New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1847-03-23
NEW.YORk TRIBUNE.
ASTRONOMY.
paor. ,urCuELL's LECTURES. e. No


'.'s1I,x DIFFICULTIES IN CASTING THE FksALLAx OF
%. frxrb srARs...sIR wH. HERscHEL TAXES CP 1HE
,,vssrisAfios Ink DOUbLr STARS ..AsToNisHiNG DIS
,,xsYtfs o. ELRscpEL...THE INTENSE INTEREST EX
cTrretY rHEN. ..rHE PsR.LLAX oF Tar FIXED srAR'
sssLL UsOpcOrkKAsLE....THE hEido1Grss Is coS-
.fxrcTsO 81 FRAUENHOFER AND 8gssEL on KoEIGs
Fgse..rHs IhlUnPB oF HERscnEL.-.IHE siDEsEAt
Rf4rsss. ..NxoLER .THE GREAT cESrEa OF THE Uni
sFssE.. .HffscHEL AcAtS...ARG AEDER.. .sIRUvE
yfDLEs AcAIS-His DISCOVERY OF THE ckysI cETIEE
cg fHg UNIVERSE. CONCLUDING REMARKS or PROF.
nlicHELL
Ladics and Gentlemen ] meet the responsible
lies Of this night with feelings Of the deepest soil
c;tude. When / look around upon this vast assem-
blage and sec the thousands Of eyes that are fixed
upon me--wben reflect upon the magnitude o.
me subject upon which ] nm to teat--of its
complexity--its difficulties, feel with the little
physical strength which j possess to night more
Ike rctreating from this position than attempting
70 20 forward in the discharge OF my duty.
Thus fsr, in the very short Course OF Lectures
have had the pleasure OF delivering "a you, have
ia some sense. confined my remarks TO our own
system-to the laws which govern the movements
of the Planets and their satellites and the fsrsweepins
Comets but onight am 10 leave this system tonigh,
wne obliged 10 20 out into the depths Of Fpsce--we
1s obliged 70 rccods until sun dwindles To o
nispr star-unin all the Planets lost snd even in
dsed until the mighty orb OF Leverer himself shrinks
% a mere point But not only 10 penetrate
space We are examine how the vast orbs that Ill
,usce are disubutedwe 10 watch their slow move
rusn,s and from these minute mouops. we are 10 de.
duse ons q the most sublime results thst the human
mind has ever reached. How shall | introduce this
sbee.l How shall give you idea of the scale upon
which Creation has been constIuctedl Here | must
begn
Our own Earth is 1000 miles In diameter II has circu.
shns about IT, Moon at the distance OF 100000 miles
Here little system We 60 still farther and we
find the planet Jupiter surrounded by four Moons,
YoYns obedient to their central orb Here fs a much
larger system But we leave these subordinate systems
and 20 out to the Sun itself with It's mighty satellites and
10 millions OF comets sweeping through space in every
possible direction plungng downward almost perpeHd
GUAR 10 the plane Of the eclptc, and rsng from below
coming 20 their perhelion in ooedence TO the sun ana
weeping again into space tar that the mind ~ be-
wldered in attempting tn trace their wanderings befe
Ia mighty system but il is only one unit in creations
scae-lt Is only sun, one system. As we look out
tonight we find the hesveDs gcmmed with bright oros
What are these Turn the gaze OF the Telescope upon
fnus Fix your instrument, 40 that the Larth by lts
revolution upon shall bring this orb 10 across
the field Of view Long before il reaches the field we ind
he twilight Ike the dawn of day growing brighter and
more beautiful until like the sun this star bursts IN
u,on ths eve with splendor almost insufierable But
when YOU bring your micromeuca wires To bear upon
Ia diameter you will find no sensible diameter exis,ng
Jupiter with more light than SIRIUS exhiois lHn
orb like the Moon and under the power oil the lele
scope sge to a size far greater than that OF the moon
when seen by the naked eye Sirius, with all lts sPen
dor has absolutely sensible diameter we nave
swept outward and outward into the depths oil space
until the dt,nce we are separated from the star Is re-
duoed TO thoussndth part and yet thus thoussne'n
part great that the apparent size OF the OBJECT mas
not been reduced in the smallest degree nov" ,neh
all. of
can find the disance of one fixed Star we have right
TO conclude that they scattered through space IN
such manner, that their mean distances wiz DC nearly
the same Having therefore attained the distance o
one OF these objects We are furnished with unit OF
measure with which can complete the examination
Of the Universe of Stars. But 10 accomplish ths II
becomes necessary to find their parsllax. Let me
explain tho meaning of this term, which shall be
o5haed 10 employ in the remaing part OF this lecture.
Te apareaf change in the place OF an object occasoned
he real change in the place OF the spectator VINO
views the object is called paralacue change and the
sse subiended by the two lines drawn from the two
positions Of the observer 10 the object seen, is called
hs psrallactc angle or parslaN OF the object In at
tempting 10 determine the distance oil the Moon rom
The Earth for example, all that Is necessary ~ 70
tie paralax Here is the observer, located upon inc
Earth Al certain point lie locks out upon the MOON
and hnds II located in certain group OF hAec sths
Another observer looks out upon the Moon, from
position. and nnds il located IN another
the two observers and the Moon form an snge the base
Of which IT, the distance between the two points OF %
servsuon BY this angle the distance OF the onecs eau
Be computed When effort was made In TINS way,
10 ind The praax of the Fixed Stars was found tns'
hnes drawn from 1.-The exiremtos Of the same dam
str Of tie Earth-forung base line OF SUI mics 10
sngthto fixed star were absolutely paIsiei W easu
ether on that the angle at the nNed star was 80 uute
ia, no in.trunent by the art OF man. could
fnd il In tho least de gree sensible. When man found u
ulterly Impossible therefore. to accomplish the re
solution OF this problem in this way he conceived
.a0htr idea. He is upon Tue Esrih-ne nlaAes lnls
In. - asnrv which
The sun describing an orbit of nearly SOpUOOVV0
Of niles in diameter. Tonight he likes his instru
mrt aoon tue star selected for exsininsuon-he
seps is place IN the hcayens-he waits unu the bsrih
Ia passed over one half of Its annual orbit Beis then
spHsa from his first position by distance 2VnVoVVVO
q Giss Hero again be directs the Telescope TO tne
SHsgan ssiens its psce, and mus iorus ~ me two
a rsys drawn the Star from the eNtfentes OF TINS
innose diameter of 200 0OooO0 o. miles, vast hisn
&C. With such base he hopes that the anglo al inc
star VIII now become distinctly measurable but seeh
he stupendous distance that these lines conNergins
he hs enormous base lose themselves In The distance
ra become 50 far ~ no can measure them absolutely
gfale. When il was found that even oy this ssupeh
deas prOcess-lhis almost inconeelNAnie caiSuisuuh
ias Mighty prohem could not be solved, the mind was
eserwhelms d-it was almost ready 20 yield-to
give 10 tho Investigation. IL was NOS unth eif Nm
ierscasl commenced his Investigations taa' ray o.
hope again broke ill., that the resolution OF the periaA
o. ihe fixed starr could be accomplished nc disooN
cred s ee,t.in Stars which seemed single 10 sae eye
sew ioaad 10 be double when examined throasn .oe
lecsccse bat M. Stsra were closely unied, thar
der distance from each other only rendered Sp
PecaAe by the maenfylng powers OF ths instrument
Now Mid he we may be able 10 solve the problem
VI De pArallsx OF the Fixed stars Let me select a
ssh Star Ia which one Of the conponeuts possesses
sA the brhancy OF the other, and II ine magnitude
q desc Stars depends only ap0a their assiaAcS then
III the smaller be twice as remote 80 tne iNseI,
ennclee my observations 60 ou measuring as tne
t1A carries me round The sun. and these oblcce "H
s'eg to change their relative posions IN dareenons
snch are readily computed. provided ihis Change :
otoeed by the sweep Of the Earth In rs orbit round
ee Sun" But when HEkscHxL commenced this IN
ssasAuon, new fact burst IN upon Dlna-one OF vac
~, Astounding discoveries ever made BY the human
mud he had computed the directions IN which they
.sni 10 move If their motion was psralAcnc. 10 his
wound establishment he found them moving mol ss nc
- imssaed-ho found the stars ec'nsily revolving
s,sn each other. close examination OF long ycsrs
~ him the wonderful truth that these Stare were not
al IN space-the one behind the other~out that
~ were physically united-two suns revolving
Soai their center Of gravity. When this truth
- revealed 10 the world. the deepest interest
~ excited al over Europe. Every mind and every
eseope were At once directed 10 the liked stars,
not time 10 relate you the extraordinary discoye
~ ~ mat have been made among these binary systems.
- Ynncpa point to be settled this II these OBJ
We're actually revolving about each other, what
o. we law that governed their motions ! IL was St
- sassested that grAvtsuon might possibly extend
Aaafnee 10 these worlds. Tue law OF gravl,atOn
- pPcc, The elements OF their orbits computed and
to relate Il found that they, too. ware
.-sh 10 the sans law that brings the stone. cast
~ band into the AIR, down sgsn 70 the earth Yet