New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-01-31
ASTRONOMY.
LECTURE n....BY J. P NIcHOL. LIZ D.
Ryoried for II, Iribns b. o. DYER, Paragraphs


The Mechanism OF thess grand Stellar Custer... oar
Heavens repir,e with Activity aud Notion. TIE
Sy.er Of Double STAR. More complex Groups. 90.
Ide. OF JniversA Mechanism. Tbs Motion OF our
San through Spacs-...l6sl Of Csntra Sgn....The
Instability Of oHr Ers.aes; forms ard esll1cston.
N Re.,f.0a Of Material Changes = the Vii
Of COP.
Prof Nichol vas greeted On Saturday evening with
adegree Of enthusiasm seldom, ieverbefore extend
ed to Scientifc Lecturer 1t seemed as though
the members Of the audience were determined to
DO Up all their cheering before the Lecture was
commenced. but. notwithstanding their very liberal
bes,owal Of snticipatory applause their ou,bursis
Of appreciation during the delivery Of the Lecture
were frequent enough and hearty enough To have
satisfied a Returned Hero twas really crafty.
ing 70 witness the eagerness with which the large
and intelligent audience listened to the eloquent
lecturers lucid and glowing exposition OF the alb
.,ruse principles and sublime accomplishments Of
Astronomical Science.
After the applause with which he was welcomed
had subsidized Prof Nichol spoke as follows
LADIES AND GExrLENES / endeavored to ex
plain in my last Lecture what lights have now
reached as respecting the Arrangement OF the
Stellar Universe. Upon examination we find that
the brilliant orbs which compose this vast uni
verse. are not distributed with any apparent
regularity through space. but are thrown together
into single groups or clutters few Of which have
been anay zed by the telescope. The forms ol
some Of these groups rs uniolted by the power oi
those mighty instruments. are certainly most
strange and. whether the inference be correct or
not they orclbly impress upou us the idea that ne
are looking AZ incOmpleteness-at a phenomenon
whose entire completeness is not displayed 10 is
existing form-whch IN fact, belongs to some wide
scheme. and which is not Ineligible except as an
intermediate step in the course OF some great pro
erosion.
attempted my previous Lecture. 10 lay before
the audience those great lights which we have ob
tanned with regard 10 the structure OF our great
Stellar Heavens-tO show that instead al the Stars
being distributed throughout all space our Heavens
are bat a simple cluster. group,-a limited. deli
mite and peculiarly shaped group. The nearest
approach TO the shape OF this group may be found
in the diagram before you Here the lecturer
pointed to n large diagram representing an i'm
mense spherical cluster OF stars, with the sun in
the center-thc stars az they receded from the sun
growing more and more irregular in their dlstri-
button
In connection with this claster the telescope has
shown us a vast variety of others. whose forms
likewise, so very capricioUs and ire gular, that
when we look AZ them. we feel the conviction that
We are looking at something incomplete, un.nish
ed-that these nebulP are in stage of progress,
produrt Of any known law If my idea is correct,
and certainly, so far as have exposed il there
is nothing in favor Of It except probability-ue
shall find by an examination OF our own Stellar
Heavens. proof on every side and in every appre-
cable form, that their characteristic ia action AMI
not repose That portion Of the subject which con.
Quoted 10 the most satisfactory results, was lead IN
by an ingenious Englishman named Mitchell, during
the last century. while making observations on the
group of the Pieiades. On taking survey OF the
heave1s. his attention was much attracted by this
peculiar cluster and after bestowing upon it most
searching examination ne said "it is impossible
that this group OF so many stars, occupying So
small a space can be accidental. IL must lndi-
cate system" He even went so far rs TO throw
out what. at that time was most bold conlec-
ture viz: that these orbs would manifest their
connection in a systematic manner by develop
ing internal motion. Unfortunately, however IN
his time astronomical instruments had not been
brought 10 such a state Of perfection as would
enable this conjecture to be verified. His ideas
did not lead to any definite result nor could they
as science then existed. Bu. they were subse
auenty revived with great energy by herscnel
under auspices uIucu more favvrnbic. Herschei
however. did not know that Mitchell had preceded
him in this department. His attention was directed
10 certain peculiar bodies found In tue heavens
which we now call double stars. and which, to the
naked eye. appear Just like single stars. But
when the telescope power is apphed to them they
are found to be two stars placed so near together
that the naked eye cannot appreciate the interya
between them. Previous b Herschels time u
was known that these stars existed m the heas
ems, but they had never been subjected 10 an ex
animation Sufficiently accurate TO enable Astrono
mers ~ determine their constitution and the laws
which guide their motions. Ii was not supposed
that they were 50 near each other as they have
since been ascertained 10 be- will illustrate this
point in the following manner: Suppose looh al
these two lights from such direction that they
shall be in nearly the same line OF vision II did
not know that this large space existed between
them, would suppose, from their appearance, that
they lay in the same immediate neighoornood
Here YOU will observe was the difficulty attending
the solution previous to Herschels time OF the
problem OF the double stars. But he discovered
that they were in immediate proximity and not
apparent merely, as had formerly been supposed.
Herschel was attracted TO this peculiar class 81
bodies, with reference TO the problem called the
problem Of me paraildz. and his telescope soon
enabled him to discover that there were many more
such stars than could be explained on the old hyPo
thesis.
rzvwwxxvr-~zrrrzwz think the audience will