The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1880-07-08
The Infinite Distances Of the Heavens.

ofstars by stellar parallax is one of the
interesting problems of modern astron-
Omy. In the days of old the stars were
supposed to hold the same position in
regard to each other from age to age,
and were therefore called fixed stars, to
distinguish them from planets. Nothing
can be further from the truth. The
telescope shows that the stars are in
constant motion, but that the rate of
motion is so slow that thousands of
years must elapse before the eye can
perceive any change. Some stars are
coming toward us and some are reced-
ing from US. The sun, which is only a
star, is moving, with all the planets in
his train. Our earth, which is but an
atom among atoms, is whirling, no one
knows whittier, through illimitable
space. Even the serene heavens above
us is this same space pervaded by an
infinitely subtle ether, whose particles
are seething and surging like the waves
of the stormy sea. The motion of the
stars once established, it must follow
that some of them are nearer TO us than
others, and very persistent and palms.
taking have been the efforts to find out
our nearest neighbors.
Success has, however, crowned pa
tient labor. Among the SO, 600, 900 stars
that glimmer in the armament, there
are about dozen stars visible ir our lat
itude that have parallax ranging from
a tenth to half a second. 1t would
be natural to suppose that the brightest
stars are the nearest, but this is far
from being the case. The nearest star
in the northern heavens is double star
OF the fifth magnitude in the Swan,
known as 81 Cygni. The brilliant ST.
RUS is nearly twice as far away. The
nearest star in the whole heavens is
Alpha Centauri, bright star near the
south pole. This has parallax of nine
terths 1T second, and is twice as near
as any other star. Its distance is COM
putcd as more than 1000 times our
distance from the sun, or nearly 2O.OOO,-
600 of millions of miles. If such be
the uncomfortable distance separating
us from the nearest star, what idea can
the finite mind form of the immensely
OF space intervening between us and
the more remote?
Vigorous work is now being done in
stellar parallax by what is called Bes-
sells method. A star with proper mo-
ton, or one that has been found to ap-
proach or recede from the sun, is Sc
lected, and its position is compared
night after night. by means of the mi
crOmeter, with other small stars in the
vicinity having one proper motion,
and therefore presumed to be fur
Their away. The star with proper
motion will change its position in re-
gard to the more remote ones when OBJ
served from different parts of the earth's
orbit. Some interesting and intricate
work of this kind has been successfully
completed at MIR. Seagrave's private
observatory by Mr.. Waldo and Mr..
Seagrave. The problem was to deter
mine the parallax OF star called Theta
Cassiopeia. This, by measuring its no
sition and distance from two small stars
in the vicinity, was found to be less
than one-tenth of a second. These en-
thusiastic astronomers worked upon the
problem from the first of September,
1873, to the first of November, 1879.
During that time they made measure
lnents of each star on. 120 nights. A
trained eye, keen perception, and
mathematical precision, as well as pa
thence and persistence. were involved
in the solution of this delicate and intri-
cate problem. These are the means bv
which astronomy has won its most bril-
liant triumphs, and those who would
become practical astronomers must give
their nights TO observation and their
days to study.-Rocidesce Or. ~ jour.
nal.