The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-09-03
A NIGHT IN An OBSERVATORY.
At this serene season, when the nights are

parent there Is no more delightful recreation
than to spend a night in an astronomical OBJ
acrvntory The cool breeze that springs M
after sundown; the free. open expansc of the
fatbomless heavens. with their countless gilt
torinp poin,s which are as familiar to the as
trononcr who Ills them all by their names.
ne tho cons, lights TO sailor; the quiet that
rcipns around enhanced by the mild CLEAN OF
altar LIGHT roplacipg the dazzling. faring. fussy
sp,u,,,rinr illuminations In which the noisy
world plics its tasks: tho unfamiliar and Won
dcrfnl side of nature that il unfoldcd to the
view: tn, expansion OF which the mind is cca-
scious iu dealing with spheres and distances
that make tho huge earth we tread appear like
n mere crumb-all these things give a refresh
ing sense Of freedom from ordinary cares. and
an inspiritng desire TO know more of this vast
universe Of suns and worlds in which we dwell.
The discoveries of astronomy have abolished
the old distinction between the heavens and
the earth. We know that the earth flies In tho
leayons ard is us much a member of the
heavenly host as any star SO far rs our know-
edge goes all the worlds and suns that surround
ia are composed of materials similar to those
which make up this globe. and even the ether
filling space is probably no more than n very
rare atmosphere which. condensed about tho
earth. furnishes us with tho breath of life
n we supuose that our night In an obscrya-
tory begins with the earliest shades OF cvUni NJ,
the first foreign world that our eyes light upon
will be Venus. Before the sunset spectacle is
ended Venus begins to peep through tho col
ored curtains OF tho west This Is tho best
time to viey her with n t,lescoue both becnuse
abe soon sinks 90 low that the mists OF the
horizon interfere with clear vision. and because
the twilight robs her of some of the glare which
ALWAYS surrounds this brilliant planet. making
II perhaus the most difficult of all telescopic
objects Still Venus Ia exceedingly beautiful
in the telescope. especially during the crescent
phase upon which she will soon enter During
the autumn the smallest telescope will show
Venus as a crescent. In telescopes OF consid-
cradle power she looks in certain parts of her
orbit SO much like the new moon that persons
unaccustomed to such observations have &C.
tually been deceived and supposed they were
looking ut the moon when they were really
looking at Venus, At present Venus rose mbles
the moon near the first quarter.
Mars ia not far from Venus now but is not
well situated for telescope observation.
We turn therefore. to the stars. and the first
that catches our eye Is the splendid Arcturus
celebrated in all ages as the chief twinkler of
the north and singled out by name from all
the starry host in the Book of job when the
Almighty speaks out of the whirlwnd. Arctu-
rus is Il copper colored star. and is seen sink
ing in the northwest early in the evening In
the telescope it Flows with extraordinary
beauty. and its peculiar color shows to ndyan-
tare 1t is beyond doubt many times larger
than our sun and it possesses greut heating
power. which can be detected with proper in
struments Tho telescope shows a multitude
of small stars forming a cluster around il.
Above Arcturus we see the pretty half-circc of
stars called the Northern Crown and little to
the right OF line joining Arcturus, and the
brightest star in the crown. is the celebrated
Epsion Bottles Nobody ever looked at this
star through a powerful telescope without a
cry of admiration. 1t is composed of two stars
So close toget Their that it is a severe test for n
small telescope to separate them But when
sufficient power is employed to throw them
ppart there they shine bright as diamonds one
rich orange in color the other pure sea green
almost touching one another and seeming to
via I'm beauty 1t has bean shown that these
stars ara really connected that thev revolye
around a common centre and so tho worlds
upop which thew shine have two suns one 81
the hue of a blood orange and the other as
green us an emerald.
Our astronomer next calls our attention to n
very beautiful star whichis shining almost di-
rcctly overhead between and 0 o'clock. 1t is
white. with trace of blue in its scintillations
This is Vega in the Harp star that almost
equals Arc,,trus in size and exceeds il in
beauty when seen in the telescope Vega has n
faint blue companion. which is IA celebrated ties,
for telescopes of moderate size The difference
in the color and appearance Of Arcturus and
Vega is so remarkable that we ask the astron-
omer whether there is not a corresponding
difference in the nature Of these two suns
Yes. he replies. the spectroscope shows
go much difference in their composition that
they have been ranked in entirely different
Glasses. Ve..a is believed TO be older than our
sun, Arcturus younger"
little way east OF Vega we see fain. star.
whose appearance to the naked eye is so insig-
nilcant lhn, no ono would suppose it was one
of the mnrvcls of the heaycns. Bit the astron-
omer turns the telescope upon this faint
twinl,leru and asks us to look. Instead Of one
minute star we soc two. we'll separated each "a
great deal brighter than the single one was to
the naked eve, while third faint star appears
O little to one side.
Now VIII put on gher power" he says
We look again. and behold each of the two
twinklin. diamonds we saw before is COM