The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1880-12-07
THE WINTER PERMANENT.
Beauties of the Heavens in December.
IErnin the New York Sun

From the New York Sun.
The rising of Orion. which now oc-
ours at about S o'clock, seems to make
the whole sky brighter. Before him
goes the Bull, with his rose-tinted bril-
liant Aldebaran flashing in the forehead,
and bearing the Hyades and the Pici-
AIDES. the most beautiful of star clus-
tiers. Above him shines Capella, the
sacred Goat, carried in the arms of the
giant Aurga. Behind him chase the
Dogs, with Sirius and Procyon, the first
named the brightest of all the stars.
To the left of Capella are the Twins,
and following them comes the Lion,
with the great star Regulns, named
after the famous Roman, glitteripg ON
his breast.
An4ong all these stars striking differ
ences of color are seen. Orion's prin-
cipal twinklers, Betelgeuse and Rigel,
are totally unlike in hue. Tie first
named is a pure topaz, and the other
has tinge of sapphire. But the grand
est sight in this splendid constellation
is the Great Nebula i'll the Sword.
Huygens, the Dutch astronomer, who
was the first to see this wonderful OBJ
iect through a telescope, questioned
whether it was not an opening IN the
heavens through which he caught a
glimpse of brighter and more glorious
regions beyond. The amateur may APP
ply every test of excellence to his 'tele-
scope without turning it away from this
nebula. The spectroscope shows that
this neb4la Is not, like many others.
composed of stars, but that it Ks a vast
mass OF glowing gas. Changes are
taking place in it which indicate that it
may be condensing into suns and
worlds, mst as our sslar system grew
out of that state of chaos in which it
was without form and void" Thous-
ands of millions Of years hence, if this
view is correct, when the earth is dead
and the sun burned ont, life will make
its appearance upon the untrodden
worlds in this new universe in Orion.
Prof. Draper has recently succeeded in
phetographing the nebula, and thus the
means are supplied of Studying its
changes with more precision than has
.eretofore been possible. 80
Perseus, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia
may be counted among the winter Gen.
stellations, although, like the Bears,
their proximity to the pole makes them
conspicuous at other seasons also.
Cassiopeia, which may be recognized by
a 1gzag row of five bright stars, shaped
like section os rail fence, overhead
about s o'clock, rs particularly inter
esting, because there is reason to expect
that the wonderful flaming star of 1872,
called the Pilgrim, will sson blaze out
again in this constellation. Tycho
Bsahe, the astronomer, says that this
star sprang forth in its full splendor in
spot where he was sure there was no
star visible an hour before. 1t was SO
bright as to be visible at monday. In
1864 new star appeared and disap-
peared near the same place, and in 945
a similar phenomenon was observed.
SO, if these appearances are periodical,
its return may be looked for at any time
from now until 1890. BY calculating
Backward it will be seen that an appear
ance of this star would be due about
the beginning of the Christian era, and
the astrologers of TYchos time said the
new star was the same that the Magi
saw at the birth of Christ So they
predicted that the East Judgment was
at hand A temperance of tbs Pill
grim in our day would cause no such
alarm, but it would make profound
sensation among the astronomers for
scientific reasons.
- -