A reporter from a British science magazine was looking on while some Harvard astronomers were puzzling over an unusual fluctuation in the recording graph of the Observatory's 24-foot radio telescope. He studied them intently, but finally asked the obvious question: "This is all very interesting, you know, but precisely what do these ups and downs really mean?"

He might well have asked the question of a subject more general than a bug in a new radio telescope--Harvard astronomy as a whole. For after a distinguished history going back more than a century, in January, 1953, the Observatory was directed to give up one of its stations, the Bloemfontein, South Africa location. The Corporation felt at the time that the Observatory had over-extended itself.

Largest in Hemisphere

And now, scarcely more than three years later, the Observatory is today dedicating the largest radio telescope in this hemisphere, taking an active part in planning still larger ones, operating or planning stations in Sunspot, New Mexico, and Fort Davis, Texas, and in general showing the greatest activity in its history.

To some the Bloemfontein decision may have seemed an admission of defeat. But the conclusion was not so much a capitulation as a turning-point. In the causes and implicit opinions underlying it are seen the roots of the successes and problems of Harvard astronomy today--the expanding research facilities, the significant studies, and the thoroughly successful graduate program, and also the inadequacy of some present facilities, the insufficient size of the Astronomy faculty, the pressure of administrative work, and the issue of the adequacy of undergraduate instruction.

The South African station was set up in the twenties, when the Boyden station was moved there from Arequipa, Peru. It offered prime opportunities for photographing the Southern skies, and had a 60-inch reflecting telescope. It was hoped that a definitive photographic catalog of Southern skies could be made there.

Such a projected program paralleled the great contribution being made by the College Observatory here and at Harvard, Mass. A half-million plate library of sky photographs was compiled, mostly at Harvard, and the accomplishment was a notable one. If someone believes he has discovered a new variable star, the Observatory's collection, stored at Garden Street, is where he goes to check.

But by the late thirties and certainly after the war, that task was completed for the Northern Hemisphere. The question was posed as to where Harvard astronomy would lead.

Bloemfontein and the cataloging of the Southern skies were one answer. But it would have required, for a successful consummation, a definite centralization of the Observatory away from Cambridge. Local conditions, and even those at Harvard, Mass., were far too poor for high-quality optical work. The all too familiar New England weather does not supply skies to match those available to Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories.

Because the Corporation was unwilling to undertake the expense and its resulting implications, the other answer developed. The answer comes in three parts--the much publicized radio astronomy, solar and high altitude research, and meteor research.

This morning the greatest step of the first part will be completed when Alan T. Waterman, Director of the National Science Foundation, will dedicate the new 60-foot George R. Agassiz radio telescope at Harvard. This instrument, the second largest in the world, will be in operation shortly, supplementing but not replacing the 24-foot telescope already at Agassiz.

A Sound Answer

Radio astronomy is for two reasons a sound answer for Harvard. First of all, some of the most significant work in the field, such as the 1951 discovery of 21-centimeter radiation which provides clues to the structure of the Milky Way, was done by Edward M. Purcell, professor of Physics, and Harold I. Ewen, Research Fellow in Astronomy.

The more practical consideration is that radio astronomy is perfectly well adapted to New England weather. Clouds and smoke have only an occasional, negligible effect on radio observations. And the telescope to be dedicated today is so firmly mounted that it can be used in a gale of up to 30 miles per hour.

The radio telescope already at Agassiz has been used with great success and is particularly notable for its work in training graduate students of this new field. The first two Ph.D. degrees in radio astronomy were awarded by the University to David S. Heeschen and Edward A. Lilley, both of whom will speak at a symposium to be held this afternoon in connection with the dedication.