Topic Guide to Early 20th Century Astronomy
The information and links below include search tips and a selection of articles covering this topic in the digitized Louisiana newspapers. The dates and suggested search terms can help to further explore this topic on Chronicling America. For the most search results, try the search terms in different combinations, in proximity, and as phrases.
Significant Dates
1894 - Lowell Observatory is established in Flagstaff, Arizona by Percival Lowell
1894-1908 - Lowell publishes details about life on Mars
1899 - William Henry Pickering discovers Saturn's ninth moon
1900 - Max Planck lays the foundation for quantum physics
ca. 1900 - Spectroscopy expands with the advent of quantum physics
1904 - Mount Wilson Observatory founded in Los Angeles, California by George Elergy Hale
1905 - Albert Einstein introduces his "Theory of Relativity"
1906 - Percival Lowell begins his search for Planet X (Pluto)
1910 - Great January Comet of 1910 appears in the southern hemisphere
1910 - First photograph of Halley's Comet
1912 - Vesto Slipher's discovers galactic redshifts
1917 - The 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson's Observatory is completed
1922 - Alexander Friedmann proposes the idea of an expanding universe
Suggested Search Terms
Origin Earth, Planets, Universe, T.J.J. See, Percival Lowell, W.H. Pickering, Lowell Observatory, Naval Observatory, V.M.Slipher, Andromeda, Nebula, Halley's Comet
Sample Articles
- "Measured Planet Mercury" St. Tammany Farmer, January 25, 1902, Image 2
- "Moon Cut from Earth" Le Meschacébé, December 16, 1905, Image 2
- "Neighbor Mars is Inhabited" The Caucasian, January 06, 1907, Image 5
- "Is Mars Inhabited?" The Rice Belt Journal, May 31, 1907, Image 6
- "Beware End of the World Only 12,000,000 Years Away" The Rice Belt Journal, July 31, 1908, Image 2
- "Estimates of the World’s Age" St. Tammany Farmer, September 12, 1908, Image 6
- “Moon Captured by Earth” St. Tammany Farmer, July 07, 1909, Image 6
- "Earth Beings Cannot Live in Climate of Mars" St. Tammany Farmer, August 14, 1909, Image 6
- "Halley’s Comet in Sight" The Colfax Chronicle, November 20, 1909, Image 6
- "A New Canal on Mars" The Caucasian, March 03, 1910, Image 2
- "Condensed Facts About Halley’s Comet" The Weekly Messenger April 02, 1910, Image 4
- "Comet is a Harmless Hobo" The Colfax Chronicle, April 22, 1911, Image 2
- "Dark Dead Stars" The Herald, June 05, 1913, Image 5
- "Moving 186 Miles a Second" The Caldwell Watchman, February 20, 1914, Image 2
- "Comets and Solar System" The Caldwell Watchman, January 22, 1915, Image 8
- "Earth Rube of Solar System" The Madison Journal, June 25, 1921, Image 2
- "Our Earth a Speck in the Universe" The Madison Journal, July 30, 1921, Image 6
- "Explains Earth’s Origins" The Concordia Sentinel, July 09, 1921, Image 2