Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1880-12-09

With the opening ot December
the bril- liant cons aellations Of win
ter b, gin to illume the sky. Who
ever at this season commences to-
,.aake himself familiar with the stars
will never he likely to- abandon
the study. The glorics of the fir
mament seem to increase with clo-
ser acquaintance A star becomes
much more interesting when onc
knows its name, and it times and
seasons. In the clear, frosty air of
winter ane chief stars glitter more
brilliantly than cut gems, and til.
Milky Way i'll places resembles
frosted silver, humboldt liked TO
describe tile appearance of the
stars in the tropics where they glow
in the serene nights without twink
ling, but with wonderful lnstre,
It is doubtful, however, whether
the tropical skies exceed in beauty
the northern heavens ill winter.
The rising of Orion, which now
occurs at about s o'clock, seems to
make the whole sky brighter,
Before him goes the Bull, with his
rose-tinted brilliant Aldebaran
flashing in his forehead, and bear
ing the Avades and the Plciades,
the most beautiful of star clusters.
Above him shines Capella. the
sacred Goat, carried in the arms of
the giant .AuriIa. Behind hlm
chase the Dogs, with Sirius and
Procyon. the first named the bright
est of the strrs To the left of
Capella are the Twina, and follow.
ing then comes the Lion, with tho
great star Regulus, named after the
famous Roman, glittering on hia
breast.
Among all these stars striking
differences of coloY are seen. Ori-
en's principal twink 'ers. Betelge-
use and Rigel, are totally unlike i'll
hue. The first named is a pure
topaz, and the other has tinge OF
sapphire. But the grandest sight
in this splendid constellation is the
Great Nepnla in the Sword. uuv-
gems, the Dutch astronomer, who
was the first to see this wonderful
object through Il telescope, ques-
toned whether it was not an open
ing n the heavens through which
he caught a glimpse OF brighter and
more glorious regions beyond. The
amateur may apply every test OF
excellence to his telescope without
turning it away from this nebnla.
The spectroscope shows that THIS
nebula is not, like many others,
composed of stars but that is vast
mass of glowing gas. Changes
are taking place in it which indicate
that it may be condesing into
suns and worlds, jnst as our solar
system grew ont of that state OF
chaos in which it WAS "without form
and void.' Thousands of millions
of years hence if this view is correct,
when the earth is dead and the sun
| burned ont, life will make its ap-
pearance upon the untrodden
worlds in this new universe in Ori-
on. Prot. Draper has recently suc-
ceeded in photographic the nebu-
la, and thus the means are supplied
of studying its changes with more
precision than has heretofore been
possible.
Persons, Andromeda, and Cassi-
opeia may be counted among the
winter consultations, although,
like the Bears, their proximity To
the pole makes them conspicuous
at other seasons also. Cassiopeia,
which may be recognized by a zig
gag row Of five bright stars, shaped
like a section of rail fence; over
head about s o'clock, is particular
ly interesting, because there Is rea-
SON 10 expect that the wonderful
flaming star of 1872, called the Pll-
gr,m. will soon blaze out again in
y lnis constellation. Tycho Brahe,
the astronomer, says that this star
spran~ for thin its full splendor i'll
"A SD t where he was sure there was
no star visible an honr before. 1t
was so bright rs to be visible at
MONDAY. In 1861 new star ap-
) Leard and disappeared near the
/! same place, aud III 9+5 q singular
| pheonenon was. So, if these ap-
5 pearances are periodical, its return
Y may he 10 ,ked for at any time from
$ npw until 1890. BY celebrating
r backward it will pc seen that al
8 appearance of this star would ,.
9 due about the beginning Of tin
r Christian era, and the astrologer
e of Tychr's time said the new sta
n was the one that the Magi saw a
the birth of Christ. So they pre-
70 dictcd that the Last Judgment wa