Revelations of the Spectroscope

All this seems wonderful enough, but even greater
things were in store. In 1859 the spectroscope came
upon the scene, perfected by Kirchhoff and Bunsen,
along lines pointed out by Fraunhofer almost half a
century before. That marvellous instrument, by
revealing the telltale lines sprinkled across a prismatic
spectrum, discloses the chemical nature and physical
condition of any substance whose light is submitted to
it, telling its story equally well, provided the light be
strong enough, whether the luminous substance be near
or far--in the same room or at the confines of space.
Clearly such an instrument must prove a veritable
magic wand in the hands of the astronomer.

Very soon eager astronomers all over the world were
putting the spectroscope to the test. Kirchhoff himself
led the way, and Donati and Father Secchi in Italy,
Huggins and Miller in England, and Rutherfurd in
America, were the chief of his immediate followers.
The results exceeded the dreams of the most visionary.
At the very outset, in 1860, it was shown that such
common terrestrial substances as sodium, iron, calcium,
magnesium, nickel, barium, copper, and zinc exist
in the form of glowing vapors in the sun, and very soon
the stars gave up a corresponding secret. Since then
the work of solar and sidereal analysis has gone on
steadily in the hands of a multitude of workers (prominent
among whom, in this country, are Professor