<p>In <a href="http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1921JRASC..15..133C/0000133.000.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Betelgeuse: How its Diameter was measured</a> (Chant, C. A., Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 15, p.133, Bibliographic Code: 1921JRASC..15..133C) the author says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The paper in which this result was given was published in the Philosophical magazine  in 1890, and in it Michelson remarks that the method might be used in measuring the diameters of small planets, satellites and possibly the fixed stars. Next year, by invitation of Lick Observatory, he tested his method on the satellites of Jupiter with decided success, his results being near to the mean of the measurements made by astronomers with the micrometer. (See Michelson, <em>Light-Waves and their Uses</em>, p. 142.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This article is on pages 133-136 and I assume this means that I should turn several pages forward and look for <em>Light-Waves and their Uses</em> staring on page 142, but alas I'm not in a library, enjoying &quot;old book smell&quot; and leaving through 100 year old journals.</p>
<p>I've tried several internet attempts to search for a link, and edited the url to the current article to try to move to page 142, but nothing works.</p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> How did Michelson measure the diameters of jupiter's moons using optical interferometry, and how can I read further about it? What instrument did he use, what slit spacings, etc?</p>
<p>Related, describing what the article linked above describes: <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/36363/7982">What equipment and techniques were used to study Betelgeuse&#39;s diameter in 1920?</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-17T19:37:18.137Z
Found the paper:  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/120327/pdf
nflemming2004
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-17T22:10:15.350Z
@nflemming2004 oh that's beautiful, thank you! Can I ask how you were able to find this link?
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-18T23:40:33.953Z
i only googled "Michelson 1891 jupiters satellites" and it was in the 2nd result
nflemming2004
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-18T23:48:35.860Z
@nflemming2004 I see, [I get this](https://i.sstatic.net/dctYs.png) and while it's the third result it's important to remember that everybody's google results look different. But I see now that what you found *is not* "See Michelson, *Light-Waves and their Uses*, p. 142." but instead a different but also very helpful original paper. I still wonder how to get to page 142 of the current issue that contains the work I quote.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-19T19:41:38.720Z
https://archive.org/details/lightwavestheiru00michrich/page/142/mode/2up
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-20T00:28:14.677Z
@KeithMcClary bingo! It's a book, it's Michelson's book :-) I may be able to find a physical copy of the original nearby, and I see that there is also a [more recent reprint with newer images](https://books.google.com/books?id=Hia411ch6o4C&dq=light+waves+and+their+uses&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAw73G8sHsAhXyKKYKHV3TBM0Q6AEwAXoECAMQAg) .
uhoh
<observational-astronomy><telescope><history><optics><interferometry>
How did Michelson measure the diameters of jupiter's moons using optical interferometry?
uhoh
# How did Michelson measure the diameters of jupiter's moons using optical interferometry?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-17)

In [Betelgeuse: How its Diameter was measured](http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1921JRASC..15..133C/0000133.000.html) (Chant, C. A., Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 15, p.133, Bibliographic Code: 1921JRASC..15..133C) the author says:

> The paper in which this result was given was published in the Philosophical magazine in 1890, and in it Michelson remarks that the method might be used in measuring the diameters of small planets, satellites and possibly the fixed stars. Next year, by invitation of Lick Observatory, he tested his method on the satellites of Jupiter with decided success, his results being near to the mean of the measurements made by astronomers with the micrometer. (See Michelson, *Light-Waves and their Uses*, p. 142.)

This article is on pages 133-136 and I assume this means that I should turn several pages forward and look for *Light-Waves and their Uses* staring on page 142, but alas I'm not in a library, enjoying "old book smell" and leaving through 100 year old journals.

I've tried several internet attempts to search for a link, and edited the url to the current article to try to move to page 142, but nothing works.

**Question:** How did Michelson measure the diameters of jupiter's moons using optical interferometry, and how can I read further about it? What instrument did he use, what slit spacings, etc?

Related, describing what the article linked above describes: [What equipment and techniques were used to study Betelgeuse's diameter in 1920?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/36363/7982)

**Tags:** observational-astronomy, telescope, history, optics, interferometry

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Found the paper:  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/120327/pdf  
> **username_0**: @username_1 oh that's beautiful, thank you! Can I ask how you were able to find this link?  
> **username_1**: i only googled "Michelson 1891 jupiters satellites" and it was in the 2nd result  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I see, [I get this](https://i.sstatic.net/dctYs.png) and while it's the third result it's important to remember that everybody's google results look different. But I see now that what you found *is not* "See Michelson, *Light-Waves and their Uses*, p. 142." but instead a different but also very helpful original paper. I still wonder how to get to page 142 of the current issue that contains the work I quote.  
> **username_2**: https://archive.org/details/lightwavestheiru00michrich/page/142/mode/2up  
> **username_0**: @username_2 bingo! It's a book, it's Michelson's book :-) I may be able to find a physical copy of the original nearby, and I see that there is also a [more recent reprint with newer images](https://books.google.com/books?id=Hia411ch6o4C&dq=light+waves+and+their+uses&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAw73G8sHsAhXyKKYKHV3TBM0Q6AEwAXoECAMQAg) .  

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## 0 answers

