76
5 Nearly Half a Million Stars
Fig. 5.5 The great comet of 1882, photographed by David Gill, on which he noted the
presence of many stars which could be used for making a southern star catalog. From
the website of the South African Astronomical Observatory [50]
He did not directly ask Kapteyn to take on this task, but in their correspondence he regularly returned to the project. Gill asked Kapteyn for advice
on how to measure the plates and to estimate with what accuracy that would
be possible; and he regularly complained about how little time he had for all
sorts of things. It was not until December 1885 that Kapteyn took the bait
and offered that he would measure the plates. He estimated it would take him
seven years. He asked the directors of the Leiden and Utrecht observatories,
Hendricus van de Sande Bakhuyzen and Oudemans, for advice, but although
they strongly advised him against it, Kapteyn decided to go along with David
Gill. Thus began the project that was to be called the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung or CPD.
Kapteyn managed to raise some funds, although his applications were also
regularly rejected, among others by the well-known Teylers Foundation. But
in the end he received support from both the government and organizations
5 Nearly Half a Million Stars
Fig. 5.5 The great comet of 1882, photographed by David Gill, on which he noted the
presence of many stars which could be used for making a southern star catalog. From
the website of the South African Astronomical Observatory [50]
He did not directly ask Kapteyn to take on this task, but in their correspondence he regularly returned to the project. Gill asked Kapteyn for advice
on how to measure the plates and to estimate with what accuracy that would
be possible; and he regularly complained about how little time he had for all
sorts of things. It was not until December 1885 that Kapteyn took the bait
and offered that he would measure the plates. He estimated it would take him
seven years. He asked the directors of the Leiden and Utrecht observatories,
Hendricus van de Sande Bakhuyzen and Oudemans, for advice, but although
they strongly advised him against it, Kapteyn decided to go along with David
Gill. Thus began the project that was to be called the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung or CPD.
Kapteyn managed to raise some funds, although his applications were also
regularly rejected, among others by the well-known Teylers Foundation. But
in the end he received support from both the government and organizations