# Star Lore Of All Ages/Appendix

New York, London: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Appendix
The total light of the stars is estimated as equal to 1/80 of that of the full moon.
Of the fainter stars in the northern hemisphere the 7.4 magnitude star Lalande 21185 is probably the nearest star to the earth. The average distance as estimated by different authorities is 7.3 light years.
The distance of the first magnitude star α Centauri in the southern hemisphere, probably the nearest star to the earth, is given by all authorities as 4.3 light years. This distance is better realised if we adopt Prof. Young's comparison: If the distance from the earth to the sun were 215 ft. the distance from the earth to α Centauri would be 8000 miles.
On the scale measured at Yale University the mean distance of stars of the first magnitude is 36.5 light years, second magnitude stars 58 light years, and those of the third magnitude 92 light years.
The lucid, or naked-eye, stars comprise the first six magnitudes.
A 5″ telescope reveals stars down to the 12th magnitude, and Prof. Ritchey of the Mt. Wilson Observatory using the new 60″ reflector has photographed by four-hour exposures stars probably as faint as the 20th or 21st magnitude. It has been estimated that the total number of stars within our ken photographically speaking is possibly 125 million.
| Oldest Stars (Red) | Next in Order (Yellow) | Youngest Stars (White) |
| Antares | Our Sun | Sirius |
| Aldebaran | Capella | Deneb |
| Betelgeuse | Pollux | Procyon |
| | Arcturus | Spica |
| | | Altair |
| | | Regulus |
Periodic Comets :
| Name | Last Perihelion | Period in Years | Next Return |
| Encke | Sept. 15, 1901 | 03.3 | |
| Brorsen | Feb, 25, 1890 | 05.45 | 1911 |
| Tempel Swift | June 5, 1897 | 05.54 | 1913 |
| De Vico Swift | Apr. 27, 1901 | 06.4 | 1914 |
| Tempel II | Oct. 04, 1898 | 06.5 | 1911 |
| Finlay | Feb. 17, 1900 | 06.5 | 1913 |
| Wolf | July 05, 1898 | 06.8 | 1912 ​ |
| Holmes | Apr. 29, 1899 | 06.8 | 1913 |
| Faye | Jan. 23, 1881 | 07.5 | 1911 |
| Tuttle | May 05, 1899 | 13.6 | 1913 |
| Pons Brooks | Jan. 26, 1884 | 71.5 | |
| Olbers | Oct. 09, 1887 | 72.6 | |
| Halley | May 17, 1910 | 76 | |
Proper Motion of the Stars (The angular motion across the line of sight.) :
| Star Name | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second |
| Star Name | Pritchard | Young |
| β Cassiopeiæ | 10 | |
| α Cassiopeiæ„ | 02 | |
| 61 Cygni | 35 | 37 |
| Polaris | 02.5 | 01.8 |
| α Arietis | 08 | |
| α Persei | 01 | |
| | Elkin | |
| Aldebaran | 04 | 05.1 |
| Capella | 11 | |
| Sirius | 09 | 10.1 |
| Procyon | 13 | 12.2 |
| Pollux | 27 | |
| Regulus | 08 | |
| Vega | 31 | 07.1 |
| Altair | 09 | 08.0 |
| | Miss Clerke | Newcomb |
| Arcturus | 375 | 200 to 300 |
Secchi's Spectroscopic Star Types :
| | Characteristics | Star Names |
| Type I. Sirian Stars (blue or white) | Broad, intense, dark hydrogen lines | Sirius Vega Altair and perhaps more than half of all the stars ​ |
| Type II. Solar Stars (yellowish like sun) | Fine, dark, metallic lines | Capella Arcturus |
| Type III. Orange and reddish stars | Many dark bands | α Herculis Mira Antares A majority of the variable stars |
| Type IV. Blood red in tint | Dark bands or flutings, the reverse of Type III. as to shading | About 50 stars of this type |
| Type V. | Bright lines | Number about 70 Situated near the middle of the Galaxy |
Scintillation :
| Secchi's type | Mean Scintillation |
| III | 87 |
| III | 79 |
| III | 59 |
Scintillation is most pronounced in January and February, and magnetic storms and violent scintillations are absolutely coincident in point of time.
Stars Approaching the Earth :
| Star Name | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second |
| Star Name | Potsdam | Todd | Greenwich | Vogel |
| α Arictis | | 11.7 | | 09.2 |
| γ Leonis | | 25.1 | | |
| Spica | 14 | 10.6 | 17 | 09.2 ​ |
| Altair | | 23.9 | 27 | 23.7 |
| Polaris | 16.3 | | 16 | |
| Algol | 02.3 | | 02 | |
| Arcturus | | | 45 | 04.6 |
| Vega | | | 34 | 09.7 |
| Deneb | | | 36 | 05.1 |
| Pollux | | | 33 | |
| Sirius | | | | 09.7 |
| Procyon | 07 | | | 05.5 |
| Castor | | | | 18.4 |
Stars Receding the Earth :
| Star Name | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second | Speed in Miles per Second |
| Star Name | Potsdam | Todd | Vogel | Greenwich |
| Aldebaran | 30 | 31.1 | 30.1 | 31 |
| Rigel | 39 | 13.6 | 10.1 | 18 |
| Betelgeuse | | 17.6 | | 28 |
| α Coronæ | | 20.3 | | |
| Capella | 17 | | 15.2 | 23 |
| ε Orionis | 34 | | 35 | |
Famous Temporary Stars :
| Date | Appearing in the Constellation | Appearing in the Constellation |
| 134 b.c. | Scorpio | The star of Hipparchus |
| 123 a.d. | Ophiuchus ​ |
| 386 | Sagittarius |
| 389 | Aquila near Altair |
| 393 | Scorpio |
| 1012 | Aries |
| 1203 | Scorpio |
| 1230 | Ophiuchus |
| 1572 | Cassiopeia | Tycho's Star |
| 1604 | Ophiuchus | Keplers's Star |
| 1670 | Vulpecula |
| 1848 | Ophiuchus |
| 1860 | Scorpio |
| 1866 | Corona Borealis |
| 1876 | Cygnus |
| 1885 | Andromeda |
| 1891–92 | Auriga |
Famous Variable Stars :
| Star Name | Period in Days | Range in Magnitude | Type |
| ο Ceti | 331 | 1.7 to 9.5 | Mira |
| R. Leonis | 313 | 5.2 to 10.0 | |
| β Persei | 002 7/8 | 2.3 to 3.5 | Algol |
| ζ Geminorum | 010 1/7 | 3.7 to 4.5 | |
| δ Libræ | 002 1/6 | 5.0 to 6.2 | |
| χ Sagittarii | 007 | 4.0 to 6 | |
| β Lyræ | 12.9 | 3.4 to 4.9 | |
| α Herculis | 90± | 3.1 to 3.9 | Irregular |
* ↑ With the exception of the estimate of the sun's magnitude the list is taken from the Harvard Observatory Catalogue. Other results for the stellar magnitude of the sun are as follows: Wollaston: —26.6 Bond: —25.8 Zöllner: —26.6 The sun gives us: 10,000,000,000 times the light of Sirius.
* ↑ From calculations made by Mauder.
* ↑ From Todd's Astronomy.
* ↑ From Todd's Astronomy.
* ↑ According to Allen Pollux is receding from the earth at a rate of 1 mile per second.