The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-04-10
TUESDAY, P R 10, 1877.
A Serious Event Deferred.

recently published an article concerning
the confagration of a star hat caused
so much commotion in astronomical
circles a few months ago. His disclos-
ures may disturb the timid part of our
race; it certainly will make the judi
cious grieve, although his conclusions
are uttered to assure Is there is no
danger. Yet Mr.. Proctor knows of
nothing to prevent the sun from taking
fire almost any day. The catastrophe in
the stellar system in November last oc-
CURED, the astronomer sagely
us, a hundred years ago, probably. The
messenger that brought the news to us
had traversed millions upon millions of
miles before reaching us, although
travelling at a rate sufficient to circle
the earth eight times in the course of a
second. If a similar accident happened
our sun, the creatures on that side of
the earth turned toward him would be
destroyed in al instant, and the re-
mainder soon afterward. The heavens
would be dissolved, and the elements
would melt with fervent heat. There
were other solar CONGREGATIONS before
that of November last. The first on
record, says Mr.. Proctor, occurred two
Thousand years ago.. 1t was seen blaz-
ing in full daylight, showing that it was
many times brighter than Sirius, the
blazing dog star. 1t was called a new
star, because it had ever been invisible
until its confagration made its light
temporarily visible. The next new
star Tor stellar conflagration) appeared
three times, A. d. 945, 1864, and 1872,
and is expected to be seen on fire again
before long. The star remained burn
ing at its last appearance for sixteen
months, and looked to be larger than
Jupiter and brighter than Sirius. In
1896 another new star was observed, and
in 1904 still another was discovered.
The astronomers found by the aid of
the telespectroscope that the increase
in the stars light, rendering the star
visible, was due to the abnormal heat
of the hydrogen surrounding that re-
mote sun. But they were not able to
determine satisfactorily whether the
hydrogen was aglow with the heat of
the star or whether absolute combustion
was in p recess. These star conhagra-
lions, it is believed, are caused by con-
tact with other heavenly bodies-mete-
ORIG flights travelling on eccentric paths,
or those in a%ttendancen o the comets.
The meteors attendant on a comet con-
tinue to follow in its path years after
the comet has disappeared. The tail of
the comet of 1S43 must have actually
glaZed our sun. Newton's comet near
ly approached it. In 1859 two meteoric
masses came in contact with the sun.
At any time we may be visited by a
comet greater than any of these, trav-
cling on an orbit intersecting the SUMS
surface. followed by flights of meteoric
masses o. in size and many in
number, which, falling upon the sun,
would excite that body TO a degree of
heat far exceeding that which he now
Clillo. II hldSoto lhdI lNll u 1COO
was evidence of the tremendous heat to
which the SUMS surface cal be excited.
Vivid auroras were seen where they had
never been seen before, accompanied by
electromagnetic disturbances all owe
the world. In many places the tele-
graph struck work, the signal men re-
ceived severe shocks, and in Boston a
flame Of fire followed the pen of a II cleo
trio telegraph which writes messages
upon chemically prepared paper. That
was the effect of two meteors. The eff
feet Of a comet, bearing in its flight
many millions of meteoric masses, fall
ing upon the sun can be understood but
not calculated. All living things ON
the earth and on other members of the
solar system would be inevitably de-
stroyed-says Mr.. Proctor. If a comet
came out of that part of the constella-
ton Taurus, arriving in such n time as
to fall upon the SUI in May or June, the
light of the sun would act as a veil, and
we should be instantly destroyed with
out knowing anything about IL. III II
fell in November or December we
should see it for weeks, and a%strono-
mers inform us that they would fall
upon the sun. The disturbance there
would be temporary, but there would
be no student of science left to record
the effects-and no Cheyenne LEADER
to publish it.
Yet-sweet relief-the chances are
largely against such an accident. Our
sun is one among millions, any one of
which would become visible to the eye
under such accident. Still, there have
been in the last two thousand years al
most twenty such catastrophes. Mr.
Proctor treasures us in another way, by
saying that all but one of these confla-
grations have appeared in the zon of
tho lf;IIy Nov opd fbot ono in n no