Аукцион Bidspirit | HARKNESS WILLIAM: (1837-1903)

HARKNESS WILLIAM: (1837-1903) - HARKNESS WILLIAM: (1837-1903) Scottish-born American astronomer. A.L.S., Wm. Harkness , three pages, 8vo, Washington, 29th September 1869, to Dr. C. H. F. Peters, on the printed stationery of the U.S. Naval Observatory and featuring a vignette illustration at the head. Harkness writes following observations he had made at Des Moines and provides various latitude and longitude coordinates for the centre of the dome of the observatory at Washington and the Court House, as well as providing the Coast Survey party longitude coordinates and noting ´We therefore agree excellently on the longitude. Not so on the latitude. They find.....a result 7” greater than mine. I am at a loss to explain this descrepancy. It does not seem as if it could be due to constant errors....´ further quoting data from Polaris, the Sun and south stars and stating ´The office reductions of the Coast Survey observations have not yet been made, and they may come out nearer my value ´ , also making reference to the Litchfield Observatory and its coordinates, before concluding his letter by writing ´I should feel greatly obliged to you if you would send me, as soon as convenient, the results of your own observations for latitude´ . Some light creasing and minor age wear and a couple of splits to the edges of folds, G