Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-09-16
AMONG THE STARS.
Recent Singular and Beautiful
Changes i'm the Nebula of
AndrOmeda.

Although the nebula have been the
subject of much study by the most emf
nent astronomers, no clearly determined
and generally accepted theory in regard
to them has been arrived at. 1t appears
TO be generally agreed to, however, that
the nebule are OF two classes, those
which are Ol q gaseous nature and those
which consist OF matter in either solid
or LIQUID state. This discrimination
could not positively be made until spec
trum analysis had been made available
in astronomical investigation. The
revelations of the spectrum are, however,
regarded as indisputable and final. But,
granting a class of nebul@ consisting OF
matter as distinguished from gas, it is
not determined that these may not con-
sist OF clusters of stars so distant in space
rs not to be receivable by any telescope
power now at command.
Concerning the nebulae of Andromeda
the following statement is made in
Webb's Celestial Objects, standard pub
LEGATION:
"This is one of the grandest nebula in
the heavens. 1t is long and oval or IT.
regularly triangular, i'll bounded and
Frightening to the centre; so plain to the
naked eye that it is strange that the
ancients scarcely mention it. 1t was,
however, referred to as familiar object
by Persian astronomer in the tenth CEN
fury. No telescope has been able 10 deal
with its nature. Bonds telescope found
no resolution, but detected two curious
dark streaks, like narrow cliffs, both be-
yond any ordinary instruments. Higgins
finds the spectrum continuous, but cut off
at the red end. 1t seems. therefore, not
gaseous If it be stellar it is strange that,
comprising as it does, the extremes of
feebleness and condensation, it can be
resolved with certainty nowhere-the
nucleus only, which is of about Sec,
showing a granular texture in great in
struments. There is some deep mystery
here"
Prot. Newcomb says of the nebula:
"Unlike most nebul8 its spectrum is a
continuous one, similar to the ordinary
spectra from heated bodies, thus indicat-
ing that the light emanates, not from
glowing gas, but from matter in solid or
LIQUID state. This would suggest the idea
that the object is really an immense star
cluster so distant that the most powerful
telescopes cannot resolve it. Though we
cannot positively deny the possibility OF
this, yet in the more powerful telescopes
the light fades away so softly and gradu
ally that no such thing as a resolution in
to stars seems possible. Indeed it looks
less receivable and more like a gas in the
largest telescopes than those of a moder-
ate size. If it is really gas, and if the
spectrum is continuous throughout the
whole extent of the nebula, it would in
dictate either that it shone by reflected
light, or that the gas was subjected to
great pressure almost to its outer limit,
which hardly seems probable. But grant
ing that the light is reflected, we cannot
say whether it originates in a single
bright star, or in a number of small ones
scattered about through the nebul@.
The extracts suggest several problems
which may find some solution in the
development now witnessed in this great
nebula. But there is still another prob
lem which they do not suggest but which
is distinctly put by Prof. Newcomb in his
comments on the famous nebular theory.
He says:
cat the present time we can only say
that the nebular hypothesis Is indicated
by the general tendencies of the laws OF
nature taat it has not been proved to be
inconsistent with any fact; that it is al
most a necessary consequence OF the only
theory by which we can account for the
origin and conservation OF the suns heat,
but that it rests on the assumption that
this conservation is to be explained by
the laws of nature as we now see them IN
operation. Should any one be skeptlcal
as to the sufliciency of these laws to ac-
count for the present state OF thugs,
science can furnish no evidence strong
enough to overthrow his doubts, until the
sun shall be found growing smaller by
actual measurement or the nebulae be &C,
tuallv seen to condense into stars and
system" =.
The recent starlike development in An
dromeda is at or near the center OF the
constellation or at the girdle on the right
side of the lady, and the appearance is OF
a star of the eighth magnitude.-BoSfom
Advertiser.
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