The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-03
WARMTH ERoA THE STARS.

It would scarcely be thought by most per-
sons (says our contemporary that the stars
supply the earth with an appreciable amount
| OF heat. Even on tie darkest and clearest
night, when the whole heavens seem lit up by
multitude OF sparkling orbs, the idea OF heat
is not suggested by their splendor.. 1t will,
| therefore, seem surprising to many that men
Of science should assign no uncomfortable por-
| tion OF our terrestrial heat supply to those
distant twinkng lamos. 1t is not many years
since Professor Hopkins, of Cambridge, went
even farther, AMI expressed his belief that II
the earth's atmosphere were but increased
come IS, QUO yards IN height, SO a3 to have an
increased power of yetainins the warmth pour
cd upon it from outer space, we might do with.
out the sun altogether 30 far as our heat sup
ply is concerned. as glass house collects
the suns heat and renders 1t available during
the time that the sun is below the horizon, 30
ha hold that tha eayGr ~ ~, Of alr XQud
serve 10 garner the Warmtn oI Iho sCaIs lh
quantities sufficient for all our requirements.
itrt until lately all these views, however plau-
sibla they might have seemed, had not been
founded upon ftgcts actually observed. 10 has
been reserved for these DAYS IN which dlscov-
cries OF the naoet unexpected kind are dasfy
rewafding the labors OF our physiolsts 70 soc
that established as certainty which mad De-
lore been founded merely upon considerations
OF probability. mir. Higgins, the physicist
and astronomer, has Just published the results
of q series OF inquiries addressed to the actual
measurement Of the heat which We receive
from tho leading briliants Of the nocturnal
sky, The instrument called the ealyanometer.
which has been made more or less familiar to
mauy of us by the researches and lectures OF
Mr.. Tyndall, was made use OK by MIR. Hugglns
in these Investigations; The instrnms snt was
the image OF o star formed by the eight.inch
object glass might fall upon the surfAce Of the
thermopie. It will give some token OF the
care required in researches OF the sort to mem
ton that the apparatus had to be lett attached
to the telescope for hours, sometimes TOR days,
no ii the needle whose motion marks the ac-
tion Of heat had come to perfect rest. When
the time came for making an observation, the
shutter o. the dome which covers the tele'
scope was opened, and the telescope was turn
ed upon part OF the sky near to some bright
star, but not actually under the star. Then
the needle was watched to determine whether
the change OF position had p; oduced any effect.
II IN four or five minutes no signs OF change
we're shown, the telescope was moved over
the small distance necessary to bring the image
of the star directly on the face OF the pole.
Almost ALWAYS tho needle began to move as
soon as the image OF the star fell upon 1t. The
telescope was then moved slightly away again
from the star; the needle Was then seen to re
turn to its place. In this way from twelve to
twenty observations would be made upon the
same star, so that no doubt might remain as
to the motion Of the needle being really due
to the stars heat. 1u this way 1t was found
that the bright Arcturus moved the needle
three degrees in about a quarter OF an hour.
So did Regulus, the leading brilliant OF Leo,
the constellation at present adorned by the
splendor of ruddy Mars. Pollux gave defec-
tion Of one and a half degree; but, singularly
enough, his twln brother Castor produced nc
ks<sact at all upon the needle. The splendid
Ius gave def ,ction OF only two degrees; but
as this star is always low down, and SO shines
through greater proportion OF the denser
atmospheric strata, it is not surprising that its
heat should not bo proportloned to its bril-
liapcy