SCIENTISTS TO MEET TO HONOUR THE LATE DR. GEO. E. HALE

Wanganui Chronicle, 26 June 1948, Page 6

SCIENTISTS TO MEET TO HONOUR THE LATE DR. GEO. E. HALE

(By

“Sky Pilot.”)

Next Monday evening the Astronomical Societies of the Pacific intend to meet to pay their tribute of respect and appreciation to Dr. GeoE. Hale, the initiator of Palomar Observatory .

Dr. Hale passed quietly away from this life in 1938 and was quietly laid to rest. Most of the world knew nothing of it or of the fact that one of the world’s greatest scientists was dead. But Hale was the kind of man whose memory and contribution to science will long inspire the generations yet to be. Palomar Observatory is in the state of being tested at the present time and before long will be in commission. Nothing spectacular is expected in the first few months, but scientists, as a result of its steady work, will receive a vast fund of knowledge so far as the universe is concerned, which will confirm and extend previous knowledge, or else quickly tell us the universe is too big for man to measure.

It will also contribute much to students of the atom. The knowledge of the composition of stars should be greatly furthered and we shall know whether Eddington or Einstein is right, or whether both are wrong. And possibly the knowledge of the nature of the birth of the solar system will be settled- We -seem to be very dependent upon the help which Palomar will give. BY TELESCOPE. It is a good many years ago since Hale, who retired from his directorships of Mt. Wilson, gave serious thought to the construction of a larger telescope to solve the questions Mt. Wilson kept raising. Imbued with the quest for light and still more light he felt this to be the only solution. And he threw whatever strength he had into planning and negotiating for the instrument. He grew visionary, he saw what was required and being able to inspire men to worthy heights, he was able to raise the necessary funds, to get men of wealth to stand behind the progress of science with their money. As a man of great scientific reputation, he was able to command the attention of the world’s best scientists, and leaders in every department necessary for the building of the telescope- From the beginning it was a big venture, and big minds worked upon it. Hale was a marvellous organiser and able to integrate talent for the great results. Until his death his mind was active on the venture and he died having made provision for everything. The Glass-the mountings-the site and a hundred other things were all thought over and decided by this genius. Today, ten years after his death, the job is done, and, naturally, fellow scientists are anxious to pay tribute where it is due. It is thought that some day the words “Hale Observatory” will appear above the great door of Palomar Observatory. Truly it is a monument to him. TEACHINGS OF HALE Hale will not soon be forgotten. He it was who taught us that the Sun is our nearest cosmic laboratory and that the more we know of the Sun the more we shall learn of the stars and of the universe. He it was who invented the spectro-helioscope and the spectro-heliograph, instruments used for gathering a knowledge of the composition of the Sun. Great as a teacher, writer, experimenter, and the one to introduce the science of astro-physics. Hale was no less commanding as an organiser, a man of business. He was a man of forceful and charming personality. His boundless enthusiasm for the stars he loved became contagious and he was able to bring to the aid of the science the support of many wealthy and influential men. He was a born investigator, a man of research and it is as such that he is remembered. That spirit led him to think of the 200-inch, (300-inch if he could have had it). He has especially left behind him a group of very able young men to carry on the work of depthing space that he loved so much. He trained them, he inspired them and he has challenged them and they will not fail him or humanity. Mr. Woodward says: “His work was done; more than most men he had achieved the things he fought for in life, and succeeded in leaving behind a group of vital projects, all in the hands of able young men. Gerkes, Mount Wilson, the National Research Council, the International Astronomical Union, Palomar—each was a monument; yet each was much more. These things were not merely memorials to a man of genius. they were indestructible parts of his spirit which would live on after him, profoundly modifying the course of all science.” Sir Ellery Hale today has made possible a need for our much advanced civilization. He has put Astronomy in the fore-front of the sciences.