The Boy Who Loved The Stars by Nancy L. Thomas I remember, so long ago, going to the Lincoln Library (Springfield, IL) and finding a copy of The Glass Giant of Palomar, by David O. Woodbuy and of coming across a paragraph that I would carry in the "memory bank’’ of my heart for years. The paragraph was found on page 36 in the l939 edition. The writer tells how E. E. Barnard started using the 40 inch refractor at Yerkes Observatory even before the telescope had been dedicated and for 25 years, thereafter, he remained fastened to the controls, only to die in his prime. David Woodbury poses a question and asks just how many Barnards would drag themselves, dying, to the telescope to be borne forever into the skies they loved and understood? Down through the years, I often wondered what kind of man E. E. Barnard was and it was only recently did I learn more about this remarkable man! This, then, is his story. ONCE UPON A TIME and so very long ago, there was a boy who lived in a town called Nashville. Nashville was not the town we know today with its Opryland, tourist attractions, thriving commerce, recording studios, and busy roads. The Nashville that little Edward knew was once the scene of a Civil War battle called the Battle of Nashville in l864. Throughout Edward’s lifetime he would remember the flashes of artillery fire that occurred during the battle. Not only would Edward call Nashville home, but so would a few notables, such as, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, General Sam Houston, and Thomas Benton. For whatever reason, Divine Providence or the capricious Fates saw to it that when Edward Emerson Barnard was born on December 16, l857, his childhood would be far from easy. His father, Rueben, would die two months before Edward was born, he would be born into an improvished family, his mother would be an invalid, and he would have to go to work (at the tender age of nine) to help support the faimly. Because of this factor, Edward would receive only two months of formal education. Oh, yes, Edward would have to survive an attack of cholera when the plague swept through the southern states. Perhaps all this was to mold Edward into the quiet, congenial, and tenderhearted man he was to become. His very good friend, S. W. Burnham, once described Edward as being a person of great simplicty, modest, and was unselfish. E. B. Frost, in his book, An Astronomer’s Life noted that E. E. Barnard had a certain charm about him and that was "his detachment from the affairs of a mundane world." Certainly, the work he did at nine and for seventeen years thereafter did prepare him for the breathtaking and superb astronomical photos (notably, the Milky Way) he was to take years later. Taking into account the number of astronomical discoveries to his credit, acquiring a reputation as being one of astronomy’s keenest observers who ever looked through the business end of a telescope, doing work that would equal that of past great astronomers, and having a genius for observation and interpretation, plus, discovering things that were important, I’d have to say that Divine Providence or The Fates would be esspecially kind to Edward in the end. Let’s go to Van Stavoren’s Photographic Gallery and look in on Edward. Perhaps, we will find him working with the huge enlargement camera called, "Jupiter." The enlargement camera used sunlight to make prints and required someone to keep the camera centered on the sun. Or, we may find him taking a few minutes to study some of the lessons his tutor/mother has given him to work on. He would be able to do this because of a device he had built (for the camera) that would automatically track the sun for him. Then, again, we may even find him talking with J. W. Braid, the instrument maker and fellow employee. For the longest time Edward had wished and earnestly prayed for a telescope and one day his supplications would be heard and answered. It was Mr. Braid who had found a broken lens in the street (according to one source) and fashioned, for Edward, his first telescope. Edward’s joy knew NO BOUNDS! At last, he must have felt he was now, getting somewhere! He was still lacking one thing. He still didn’t know the names of the stars and consatellations Again, his prayers would be answered. One day a fellow came by and wanted to borrow some money. Edward knew the fellow as shiftless, but gave him a few dollars just to get rid of him. With luck, the fellow had left an astronomy book as collateral and was authored by Thomas Dick. From what I understand, the book had a few chapters entitled "The Sidereal Heavens " and "Practical Astronomer." E. E. Barnard would later write that it took him one hour to learn the names of the stars he so often saw while looking up into the night sky from the bed of an old wagon.. It is now l876 and Edward is nineteen and just spent two-thirds of his annual income on a 5 inch refractor with equatorial mount. The telescope had been made by John Byrne of New York and the instrument would see many years of use. Later, because of lack of funds, Edward would later sell his beloved telescope to the University of Southern California. William Sheehan, in his book, The Immortal Fire Within, writes that Barnard might have been hearthbroken at having to sell his telescope, eventhough, Barnard never mentioned how he felt on the occassion. Also, Barnard would be without any kind of instrument for sometime and this must have been especially hard on him, but we will never know. In l877, Edward attended a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science which was meeting in Edward’s hometown. It was then Edward would meet Simon Newcomb, who would encourage Edward to study higher mathematics, but this was not feasible because of Edward’s lack of formal education. After being told this, Edward went outside and wept. After pondering about this unfortunate situation, Barnard realized the advice that Professor Newcomb had given him was valid and employed a tutor to help him with mathematics. On the evening of May 12, 1881, Edward discovered his "first" comet near alpha Pegasi, but lost it the next night. At that time, more than one observer had to verify the observation and the position of the comet plotted. But Edward lacked the necessary skill to do this and so his discovery was not recognized or announced. Later, he too, would dismiss the observation. Like Abe Lincoln, who studied and prepared himself for when his chance DID come; Edward did likewise. Edward’s chance did come on the night of September l7th (1881) when he found his first official comet in the constellation of Virgo. Edward was ready to lay claim to his discovery! This comet would be the first of 16 comets Edward would find during his lifetime and with any prize money he would win would go to pay for the house he was buying in Nashville. For those who don’t know, the house was referred to as, "comet house " and the home where the Barnard family would live. Edward had married Rhoda Calvert on January 27, 1881 and while Rhoda was thirty-seven and Edward was twenty-three, the couple got along quite well down through the years. In the years that lie ahead, Rhoda would be a source of strength and loving support for Edward, It would be her death in May of 1921 that would come as a terrible blow and he would FOREVER miss her companionship. Things were finally going well for Edward. In 1883, Edward received a small fellowship to attend Vanderbuilt University and while there he was able to take care of the observatory and had access to the 6 inch refractor. While at Vanderbuilt, he was enrolled as a special student and took reduced course loads. He was also fortunate to have a few good people help tutor him so as to fill in the gaps caused by his lack of formal education. His fellow classmates thought of him as appearing awkward and shy, but sociable. During the years at Vanderbilt, Edward studied Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics, English, French, and German. Grade book records, which I was able to obtain from Vanderbilt University, show that Edward did quite well in his subjects, in spite of this lack of formal education! A’s and B’s, if you will! As for class attendance, Edward missed only.one day of school in the four years he was at Vanderbilt! Once established at Vanderbuilt, Edward again started searching for comets, rediscovered the gegenschein that had been seen by other observers such as, T. W. Backhouse, Theodor J. C. A. Borsen, and Alexander von Humboldt, and discovered the companion to beta 2 Capricorni with the 6 inch Cooke refractor. Edward Emerson Barnard received his batchelor of science degree in 1887. His journey into astronomical history now began in earnest and his date with destiny was set. From 1887 to 1895 he was on the staff at Lick Observatory and would turn out to be a trying time for Edward as he would constantly have problems with the director of the observatory, E. S. Holden. For whatever reason or reasons, Holden was not particularly generous in granting Edward time on the 36 inch refractor, eventhough, the telescope might be available for use. But, despite the hassles, Edward did succeed in finding the fifth moon of Jupiter (1892), made measurements of the diameters of the planets and the four largest asteroids, plus, other studies concerning Saturn and Uranus, and continued to hone photographic skills by working on the smaller instruments that were availble to him. His method was one of working with wide-field photographic objectives. By doing this, he was able to get truly remarkable photos of the heavens. Two outstanding examples are those of the Pleiades and the area around Theta Ophiuchi. In 1895, Edward left Lick and went to Yerkes Observatory, which was part of the University of Chicago. His title was to be professor of practical astronomy and astronomer with his duties involving an occassion lecture during the summer courses at the university. It would be here, on the banks of Lake Geneva, that his most outstanding work would be done and where he would be the happiest. The director, of the observatory, E. B. Frost and Edward would get along very well as both shared the love of horticulture and would discuss how best to landscape the area around the observatory. Also, they both would enjoy attending scientific meetings and trips to observe eclipses, etc. Then, there were the bets! E. B. Frost relates the incident (in his book which I mentioned earlier) that a bet between the two men would be made concerning the date when the ice on Lake Geneva would finally break up. Frost would usually be the one to collect! While doing my research, I read that Edward liked to sing to himself or recite poetry as he developed photographic plates. The second habit he had was whistling as he crossed the grounds of Yerkes Observstory, while on his way to work. Only a person, who delighted in his work, would do such a thing! Besides being so smitten with the stars, it is these two habits that also touched my heart about E.E. Barnard. While at Yerkes Observatory, Edward worked with the Bruce telescope, which was a photographic telescope consisting of a 5 inch guiding telescope and two photographic doublets of 10 and 6 1/4 inch aperture on one mount. The telescope was a gift from Catherine W. Bruce. With the telescope Edward photographed the Milky Way and included a catalog of dark and luminous nebulae. The collection of photos called A Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way and was published in 1927. On March 11, 1921 Edward received word that his good friend Burnham had passed away and on May 16th, his beloved Rhoda would also pass away. Diabetes and advancing age now had stronger hold on him and he knew he would not be living much longer himself. It is now the morning of January 13, 1923 and we find Edward making the last observation of his career. That observation would be from his bedroom window and it would be of Venus being occulted by the Moon. From then on he would never be at the telescope he loved so much and this would be a hard thing for him to bear. Edward’s health continues to decline and on February 5th he is no longer coherent. At about 4 pm, the next day, Edward was given a shot of morphine. At 8 pm, with Frost at his bedside, Edward passes into astronomical history and is borne on silent wings to the stars he loved so well. We have now reached the end of our story, but let me leave you with one last thought. One of these evenings when you’ve finished your observing run, you’ve put the telescope "to bed," and your own eyelids are heavy with sleep, pause, and look one last time at the Milky Way and remember the boy who loved the stars. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the following people who have helped me with the research for this paper. I will be forever in their debt. Alphabetically - Judith Bausch, Andrew Fraknoi, Douglas S. Hull, Dr. Ron Maddison, Ton Ponjee, Dorothy Schaumberg, Dr. Philip Steffey, Suellen Stringer-Hye, and Donald F. Trombino. Nancy L. Thomas 408 Vermont Avenue Daytona Beach, FL 32118 (904) 252-8049 NLTsolar@aol.com