, 1874-03-10
PROF. PROCTOR.
First Lecture Of the Course at
Kingsbury Hall.
The Story Of tho Wonders Of the
Star-Dcptls.
The Distances and Sizes Of Some Of
the Stars.
Distribution Of Stellar and Nebular
Matter in Space.
Work of Hcrscl1o1, Struvc, Proc
tor, ind Others.
a Brief Statement Of What Has Been
Done in Chicago.
Work of Hcrscl1c1, Struvc, Proc
tor, ind Others.
4 Brief Statement Of What Has Been
Done in Chicago.
Tho Needs Of Our Observatory.


Tho course Of lectures upon astronomy by Mr..
r. A. Proctor, WIS begun yesterday evening III
| Kingsbury Music Hall. Ono or tho largest and
most Intelligent audiences that Chicago couli
| produce was present, And even tho butterflies ol
fashion wero tlero in strong force. Some oi
them can1e bocauao It was Lent aid 'tono must
| go somewhere" Others thought it was goinn
to DO fashionable to 10 aciontilc and they musi
go with tho fashion. They romintlod ono Of the
French Indy who being taken to dinner
/ by distinguished philosopher, said, SHOW,
| my dear frioud, MS wo must wait five minutes
for the soup, ploaso tell mo the history of the
world-I am dying to hear itl'
nlr. Proctor WINS introduced by h1r. j. +
scammon, President Of tho Chicngo Astronomi.
cal Society, and he began speaking cloarly and
rapidly, but in a voice which was necessarily mo.
notonous, owing to. tho effort required tc
fill the MuHo Hall, the acoustic prop,
critics Of Which, it may 10 remarked
are hardly what they should DO. MIR. Proctor Ii
handsome man. apparently nbout 10 yoars oi
ago, with dark English typo Of face, largo oyes,
regular fcatures, aud compact figure. Flo wears
moustacho aud sido-wbiskers, aud parts his lni,
in the middle.
Tho only drawbaoks to the lecture woro the
failure to turn the lights low enough, some
trhing difficulties with tho stercoptlcon, aud the
bad tasto Of several persons who loft the lall III
the middle Of tho lecture.
Tho following iB tho Lectures
THE CALM OF THE STAR DEPTHS.
If you look ut the Sly in calm clear night,
such as you have in America, 'twilou all tho
stars shiuo, and tho immcaBurablo heavens break
opon to tloir lghoat," tho thoughtful mind ia
impressed with tic feeling that a solemn calm
roigns in those infnito depths. This iH tho idoa
| suggested to tho poet. Nor does any other Wow
prosont itself to those who study tho first toacl,-
ings of astronomy. Wo know that the stellar
Sphere is carried from cast to west as tho sui,
and moon aro carried, in tho period Of single
day; and VIC know If NO watch tho heavens
night after night, at the samo hour,
thero is motion from east to west
taking place In the courso Of yoar.
Aud t]loro is yct ono other motion by which tho
whole sphere Of the Heavens seem to gyrato
about m axis, tho poriod of that gyration boing
10000 yoRra. But we know quite vol that
THESE MOTIONS ARE NOT REAL,
that they nre produced by orr oarthH motion.
1t is tho earth rotating hor axis III the course
Of aay which ca'sses the heayeus to ep;car TO
turn around in that time. It Is tho earth tr1yol-
ing around in MI orbit which causes tho heavens
to have yearly motion. And it il tho oarth
gyratlng like gigantic clock, in TINT period
Of 2G, 700 ycArH, that cAusca the whole sphere Of
tho hoavenB to seem to gyrate in that period
But 80 soon as no pass from those first toacll-
taught uB by modorn discovery, wo 800 that,
whore there Hecnls to be rest, thoro is m nc
tiyity compared with which all tho forms Of lifo
on our earth arc insignificant. Every ono Of the
ntars that scom 20 still iii travelling through
space many miles in every second Of time. Tile
worry least Of tlloso orba-Bonne star 30 mint that
it is only visible by notnoutnry scintillations-is
m orb in every second Of whose existence thcro
is moro lifo and onorgy than is sullGiont for tho
wants Of tlllB earth for many hundreds Of years +;
al increase or Il dminutiou Of brightness, cor
respond to III RccosBion or diminution Of life
md energy comparable to tho Bupply which tho
earth receives from our sun during hundreds Of
yearn.
THE ACTIVITY OF THE BUN.
hayo spoken Of tho activity Of tho B1n; TINT
orb il tho scene Of activity, tumu1t, and cuergy
compared to which MI tho forms Of uproar known
to US arc as nothing. Every ono Of these stars
has enucted in it similar sconc. Therefore got,
will zoe how utterly dfreront is tho reality fr,m
that presented to tho mind. You look at tho
heavens in this country OF olear skies, where
everything looks 80 far of, aid tho
stars seem 90 still, and tho hnavonn ap::
calm mud peace. while, in reality, you aro looik-
Ing ut the moHt stupendoua Eccno Of activity.
and now lot US reflect upon tho facts from which
we have lcnrnod tl!at this ia tho actual condition
hnvo to know how largo thoso Htnrs aro and In
order to know That, wo must have thoir dstAnoe.
In point Of fact, NO only know tho distance OF
| about nino or ten stnrp. Indeed, may 70 much
farther than that, and Fay theso il but one star
III tho heavens whose dintanco cau be looked
upon Oh determined.
DIsTASCEB OF THE FIxED sTARs
Tho problem which astronomers haye to solyo
in determining the dtataneo of the fixed Htars III
ono Of stupcnlouB difficulty. We have not to
determine it BY two observers pinced ut opposite
ailcs Of the eartl's orbit. but by observations
Mado from different parts of the onrtA's orbit,
separated by 16O, O,0Do, 600 miles. All atary, ex-
cept nine or ten, remain unchanged III direction :;
clianse Of 1s0,O0 900 miles i'll tho place Of
observation makoa no rorcopt:b Bile change IN
their direction: There in Il star iu tho Aoutllorn
heavens called Alpha Centauri. That star
changes very slightly II, its apparent position ma
tho earth circles around itH orbit. A good why
Tako tho minute hand Of watch. II TINT hand
woro moving uniformly, yol would nut bo able
to see the change ia slllgls socoid ut all.
llno to that STIR cllangoB loss from 's position
than does the 1ninulo hand. not inn soco bt1t lil
tho twohu,,trottll past Of it. That Btar IL $50 QUO
| tiineA further away tllan our Hun IL, Anothor
star III u Oygni, which has groat motion com,
pnred with other atnra. Ttlat ntRr was eatinntod
to 10 about thrco times tho distance 1T tlIo ono
| previously spoken Of. Astronomers l.ay0 sinoo
found TINT il IL not three ti.nos but twice tho
distance. Now It appears TINT they lad hoon in
! orror to tho extent of 100000 nlllos III the
sun's distance, but l1ore IL MI error Of $50, 400
tinos tl'o whole distanco of tho aun; mud yot the
error IN instrumental measurement in no small
that we arc scarcely abo to appreciate 1t. We
| hayo no Mea!!s OF measuring tlia disk Of O atar,
1i!n larsoat lrononts no upprcciable diuk Ii, thu
! tolcscnpo.
THE HIZE OE STAIla.
How then can wo tell tho Bizo OF star /? va
lale no nioaila except by mcGs,ltIng ita light
| Take tho star Alpln In tho Cou!nus. That stal
l,as bcon found to shine will, to n, ,0o0, 900,
Du0th part of tho suns brightness. II tho s,tll
wero romoyod to tho dtatn,lco Ut tint star, II
would 10 tho 49, 600 900 000tl4 part Of in present
brlrltnosa, and would DO more reduced tlla1
tint utnr actually H. That Htar Hllnoa t1reo
t!lues ~ brightly aa tho sun Il placed hoslda w.