Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-07-16
The Great Star Distances.

The methol of finding the distances
Of the stars, or stellar parallax, is one
of the interesting problems Of modern
astronomy. In the days OF OLD the stars
were supposed to hold the same posi-
ton in regard to each other from age
10 age, and were therefore called fixed
stars, to distinguish them from planets.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
The telescope shows that tie stars are
III constant motion, but that the rate of
motion is SO slow that thousands Of
years must elapse before the eye can
perceive the change. Some stars are
coming toward us and some are reced-
ing from us. The sun, which is only
star, is moving, with all the planets in
his train. Our earth, which is but an
atom ong atoms, is whirling, no one
knows whittier, through illimitable
space. Even the serene heaven above
us is this same space pervaded 10y an
infinitely subtle ether. whose particles
are scething and surging like the
waves of the stormy sea. The motion
Of the stars once established, it must
follow that some of them arc nearer to
US than others, and very persistent and
pailstaking have been tho efforts to find
out which of the shining suns OF space
are our nearest nelghbcrs.
Success has, however, crowned pa
tient labor. Among the 100000 600
stars that glimmer in the armament,
there are about dozen stars visible in
our latitude that have para!lax rang
ing from tenth to a half-second. 1t
would be natural TO suppose that the
brightest stars are the nearest, but this
is far from being the case. Tbs near
est star ia tie northern heavens Is u
double star of the fifth magnitude i'll
the Swan known as 81 Cygni. The
brilliant Sirius is nearly tTico as far
away. The nearest star in the whole
heavens is Alpha CeAtaur, bright
star near the south pole. This has a
parallax OF ninc-tenths Of IL second, aad
Is twice as near as any oth,r star. It's
distance is computed as more than 20O,-
600 times our distance from the SUI,
or 20 900, 900 Of millions of miles. II
such be the inconceivable distance sop,
arating us from the nearest star, what
idea can the finite mind form of the
immensity of space intervening be-
tween us and the moro remote?
Vigorous work is now being done in
stellar parallax by what is called Bes-
soils method. A star with proper mo-
ton, or one that has been found to APP
proach or recede from thu sun, is
selected, and its position is compared
night after night by means of the mi
crometer, with.other small stars in the
vicinity having no proper motion, and
therefore presumed to be further away.
The Star with proper motion will
change It's position i'll regard to tic
more remote ones when observed from
different parts of the earth's orbit.
Some interesting and Intricate work OF
this kind has been successfully com
pleted at Mr.. Seagrave's private obser-
vatory 10y Mr.. Waldo and Mr.. Seagraye.
The problem was to determine the
parallax of star called Theta Cassie
pem. This, by measuring its position
and distance from two small stars in the
vicinity, was found to be less than ono
tenth of second. These enthusiastic
astronomers worked upon the problem
from the 1st Of September, 1878, to the
1st of November, 1879. During that
time they made measurements of each
star on 100 nights. A trained eye,
keen perception and mathematical pre-
cision, as we'll as patience and persist,
ence, were involved in the solution of
this delicate and intricate problem.
These are the means by which astron-
omy has won its most brilliant tri,
umphs, and those who would become
practical astronomers must give their
nights.to observation and their days to
study Journal.