260 ASTRONOMYANDTHEBIBLE
Awriteronastronomy,himselfatrainedobserver,
hasmadethefollowingstatementconcerningthework
atoneofthemountainobservatories. Hesays
:"Whoknowsthemeaningoftheword'clear'? No
oneisabletounderstand what'clear'meansifliving
inavalley. HereonEchoMountaintheatmosphere
is soclearthatthestars seemnearenoughtotouch,
and themountainair wonderfullypure. The stellar
hostsglowwithabrilliancyallunknowntothoseliving
anywhere near sea level. At all times, save imme-
diatelyaftercopiousrains,thedustenvelopesurround-
ingthe earth is visible beneaththe summit of the
mountain. Itcoverstheentirevista,evenouttothe
sea. Tousonthemountaintopitseemsattimesas
ifeveryhumanwouldchokeinthislayerofdust.
''AboveusatnightshineSiriusandVegalikehuge
diamonds; Arcturus and Spica likewise; and above
all,thegiantstar-sunCanopus, glitteringwithamaz-
ingbrilliancyinthedistantsouth,andflashingitsrays
over myriads of wave crests tossing in the Pacific
Ocean. This,thebrighteststarinthecelestialvault,
cannotbeseenfromthelatitudeofNewYork. The
magnificentconstellationsofOrion,Hercules,andthe
PolarBeararesobeautifulthatwordsarepowerless
todescribethem. Itisastonishingtobeholdtheap-
parentnearnessoftheGalaxy. Mountainperspective,
thepurityoftheair,andfreedom fromwatervapor
during two thirds ofthe year, combine to forman
opticalillusion. Attimes, thisdeceptiveinfluenceap-
proachesanightmirage,andoneseemstobewalking
amongtheverystars.