Newcomb in Washington shows that
they had first visited Edward Pickering in Harvard. It was known that Simon
Newcomb was seriously ill and of course the Kapteyns were very concerned.
Mrs. Kapteyn apologized for not being able to come straight away, but promised
to visit Washington on the way back.
Just like Kapteyn’s trip to St. Louis, this one and the next trips to California
were no sinecure. The crossing directly from Rotterdam to New York took
about ten or eleven days. However, the Kapteyns often traveled via England and
then visited the Gills in London. Usually they did not go directly to California
upon arrival in the United States either, but visited astronomers in Harvard
and Yerkes or other places on the eastern parts of the USA before traveling to
the other side of the continent; they also visited their son in Colorado on the
9 Mount Wilson
in wavelength and even with the 60 in. this only worked for relatively bright
stars. The Plan itself did not involve radial velocities, because the Selected Areas
contained much too few stars that were bright enough to obtain absorptionline spectra and measure the shift of the spectral lines. So this part of Kapteyn’s
program involved bright stars all over the sky. Walter Adams in particular
focused on this kind of work. Frederick Seares was the one who was most
closely involved in photographing the Selected Areas and who was in charge
of the daily management of this work at the telescope. A deep friendship
developed between Kapteyn and Seares.
So the first trip from Kapteyn to California was only a moderate success.
Eventually he had to extend his stay because of the delay in the construction
of the 60 in. The first photographic plates for Kapteyn’s program were only
taken in December (probably on the 12th).
He was able to visit his son both on his way to California and on the way
back. He had settled in Denver, Colorado, after finishing his mining studies.
Kapteyn also visited the Newcombs in Washington, where he also met Robert
Simpson Woodward (1849–1924), the director of the Carnegie Institution,
who financed his position as a Research Associate. Kapteyn left New York just
before the New Year.
9.3 Kapteyn Cottage
Kapteyn did not like to travel without his wife. In Hertzsprung–Kapteyn’s
biography [1] she tells how he had great difficulty making contact with fellow
passengers on board the ship and that he felt uncomfortable in their company.
On later visits to America, Kapteyn did travel with his wife; she came along for
the first time in 1909 (see Fig. 9.6). He immediately felt much more at ease.
Mrs. Kapteyn’s correspondence with Mrs. Newcomb in Washington shows that
they had first visited Edward Pickering in Harvard. It was known that Simon
Newcomb was seriously ill and of course the Kapteyns were very concerned.
Mrs. Kapteyn apologized for not being able to come straight away, but promised
to visit Washington on the way back.
Just like Kapteyn’s trip to St. Louis, this one and the next trips to California
were no sinecure. The crossing directly from Rotterdam to New York took
about ten or eleven days. However, the Kapteyns often traveled via England and
then visited the Gills in London. Usually they did not go directly to California
upon arrival in the United States either, but visited astronomers in Harvard
and Yerkes or other places on the eastern parts of the USA before traveling to
the other side of the continent; they also visited their son in Colorado on the