The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-12-10
NOVA ANDRoMEDK.

AS the new star of which SO much has
been said, appears to have about finished its
career as a visible object, brief sum-
mary of the facts concerning it is here
presented. These facts are derived from
the most trustworthy sources, including a
correspondence with the accurate observer
and distinguished discoverer of comets
and nebulae, Prof. Barnard, of Vanderbilt
university.
The star was first seen with the aid of a
powerful telescope on the 18th of August,
which was the first day of its visibility;
for on the 18th there was on
visible star at the place occupied
by it. The star increased rapidly
in brilliancy until the 1st of September,
when its magnitude was seven and one
half. Then it began to wane, and by the
goth of September it was of the ninth
magnitude. Its brilliancy has been de-
creasing ever since, with the exception of
occasional increases, followed immediate
~ by renewed diminution. Its magni-
buQS 10 AOW llIOCOAl VI 1Oul "OOA4s 81 ClAhO
it is no longer visible in the six-inch re-
tractor of Vanderbilt university. This
star, accordingly, never became visible to
the naked eye.
The position of the star is
point very near to the nucleus of
the Great Nebula in Andromeda.
This nebula is conspicuous as seen by
the unaided eye, and has sometimes been
mistaken for comet by persons unac-
quainted with the appearance OF the
heavens. 1t is about seven degrees to
the north, and west of Beta Andromed@,
which star, at the present time, is very
little north of the zenith, at 8 P. N.
It is almost certain that tne new star is
not between us and the nebuia, but is either
in the nebuia or beyond it. Inc opinion
among astronomers is perhaps universal,
that the star is in the nebula; but this is
only an opinion, and can hardly be de-
monstrated.
The star has never apprecia-
bly, changed its position as a
consequence, either of proper motion or
of parallax, nor has its relative position
in the nebula undergone any sensible
modification.
1t has always presented the luminous
point characteristic of fixed stars. Even
when the HOO power of the great twenty
three-inch refractor of Princeton was
brought to bear upon it by Prof. Young,
no disc was seen, but only stellar point
such as that of any ordinary star.
Wonderful as this phenomenon is, it is
by no means unique in the history of
stances of the appearance of so-called
temporary stars" their brilliancy
sometimes exceeding that of any
of the permanent stars. The most com
mon thing, that they are merely extreme
cases of variable stars" does not even
attempt solution of the mystery; for no
one theory accounts for all the phenom-
ena of these variable stars. In fact it is
probable that the variableness is due to
different causes in different cases. But
to show that in the present instance, II
may be merely variable star that has
been seen, we have only to consider the
fact that if the conspicuous (but in this
latitude invisible) variable star, Eta Argus
were some fifty times more distant, il
would, when some years since it became
unusually brilliant, have presented precise
ly the phenomena recently witnessed il
the case af the Nova Andromed@. Of the
known variable stars, some have very long
periods, there being no definite limit tc
the length; and some attain brilliancy
of the second magnitude and diminish to
that of the fourth, as in the case of Algol
or even become quite invisible without the
aid of powerful telescope, as in the cas'
of Mira.
WIN TT T TIC At