The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-10-26

he quite sure that, as fact, tE9y are not
travelling in any simple curves around
any common center, and also that some
stars arc flying through space with such
velOcities that no attraction, such as can
reasonably be supposed to act in the
premises, can control them. Nor does
theory, any more than observation. in
dictate a structure of the stellar universe
at all analogous to that of the planet
airy system. Among the stars there is
no central dominance and no imperial
power, but we have to do with repub-
lie of comparatively free and independ-
ent members.
Sir William Thomson IS, therefore,
fully justified in writing: at is as
sure that collisions must occur between
great masses moving through space as
it is that ships, steered without intel
Ggence to prevent collision, could not
cross and recross the Atlantic for thou
sands of years with immunity from col
lision." Undoubtedly the chance of an
encounter between pair of heavenly
bodies selected at random is triiiing,
almost beyond the power of computa-
ton, and the intervals of time between
such catastrophes in that part of the
heavens subject to human observation
must be on the average enormous; but
yet, in infinite time and unbounded
space-somewhere or other now. some
time or other here-such things are hap
pening, or will come to pass.
Ii ever two great worlds do really
meet in this way. it is possible to pre-
dict some of the consequences. To
use the technical language of science:
4" their energy of molar motion will be
converted into various forms of molec-
ular and potential energy" which,
translated into the vernacular, means
that there VIII be evolution of heat and
light, while, at the same time, the sol ds
present will be wholly or in part
liquetied. the liquids vaporized, and the
vapors and gases rarified and expand
ed. The intensity of the act on will
depend, of course, ma My upon the
mass and swiftness Of the colliding
bod es: but an easy calculation shows
that if orr earth We're ever to meet.
another globe like herself, and moving
with the same velocity, heat enough
would be generated by the shock to
transform them both into a huge ball of
vapor; unless, indeed. the central core
of the earth is much colder and more
refractory than usually supposed. At
any rate the quantity of heat developed
would be sufficient to melt, boil and
vaporize mass of ice fully
200 times that Of both the colliding
worlds-an ice planet 10000 miles in
diameter.
If, however, the impinging masses
were, to begin with, manly gaseous,
Gas the sun seems to be-. the effect
might be curiouSly different. Heat
would. of course b.. generated. Just as
IN the case of solil bodies: but, as
apparently most paradox
zeal. the resulting nebula N; ght actually
be cooler than either the bodies before
the encounter; of course, it would be
expanded in volume. just
as a gaseous mass, contracting under
It's own gravity from loss of heat by
radiation at its surface, continually !
rises in temperature, Sd a similar mass,
against its own gravity from |
accession OF heat within. may fall in |
nay, must fall, if the body /
is composed of perfect gas. Of |
Immediately after the collision,
and before the ultimate expansion of |
bulk was attained, the temperature and !
orilliance of the mass would be for a
time vastly increased, but the final re-
suit would be as stated.
In preceding paragraph it was said
that we have not on the astronomical ,
records a single certain instance of any
collision between bodies of considerable /
Size. But there have been several cases
IF most remarkable phenomenon,
which, perhaps, may owe its eNplana-
ion to such encounters. Stars never
before visible, or else known only as
faint and minute, have suddenly blazed
out. shining sometimes with the brill
ancy of Sirius, or even Venus. and
faded away to their original
Such was the famous
star of 1872, SO carefully observed by
rycho Brahe. As recently as 1866, and
again in 1876, similar things have hap
pened, though these later stars We're
less conspicuous. The star of 1876 Tin
the constellation of Cygnus) had long
been known and catalogued as a tele-
scopic star of the ninth magni-
tude, with nothing to distinguish
It from any of the common
herd. On November "a it suddenly
'hone out as bright as the pole star.
of Athens, who discovered it,
lad been observing that very region of
he sky only four days before, and no
'uch object was then visible. The in
ervening days were cloudy, so that we
IAN not tell precisely the hour when it
irst blazed up, but evidently its in
,rease of brightness must have been ex-
remedy rapid. Immediately after
Schmidi's observation it began to fade,
,ut it was two weeks before it fell be-
Ow the sixth magnitude and became
TO the naked eye, and it was
more than a year before it resumed its
original faintness. Its whole course
vas carefully watched with the spectre
cope. At first, and for some months,
ike the star of 1866, it showed conspic-
lous in its spectrum the lines of hydro
rem, together with other lines of uncer-
ain origin. As its brightness decreased
he hydrogen lines faded still more rap
div, leaving other lines more promi-
tent, until at last the spectrum, in
tead of becoming that of an ordinary
tar. came 10 consist simply of three
right lines, the spectrum of a nebula,
nd it continues such to this day.
Whether this is or is not the same spec
rum it had before the outburst no one
an say. as it had never been observed
nth the spectroscope before. #,
Now l am very far from asserting ,
nat this was a case of collision; and .
ct it is clear enough that the whole
curse OF phenomena was very much
hat might have been expected if it .
'ere. At any rate, the collision hypoth- /
sis is held and defended by several as {
nf authority end tho ,,r;,o; | I