Upon his return from sabbatical in August 1913 , Stebbins ended his pioneering work with the selenium cell and began working with Kunz on the new photometer . A number of other notable astronomical discoveries occurred at the observatory through the years . In 1915 Stebbins ' object of study became the star involved in Myers ' first big discovery at the observatory , Beta Lyrae . He thus began an aggressive research program produced a series of papers in the Astrophysical Journal on eclipsing binaries Lambda Tauri , Algol , 1H Cassiopeiae ( HR 8926 ) , ellipsoidal variables π5 Orionis , and b Persei , and Nova Aquilae ( V603 Aquilae ) in 1918 . Stebbins and Kunz also travelled to Wyoming to study the Solar eclipse of June 8 , 1918 . Dr. Elmer Dershem joined the Observatory staff in 1917 and rebuilt the photometer in the summer of 1919 . By 1922 , Charles Wylie completed the first Illinois astronomy doctorate for his photoelectric studies of the Cepheid Η Aquilae , and Sigma Aquilae noting its variations due to tidal distortions
Solar eclipse of June 8 , 1918
Solar eclipse of June 8, 1918
Astronomical Observatory (University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign)