Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-05-17
LOST STARS.

h'"i .ho"scs VI CoiOT anu speCfaIlY
red civilizations have been long re-
marked as highly characteristic of an
extensive and well-known class of stars
termed variable stars" or stars va
riable m their brightness and con-
sequent visibility through periods of
time. attending in the different cases
from a few days TO many years, and oc-
casionally, IT is believed, to several CEN
turIes. Thus the star termed by as
tronomers Algoi, o: Persei, varies in
brightness from the second to the fourth
magnitude, and back again, in the short
period OF two days, twenty hours and
iorty-eigh, minutes. Lyre varies from
the third to the fifth magnitude, and
comes back to the third again, in six
days and zine hours. 0micron, or Mira
Ce;i, varies from the second magnitude
to complete inyi>ibility, and reappears
and comes up 10 the second magnitude
again in three hundred and sixtv-
four days. Argus varies from one of
the very brightest OF the stars Of the
fir>t magnitude IN the whole heavens
down TO a most uncomfortable one Of
the fourth magnitude, and blazes out
again up 10 the first magnitude in about
torty-slx year: while r. Gopher varies
from the fifth magnitude down TO the
eleventh magnitude, or visible only
in a very powerful telescope, and re-
turns TO the fifth, which is visible to
the naked eye, in about seventy three
years. Now these stars, no matter
how much they may vary in brightness,
are no more lost and peri>hed in space
when they tade away and disappear to
Us, than our sun is when hid from our
view al night by the intercepting body
OF the earth. Neither are they moved
out OF their fixity Of place nor deprived
oil any OF their mass or gravitation- gov
erning power over their attendant plan
ets, any more than our sun is, when,
at times, now known 20 be periodic and
subject to law, his bright surface is
dimmed by many dark spots. Hence,
the simples, supposition TO explain the
observed phenomena ofthe star fiitv-
fifth OF Hercules is, tha, it is one OF
those variable stars" in which case it
still undoubtedly exists in Its own place.
and will again appear to view there at
some future time. Blu, mere telescope
details can affect only the few: while
the general public is rather thirsting for
a taste OF some good big star which all
can see. WAS there not such star
they ask. "brighter than any OF the orbs
which We have before US now, TO be
seen once in the constellation OF Cas-
siopeia: and did it not burn and blaze
through several wears in varied colors,
Just like a world on fire. and then dis
appear and leave its place absolutely
vacant Such star was certainly
seen BY all the northern world in 1879.
1873. and 1874, but not previously 10
that; until, at least. YOU ascend the
stream OF time to 1864, when a tempo
rary aPparstion OF the same sort ap-
pesred IN the same part OF the sky; and
again the same thing is reported in his
tory TO have occurred in the year 945
A. ID. So that here again We have
merely an extreme case ot "vaua-
BILE" star. with an intense though short
lived maximum Of light and long con-
tinued minimum. Bnt 50 far from be-
ing now-because its minimum is below
human Visibility lost, lapsed. or des-
troyed star, II may be, and probably is,
going on in its own place according 10
laws which /; has followed In the past,
and will continue 10 follow for count
less millions Of years, without mo-
ments' cessation at any time. And in
fact the sequence of the numbers 945,
1864, 1879, lead astronomers to expert
cts temperance at some time previous
60 1890. And ifit does shine forth
again at that time, and prove itself in
the scientific world 10 be "a variable"
with a period OF more than three hun.
d-ed years, II will not only get the phys.
zeal nature Of its light well examined
by srectroscopic analysis. but will
strengthen that variable star explana-
ton" tor the benefit ot many other TEN
porary stars with still longer periud> OF
time; and longer we saw advisedlv, be-
cause only one of their maxims of
brightness is known 10 have been wit
messed vet through all the human Pc
riod. Such were the intensely bright
star in Sefpen;arious in 1914 A. D.; the
bright star in Scorpio in 900 A. d.: an
other in Aqu,la in SsS A. D.: and still
another in 4s0 A. D.; not to say any
thing Of the still more celebrated and
classic cases OF the "Lost Pieiad,"
which the poets affirmed 10 have dis
sppeared in grief AFTER the seige sad
taking Of Troy. about i2oo B. e., lssv-