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In 1898, George Ellery Hale wrote:

"In its power of searching out mysterious phenomena in the infinite regions of space a great telescope seems to stand alone among the appliances of an investigator. Partly because of this special veneration for its principal instrument… astronomy appears to command the interest of a great portion of the human race."

Consider Hale's assessment of the reasons for people's interest in astronomy at the end of the nineteenth century, using the following themes:
- the extent to which the new astronomy depends on a great telescope
- whether the use of new technology and instruments spurred interest in astronomy
- the motivations of individuals who contributed funds for astronomy
- the reasons for the public's interest in astronomy
- the new way that science was organized (e.g., research teams rather than a lone astronomer)