Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-08-05


li>hed in the ST. Mary's Beacon. and that
the meeting adjourn to the day set out
In the above resoluti ons
! ANOTHER BUHStSG SrAR.-Father Sec
chi has added discovery to the many
he ha, already made In the ever widening
world of stars He has discovered &C.
lestlal confagration! He has turned that
most wonderful and simple of all instru
ments, the spectroscope, to tho variable
star Z. in Gemini, and be has found II
all ablaze
We we'll remember the thrilling sensa-
ton which was caused by the sudden out
| burst of star in Corona in 1866. which
| shone with the lustre Of star of the
fourth magnitude and gradually djsap-
poarei in tie formlcss vol, though still
remaining as an oil jet of telescope re-
| search.
The variable star in Genini to which
| we now refer attained its maximum bright
ness in February last and has been sub
iected to careful spectroscopic e1amua-
| ton bv Father Seccfi one of The unwear-
! led investigators Of celestial phenomena.
He found its spectrum closely analogous
| to that of the star in GuOna. 1t shows a
brilliant hydrogen ray, and as near as
/ terrestrial observation can determine pres
ents the awe-inspiriug spectacle of a world
on fire
1t has taken many years for the light
of that burning star to reach our mortal
vision ; perhaps even now yonder spark
ling sun filming up among tn" stars has
passed into new form of material exis-
| tence, and its dependent worlds have been
dissolved in vapor, Many years must
pass before on the swift wings of light tue
tldings will be borne to US; for many
years still shining among its peers will
the star be seen by mortal yes even wh@n
the fat of Almighty power has biottci II
I out forever
f. IN Gamini Is not the only 6~e WI $"
nrghtY blaza W have t watch ThH
pi ysi have, hrcn busy with Two COM
cts of 1853. callod Bror-on'~ aud Win
neckc'>. -nl fuuul them to b. masses Of
bu nln crF"n rfrx rem trhujty; VIM
necke's come. still family burns in the
northwestern evening sky. Now. .,
we can account for the great star Of l5l2t
which Judd My shone forth in Cassiope'a
with a brightness which made It visible
at no day; now we comprehend the
lesser ght of Corona and watch with
intensi d interest the fire which every
night i, revealed b our observation.
Is til. spectroscope with its simplicity
ard Ger ainty ordained to teach what the
wisdom of ages has only conjectured,
at there will be an end to the form
which material elements hava taken IN the
u. at world of space? We iremble at
every scovery, aud look upon the spec
troscopc with feeling approaching ven
GRAFTON t,r the magnitude of the conclu-
sions it reaches, as well Is an Illustration
of the simplicity with which great results
are attained IN the material a. we'll as the
spiritual world, \ black line OF n certain
form on a spectrum Of the sun shows that
an irgreteut exists there which IS found
in OR globe bright line in the spec
trum Of star shows that its light has
passed through aqueous vapors, lndica-
! ting white hot nucleus surrounded by
au iucandesccnt atmosphere, IN fact, that
the stars are suns like our own.
Well May Mt higgins say that child
rem should no longer be taught the YER
ses OF the hymn
''r~frklc, twinkle little star,
How wonder What you are,
| syr ne know the composition Of the stars ;
! that they are snns formed Of many OF the
same ingredients that compose our sun
| and the planets of the solar system that
! some clements exist amoug them that are
/ unknown to US that some Of our fsni-
! lar substances are entirely wanting anon
/ them: that there is no gold IN the sun,
no silver in Aldcbaran. no by 1rcgsp IN Be
t telgeu1.
From tie observations Of Lockyer and
Jaunsen, made during the solar eclipse
! Of last August. there can be little doubt
I that the rosy protuberances, which
! have SO long puzzled astronomers during
eclirSes, are Immense masses Of glowing
hydregen rising to the height of from 90
/ uge to 20 900 miles above the surface Of
| the SAl- nt$ facs also gives an 3dlt-
| tional reasc, for believ,ng TIA. orr suu
F! belongs TO the class Of yariahls stars
| Immediately comes the Suggestive ques-
T., tion, may not SIMILAR conhigration burst
I forth 10 the great source from waIcf,
derive our hight and heat? My net our
suu suddenly blazs up IN the hruiane,,t
! ot SOME lar distant world, as the star Ia
Cvroua ui1 IN nurs? May no, these start
ing facts dImis for->h4 low the iu>e loI.
prophesird IN wuIch the heavens shall
pass away with : great ! ~. AMI tue eI-
eueuts SHALL mel. with er7eut heat. the
earth also aud the works tsat are there
Ia >hal. b. turned III = i the in.eu>i-
IL oi tae suu> rays were Increased eigh;
nu.aIsesi fold, Cur s.oba woaii be aIssi-
patel 10 vapor. as drop Of water IN