Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy Part 24

I am, My dear Mr Christie and Gentlemen, Yours faithfully, G.B. AIRY.

Throughout his tenure of office Airy had cultivated and maintained the most friendly relations with foreign astronomers, to the great advantage of the Observatory. Probably all of them, at one time or another, had visited Greenwich, and to most of them he was well known. On his retirement from office he received an illuminated Address from his old friend Otto Struve and the staff of the Pulkowa Observatory, an illuminated Address from the Vorstand of the Astronomische Gesellschaft at Berlin signed by Dr Auwers and the Secretaries, a complimentary letter from the Academy of Sciences at Amsterdam, and friendly letters of sympathy from Dr Gould, Prof. Newcombe, Dr Listing, and from many other scientific friends and societies. His replies to the Russian and German Addresses were as follows:

ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH, _1881, August 5_.

MY DEAR SIR,

I received, with feelings which I will not attempt to describe, the Address of yourself and the Astronomers of Pulkowa generally, on the occasion of my retirement from the office of Astronomer Royal. I can scarcely credit myself with possessing all the varied claims to your scientific regard which you detail. I must be permitted to attribute many of them to the long and warm friends.h.i.+p which has subsisted so long between the Directors of the Pulkowa Observatory and myself, and which has influenced the feelings of the whole body of Astronomers attached to that Inst.i.tution. On one point, however, I willingly accept your favourable expressions--I have not been sparing of my personal labour--and to this I must attribute partial success on some of the subjects to which you allude.

In glancing over the marginal list of scientific pursuits, I remark with pleasure the reference to _Optics_. I still recur with delight to the Undulatory Theory, once the branch of science on which I was best known to the world, and which by calculations, writings, and lectures, I supported against the Laplacian School. But the close of your remarks touches me much more--the a.s.sociation of the name of W. Struve and my own. I respected deeply the whole character of your Father, and I believe that he had confidence in me. From our first meeting in 1830 (on a Commission for improvement of the Nautical Almanac) I never ceased to regard him as superior to others. I may be permitted to add that the delivery of his authority to the hands of his son has not weakened the connection of myself with the Observatory of Poulkova.

Acknowledging gratefully your kindness, and that of all the Astronomers of the Observatory of Poulkova, and requesting you to convey to them this expression,

I am, my dear Sir, Yours most truly, G.B. AIRY.

_To M. Otto von Struve, Director of the Observatory of Poulkova and the Astronomers of that Observatory._

ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH, _1881, August 3_.

MY DEAR SIR,

With very great pleasure I received the Address of the Astronomische Gesellschaft on occasion of my intended resignation of the Office of Astronomer Royal: dated July 27, and signed by yourself as President and Messrs Schoenfeld and Winnecke as Secretaries of the Astronomische Gesellschaft. I thank you much for the delicacy of your arrangement for the transmission of this doc.u.ment by the hands of our friend Dr Huggins. And I think you will be gratified to learn that it arrived at a moment when I was surrounded by my whole family a.s.sembled at my _jour-de-fete_, and that it added greatly to the happiness of the party.

I may perhaps permit myself to accept your kind recognition of my devotion of time and thought to the interests of my Science and my Office. It is full reward to me that they are so recognized. As to the success or utility of these efforts, without presuming, myself, to form an opinion, I acknowledge that the connection made by the Astronomische Gesellschaft, between my name and the advance of modern astronomy, is most flattering, and will always be remembered by me with pride.

It is true, as is suggested in your Address, that one motive for my resignation of Office was the desire to find myself more free for the prosecution of further astronomical investigations. Should my health remain unbroken, I hope to enter shortly upon this undertaking.

Again acknowledging the kindness of yourself and the Vorstand of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, and offering my best wishes for the continued success of that honourable inst.i.tution,

I am, my dear Sir, Yours very truly, G.B. AIRY.

_To Dr Aimers and the Vorstand of the Astronomische Gesellschaft._

CHAPTER X.

AT THE WHITE HOUSE, GREENWICH. FROM HIS RESIGNATION OF OFFICE ON AUGUST 15TH, 1881, TO HIS DEATH ON JANUARY 2ND, 1892.

HISTORY OF HIS LIFE AFTER HIS RESIGNATION OF OFFICE.

On the 16th of August 1881 Airy left the Observatory which had been his residence for nearly 46 years, and removed to the White House. Whatever his feelings may have been at the severing of his old a.s.sociations he carefully kept them to himself, and entered upon his new life with the cheerful composure and steadiness of temper which he possessed in a remarkable degree. He was now more than 80 years old, and the cares of office had begun to weigh heavily upon him: the long-continued drag of the Transit of Venus work had wearied him, and he was anxious to carry on and if possible complete his Numerical Lunar Theory, the great work which for some years had occupied much of his time and attention. His mental powers were still vigorous, and his energy but little impaired: his strong const.i.tution, his regular habits of life, the systematic relief which he obtained by short holiday expeditions whenever he found himself worn with work, and his keen interest in history, poetry, cla.s.sics, antiquities, engineering, and other subjects not immediately connected with his profession, had combined to produce this result. And in leaving office, he had no idea of leaving off work; his resignation of office merely meant for him a change of work. It is needless to say that his interest in the welfare and progress of the Observatory was as keen as ever; his advice was always at the service of his successor, and his appointment as Visitor a year or two after his resignation gave him an official position with regard to the Observatory which he much valued. The White House, which was to be his home for the rest of his life, is just outside one of the upper gates of the Park, and about a quarter of a mile from the Observatory. Here he resided with his two unmarried daughters. The house suited him well and he was very comfortable there: he preferred to live in the neighbourhood with which he was so familiar and in which he was so well known, rather than to remove to a distance. His daily habits of life were but little altered: he worked steadily as formerly, took his daily walk on Blackheath, made frequent visits to Playford, and occasional expeditions to the c.u.mberland Lakes and elsewhere.

The work to which he chiefly devoted himself in his retirement was the completion of his Numerical Lunar Theory. This was a vast work, involving the subtlest considerations of principle, very long and elaborate mathematical investigations of a high order, and an enormous amount of arithmetical computation. The issue of it was unfortunate: he concluded that there was an error in some of the early work, which vitiated the results obtained: and although the whole process was published, and was left in such a state that it would be a comparatively simple task for a future astronomer to correct and complete it, yet it was not permitted to the original author of it to do this. To avoid the necessity of frequent reference to this work in the history of Airy's remaining years, it will be convenient to summarize it here. It was commenced in 1872: "On Feb. 23rd in this year I first (privately) formed the notion of preparing a Numerical Lunar Theory by subst.i.tuting Delaunay's numbers in the proper Equations and seeing what would come of it." From this time forward till his power to continue it absolutely failed, he pursued the subject with his usual tenacity of purpose. During his tenure of office every available opportunity was seized for making progress with his Lunar Theory, and in every Report to the Visitors a careful statement was inserted of the state in which it then stood. And, after his resignation of office, it formed the bulk of his occupation. In 1873 the Theory was formed, and by 1874 it was so far advanced that he published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society a statement of the fundamental points of the Theory. In 1875, the Theory having advanced to a stage where extensive arithmetical computation was required, he obtained a small grant from the Government in aid of the expense of the work, and other grants were made in subsequent years. By 1878 the calculations were so far advanced that an opinion could be formed as to the probable accuracy of the Theory, and the following remark is made: "A cursory collation of the terms relating to the Areas (in the Ecliptic) led me to suppose that there might be some error in the computations of the Annual Equation and related terms;" but no error could be discovered and the work proceeded. The complex character of the Theory, and the extreme care required in the mathematical processes, are well ill.u.s.trated by the following statement, which occurs in the Report of 1879, "An important error in the theoretical formulae for Variations of Radius Vector, Longitude, and Lat.i.tude, was discovered; some calculations depending on them are cancelled." In 1880 and 1881 the work was continued, but was "sadly interrupted by the pressure of the Transit of Venus work and other business." After his resignation of the Office of Astronomer Royal he had no further public a.s.sistance, and did much of the computations himself, but a sum of _100_ was contributed by Mr De La Rue in furtherance of the work, and this sum was spent on computers. In his retirement the work made good progress, and on Dec. 31st, 1882, he made the following note: "I finished and put in general order the final tables of Equations of Variations. This is a definite point in the Lunar Theory.... I hope shortly to take up severely the numerical operations of the Lunar Theory from the very beginning." The work was continued steadily through 1883, and on Mar. 24th, 1884, he made application through the Board of Visitors to the Admiralty to print the work: after the usual enquiries as to the expense this was acceded to, and copy was sent to the printers as soon as it was ready. The first printed proofs were received on Feb. 5th, 1885, and the whole book was printed by the end of 1886. From the frequent references in his journal to errors discovered and corrected during the progress of these calculations, it would seem likely that his powers were not what they had been, and that there was a probability that some important errors might escape correction. He was far too honest to blind himself to this possibility, and in the Preface to his Numerical Lunar Theory he says thus: "I have explained above that the principle of operations was, to arrange the fundamental mechanical equations in a form suited for the investigations of Lunar Theory; to subst.i.tute in the terms of these equations the numerical values furnished by Delaunay's great work; and to examine whether the equations are thereby satisfied. With painful alarm, I find that they are not satisfied; and that the discordance, or failure of satisfying the equations, is large. The critical trial depends on the great ma.s.s of computations in Section II. These have been made in duplicate, with all the care for accuracy that anxiety could supply. Still I cannot but fear that the error which is the source of discordance must be on my part. I cannot conjecture whether I may be able to examine sufficiently into this matter." He resolutely took in hand the revision of his work, and continued it till October 1888. But it is clear from the entries in his journal that his powers were now unequal to the task, and although from time to time he suspected that he had discovered errors, yet it does not appear that he determined anything with certainty. He never doubted that there were important errors in the work, and later on he left the following private note on the subject:

NUMERICAL LUNAR THEORY.

_1890, Sept. 29_.

I had made considerable advance (under official difficulties) in calculations on my favourite Numerical Lunar Theory, when I discovered that, under the heavy pressure of unusual matters (two Transits of Venus and some eclipses) I had committed a grievous error in the first stage of giving numerical value to my Theory.

My spirit in the work was broken, and I have never heartily proceeded with it since.

G.B. AIRY.

Probably the error referred to here is the suspected error mentioned above in his Report of 1878, as to which he subsequently became more certain.

Whatever may be the imperfections of the Numerical Lunar Theory, it is a wonderful work to have been turned out by a man 85 years old. In its idea and inception it embodies the experience of a long life actively spent in practical science. And it may be that it will yet fulfil the objects of its author, and that some younger astronomer may take it up, correct its errors (wherever they may be), and fit it for practical use. And then the labour bestowed upon it will not have been in vain.

Subject always to the absorbing occupations of the Lunar Theory he amused himself with reading his favourite subjects of History and Antiquities. His movements during the remainder of the year 1881 were as follows: In September he paid a two days' visit to Lady Herschel at Hawkhurst. From Oct. 4th to 17th he was at the c.u.mberland Lakes and engaged in expeditions in the neighbourhood. From Nov. 5th to 8th he was at Cambridge, inspecting Prof. Stuart's workshops, and other scientific inst.i.tutions. On Dec. 13th he went to Playford.--Amongst miscellaneous matters: in November he wrote to Mr Rothery on the loss of the 'Teuton' at some length, with suggestions for the safer construction of such vessels.--In October he was asked for suggestions regarding the establishment of a "Standard Time" applicable to the railway traffic in the United States: he replied as follows:

_1881, Oct. 31_.

SIR,

I have to acknowledge your letter of October 17, introducing to my notice the difficulty which appears to be arising in America regarding a "Standard Time," for extensive use throughout N. America "applicable to railway traffic only." The subject, as including considerations of convenience in all the matters to which it applies, is one of difficulties probably insuperable. The certainty, however, that objections may be raised to every scheme, renders me less timid in offering my own remarks; which are much at your service.

I first comment upon your expression of "Standard Time... applicable to railway traffic only." But do you mean this as affecting the transactions between one railway and another railway, or as affecting each railway and the local interests (temporal and others) of the towns which it touches? The difference is so great that I should be disposed to adopt it as marking very strongly the difference to be made between the practices of railways among themselves and the practices of railways towards the public; and will base a system on that difference.

As regards the practices of railways among themselves: if the various railways of America are joined and inosculated as they are in England, it appears to me indispensable that they have one common standard _among themselves_: say Was.h.i.+ngton Observatory time. But this is only needed for the office-transactions between the railways; it may be kept perfectly private; never communicated to the public at all. And I should recommend this as the first step.

There will then be no difficulty in deducing, from these private Was.h.i.+ngton times, the accurate local times at those stations (whose longitude is supposed to be fairly well known, as a sailor with a s.e.xtant can determine one in a few hours) which the railway authorities may deem worthy of that honour; generally the termini of railways. Thus we shall have a series of bases of local time, of authoritative character, through the country.

Of such bases _we_ have two, Greenwich and Dublin: and they are separated by a sea-voyage. In the U.S. of America there must be a greater number, and probably not so well separated. Still it is indispensable to adopt such a system of local centers.

No people in this world can be induced to use a reckoning which does not depend clearly upon the sun. In all civilized countries it depends (approximately) on the sun's meridian pa.s.sage. Even the sailor on mid-ocean refers to that phenomenon. And the solar pa.s.sage, with reasonable allowance, 20m. or 30m. one way or another, must be recognized in all time-arrangements as giving the fundamental time. The only practical way of doing this is, to adopt for a whole region the fundamental time of a center of that region.

And to this fundamental time, the local time of the railway, as now entering into all the concerns of life, must be adapted. A solicitor has an appointment to meet a client by railway; a physician to a consultation. How is this to be kept if the railway uses one time and every other act of life another?

There is one chain of circ.u.mstances which is almost peculiar--that of the line from New York to San Francisco. Here I would have two clocks at every station: those on the north side all shewing San Francisco time, and those on the south all shewing New York time. Every traveller's watch would then be available to the end of his journey.

A system, fundamentally such as I have sketched, would give little trouble, and may I think be adopted with advantage.

I am, Sir, Your faithful servant, G.B. AIRY.

_Mr Edward Barrington._

1882

He returned from Playford on Jan. 17: his other movements during the year were as follows: from Apr. 27th to May 11th he was at Playford; and again from August 1st to 24th. From Oct. 9th to Nov. 1st he was travelling with his two unmarried daughters in the Lake District of c.u.mberland: the journey was by Furness and Coniston to Portinscale near Keswick; on Oct. 13th he fell and sprained his ankle, and his excursions for the rest of the time were mainly conducted by driving. Shortly after his return, on Nov. 11th, while walking alone on Blackheath, he was seized with a violent attack of illness, and lay helpless for some time before he was found and brought home: he seems however to have recovered to a great extent in the course of a day or two, and continued his Lunar Theory and other work as before. On June 22nd he made the following sad note, "This morning, died after a most painful illness my much-loved daughter-in-law, Anna Airy, daughter of Professor Listing of Gottingen, wife of my eldest son Wilfrid." In February he wrote out his reminiscences of the village of Playford during his boyhood.

In June he was much disturbed in mind on hearing of some important alterations made by the Astronomer Royal in the Collimators of the Transit Circle, and some correspondence ensued on the subject.--During the year he had much correspondence on the subject of the subsidences on Blackheath.