A CLEVER WOMAN ASTRONOMER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5861, 1 May 1897, Page 3

A CLEVER WOMAN ASTRONOMER.

Few women would find the science of astronomy interesting as a pursuit, but Miss Dorothea Klumpke, a clever American girl, has devoted herself to it, and is said to pursue her work with all the fervour of an enthusiast. She studied partly in America and partly in Paris, and ended by passing a stiff examination that defeated a large number of male students, and finally obtained a permanent post in the Paris Observatory, taking charge of the department which computes the measurements of the stars. The necessities of her work compel her to live in the Observatory itself, so she has a charming little suite of two rooms in the ivy-clad ground floor. Here she receives her friends, and indulges . in sewing and fancy work during the day, and she is said to be as clever with her needle as with her telescope. At night she mounts to her eyrie in the great dome to photograph her stare. This she does very successfully. The plates reveal only little specks on the glass, and for fear of mistaking a possible flaw in the glass for a negative of a star the exposure is prolonged. Thus each star, having moved during the exposures, shows a duplicated image. ' The glass is then divided into squares to assist 'in computation. Fora long time no hair or thread was found that was fine enough for use in this process. But finally some one made use of the spider web, and now there is quite a \ colony of spiders in the ivy which covers Miss Klumpke's rooms, a colony which she encourages with much care. In addition to computing the distances of the stars, this busy woman designs her own gowns, is interested in a dozen or two poor families and teaches a free class in astronomy. She seems to be a strange mixture of science and romance. Over her bed hangs a horseshoe tied with blue ribbon, while behind the bed, concealed by a drapery, is a blackboard with a piece of chalk. Here, when a problem which has refused to come straight during the day suddenly unwinds itself in the middle of the night, the recreant is caught and fixed. The young astronomer comes of a family determined to distinguish itself. She is the eldest of four sisters, each of whom is on the way to success in the line of work she has chosen. Anna Klumpke, her next youngest sister is a clever portrait painter. Another sister is a physician in Paris, and Julia, the youngest, though only eighteen years old, is one of the most promising pupils of Ysaye, the noted violinist of Brussels.