Henry Draper,the Discovery of Oxygen in the Sun,and the Dilemma of Interpreting the Solar Spectrum

Kirchhoff Gustav , “Ueber den Zusammenhang zwischen Emission und Absorption von Licht und Wärme”, Monatsberichte der K. Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (1859), 783–7.

Lockyer J. Norman , “Les éléments présents dans la couche du Soleil qui produit le renversement des raies spectrales”, Comptes-rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, lxxxvi (1878), 317–21.

The prisms were filled with carbon bisulphide in order to produce greater dispersion. See Barker George F. , “On the Use of Carbon Bisulphide in Prisms; being an account of Experiments made by the late Dr. Henry Draper of New York”, American journal of science, xxix (1885), 269–77. For a description of Draper's laboratory, which acquired the reputation of being the best-equipped in America, see Barker George F. , “Memoir of Henry Draper”, Biographical memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, iii (1895), 113–15.

Draper Henry , “Discovery of Oxygen in the Sun by Photography, and New Theory of the Solar Spectrum”, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, xvii (1877–78), 76.

Ibid.

Samuel Pierpoint Langley to Draper Henry , 1 August 1877 (Henry and Anna Palmer Draper Papers, New York Public Library, New York, New York (hereafter, Draper Papers)).

Vogel H. C. to Draper Henry , 16 August 1877 (ibid.).

Morton Henry to Draper Henry , 30 July 1877 (ibid.).

Huggins William to Holden Edward S. , 3 October 1877 (ibid.).

Lockyer J. Norman to Draper Henry , 15 August 1877 (ibid.).

Schuster Arthur , “On the Presence of Oxygen in the Sun”, Nature, xvii (1877–78), 148–9. For a more detailed description of his experiments relating to the four different oxygen spectra, see his “On the Spectra of the Metalloids–-Spectrum of Oxygen”, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London, clxx (1879), 37–54.

Meldola Raphael , “Oxygen in the Sun”, Nature, xvii (1877–78), 161–2.

Meldola Raphael , “On a Cause for the Appearance of Bright Lines in the Solar Spectrum”, Philosophical magazine, vi (1878), 50–61.

Lockyer J. Norman , “Recent Researches in Solar Chemistry”, ibid., 174–5. Lockyer's reference to the earlier literature regarding the bright lines is misleading. The astronomers he mentions deal with bright lines in the spectra of prominences, sunspots, and the chromosphere. This is quite different from Draper's bright lines obtained by utilizing light from the entire solar disk. Since these spectroscopists and Draper are talking about two entirely different things, Lockyer's criticism is totally unfair.

“Recent Researches in Solar Chemistry”, 175. As a consequence of their being ruled on the back surface and of the double transmission of light through the plate, silvered-glass diffraction gratings tend to alter the solar spectrum, making real lines disappear and spurious ones appear.

Ibid., 176.

Christie William H. M. , “On the Existence of Bright Lines in the Solar Spectrum”, Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, xxxviii (1878), 473–4.

Draper Henry to Ranyard A. Cowper , 4 April 1879, quoted in Astronomical register, xvii (1879), 117.

A second source was the fact that Lockyer's plans for his pet project, a government-supported astrophysical observatory, were repeatedly voted down by his adversaries in the Society. The schism in the Society is treated at length in my unpublished dissertation Henry Draper: A scientific biography (The Johns Hopkins University, 1972), 87–101.

Ranyard was well aware, of course, that he would not succeed in this endeavour, but he had his reasons for proposing Draper's name: “though I don't expect to get it for you it has an excellent educational effect” ( Ranyard A. Cowper to Draper Henry , 25 November 1878, Draper Papers). The Gold Medal for 1878 was awarded to Baron Dembowski, for his observations of double stars.

Ranyard A. Cowper to Draper Henry , 26 July 1878 (ibid.).

Proctor Richard A. to Draper Henry , 17 June 1879 (ibid.).

Rutherfurd Lewis Morris was an independently wealthy New York amateur astronomer who gained international fame from the high-quality diffraction gratings he ruled and supplied to leading astronomers in America and Europe.

Draper Henry , “On the Coincidence of the Bright Lines of the Oxygen Spectrum with Bright Lines in the Solar Spectrum”, American journal of science, xviii (1879), 269.

Ibid., Appendix, 270.

Ibid., 271 and 275.

Ibid., 272–3.

Ibid., 273.

Ibid.

Proctor Richard A. to Draper Henry , 20 June 1879 (Draper Papers).

Draper held a dual appointment at the University of the City of New York as Professor of Natural Science and Professor of Analytical Chemistry. Upon his father-in-law's death in 1874, he was obliged to spend several hours a day as the managing trustee of his large estate.

Trowbridge John and Hutchins Charles C. , “Oxygen in the Sun”, American Journal of science, xxxiv (1887), 270.

Jules Pierre , Janssen César , “Sur l'origine tellurique des raies de l'oxygène dans la spectre solaire”, Comptes-rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, cviii (1889), 1036–7.

Jules Pierre , Janssen César , “Compte rendue d'une ascension scientifique au Mont Blanc”, ibid., cxi (1890), 432.

Dunér Nils Christofer , “Y a-t-il de l'oxygéne dans l'atmosphére du Soleil?”, ibid., cxvii (1893), 1058.

Schuster Arthur , “Y a-t-il de l'oxygène dans l'atmosphère du Soleil?”, ibid., 138.

Trowbridge John , “Carbon and Oxygen in the Sun”, Philosophical magazine, xli (1896), 454.

David Carl , Runge Tolmé and Paschen Friedrich , “Oxygen in the Sun”, Astrophysical journal, iv (1896), 318. This particular triplet had been discovered by C. Piazzi Smyth, the Astronomer Royal of Scotland. See his “Note on Sir David Brewster's Line Y, in the Infra-Red of the Solar Spectrum”, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, xxxii (1883), 233–8.