Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/408

LEFT ASTROPHYSICS 322 ATAHUALFA George B. and Alvan G. Their latest masterpieces are the huge 36-inch objec- tive of the Lick telescope, and that of the Yerkes instrument. In the matter of the polishing of opti- cal surfaces, the figuring of lenses, and the ruling of gratings, American arti- sans have excelled all others from their first attempts. Only in the production of instruments of precision and in the making of optical glass do they still yield superiority to European artisans. Celestial Photography. — As early as 1840 Dr. John W. Draper, of New York, -btained a few photographs of the moon .bout an inch in diameter. In 1846, at Cambridge, Mass., Bond obtained photo- graphic impressions of Vega and Castor, and in 1850 obtained the picture of the moon. Among the successes of photography as an adjunct to the new astronomy have been photographs of stellar spectra by Pickering at the Harvard University- Observatory, and the photographic nor- mal spectrum of the sun recently com- pleted by Rowland at the Johns Hopkins University. The Mount Wilson (Cal.) Solar Ob- servatory of the Carnegie Institute (1904), designed for spectroscopic study of the sun and stars, has produced marvelous photographs of these bodies that have proved invaluable to astron- omers. ASTROPHYSICS, that branch of as- tronomy which deals with the physical condition, temperature, and chemical properties of the celestial bodies. The chief instruments employed are the spec- troscope, the bolometer, the photometer, and the camera. The most important of these is the Spectroscope (g. v.). ASTURIAS (as-to're-az), or OVIEDO, a northern province of Spain, washed on the N. by the Bay of Biscay; area 4,207 square miles; pop. about 700,000. The low hills of Leon and Old Castile rise gradually to the mountain-chain which forms the S. boundary, and which is but a prolongation of the Pyrenean system. The N. slopes are broken by steep and dark valleys or chasms, which are among the wildest and most pictur- esque in Spain. The chief rivers are the Nalon, Navia, and Sella. Agriculture is the chief industry. The coasts have good fisheries, but poor harbors. The chief minerals of the province are copper, iron, lead, cobalt, arsenic, antimony, and coal of excellent quality. The chief towns are Gijon, Aviles, Llanes, and Luarca. Oviedo, the capital, has, since 1833, given its name to the whole province. The heir-apparent of the Spanish King has the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias. The Romans had great diffi- culty in subduing Asturias, about 22 B. C. Later it offered an asylum to the Goths, whose prince, Pelayo, bravely withstood the Arabs (718 A. D.) ; his successors carried on the contest suc- cessfully, and became Kings of Leon in the 10th century. ASTYAGES (asrtl'a-jez), son of Cyax- ares, the last King of Media, reigned 594-559 B. C. In the latter year he was dethroned by Cyrus, who, according to Herodotus, was his grandson. ASUNCION (as-on'shon), or ASSUMP- TION, the capital of the Republic of Paraguay; on a terrace skirting the left bank of the Paraguay river. It has a cathedral (1845) and a college. The principal articles of commerce are leather, tobacco, sugar, manioc, and mate or Paraguay tea. It was founded on Aug. 15, 1537, the feast of the Assump- tion. Pop. about 120,000. ATACAMA (at-a-ka'ma), the name, formerly, of two provinces, (1) Chilean and (2) Bolivian; now entirely belong- ing to Chile. Area 30,728 square miles; pop. about 70,000. The Saline of Atacama is a salt mo- rass, mostly dried up, 1,074 square miles in extent, on an elevation of 7,000 feet. The province is very rich in minerals, especially copper and silver. ATACAMITE, an orthorhombic, trans- lucent mineral, classed by Prof. Dana under his oxychlorids. The hardness is 3 to 3.5; the sp. gr., 3.7 to 4.3; the luster verging from adamantine to vit- reous; the color bright green, with an apple-green streak. It is massive or pulverulent. Composition : Chlorine, 15.51 to 16.33; oxide of copper, 50 to 66.25; copper, 13.33 to 56.46; water, 16.91 to 22.60. It occurs in Atacama, in Chile; in Australia; in Africa; in Spain; and at St. Just, in Cornwall. ATAHUALPA (at-a-whal'pa), the last Inca of Peru, was the son of the 11th Inca, Manco Capac. His mother was of royal lineage, and through her he in- herited the kingdom of Quito. With his elder brother Huascar, who succeeded to the throne of the Incas in 1523, he re- mained at peace for five years; but, on his being summoned to acknowledge the dependency of his kingdom on that of Peru, he prepared for war, entered the dominions of Huascar with 30,000 men, defeated him in a pitched battle, and thrust him into prison. Three years afterward, Pizarro captured the island of Puna, and Huascar, hearing in prison