Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-09-25


1t might be thought that one star
more or less would not make any Diff
ference among the 5000 which can be
seen with the naked eye, and the 20,>
900, 600 which come into view when
the telescope is lsveled at the silent
and solemn depths Of space. But the
truth is, astronomers who watch the
heavens night after night, become so
familiar with every celestial locality
that a new star startles them like an
apparition. It is not habit of stars
to come and go, aud when a new one
bursts into view, astronomers are puz-
zled by such strange and inexpllca-
BILE irregularity in the serene and ex-
quisite symmetry of the stellar order.
One of these freaks is just now attract
ing the attention of the professional
star-gazers. A new star has made its
appearance in the constellation An
dromeda The dim wisps of light
called nebula are always objects Of
study to astronomers, and it was while
observing the interesting and beauti-
full nebuIH in Andromeda that one of
them vas startled at the vision of a
star where no star had been seen be-
fore. Subsequent observations in
creased the interest, for it wa. found
that the new star is slowly brighten
ing. II has already become a sixth
magnitude, visible to naked eyes of
good power, and at the latest accounts
was still waxing. How bright and
large it may become before it begins
to wane we must wait and see, for it
is a property OF tho3e irregular stars
to go as well as come; they do not
come to stay, but after r;achi.g a
maximum brightness, fade away en- :
tirely, or dwindle to an insignificant
and almost inpercepible point.
Curiously enough, the "Blaze" ar,
as the unexpected new visitor is call
ed, appears in quarter OF the heavens,
though not in u particular locality,
where the most brilliant and impres-
sive appar,tisn OF this kind was
nessed-Tycho Btahe's famous
star Of 1872. This OBJECT, called the
''Star of Bethlehen," burst into view
in single hour one evening just at
dark, and was seen night after night,
waxing in brillianey TIL it oGtshone
all other stars in the heavens and
threw out light almost equal to that
Of the planet Vends After ten months
it began to wane, and finally at the
end of seventeen months faded out of
view. A similar stellar apparation
was seen in the same locality the
constellation Cassiopela, in the ear
1864 and 945, and the period indicats
ed by these dates would carry it back
to about the beginning of the Chris
tan era; hence the name, given it by
the Christian enthusiasts who regard
ed it as the very "star in the K ist"
which guided the Magi to the manger
in Bethlehem, where the Savior was
bern. 1t may be stated that botn
Lockyer and Proctor intimated fifteen
years ago that the temperance of
this notable star might be looked for
about 1885 or 1856. A more recent
appearance of new star or sudden
exaggeratlon of an old one was that
which was seen in the Crown, a
beautiful cirqumpolar constellation,
in 1866. This object land down on the
star chart as of the ninth magnitude,
invisible to the naked eye, suddenly
flashed up on the night of May 10,
1866, and increased in brilliancy in a
few days till 1t shone as star of the
second magnitude; then it began to
wane and by the end Of the month
bad subsidized to its former insigni6
canoe and ceased to be an object of
interest.
Astronomers do not know what to
make of these new stars. The one of
al,
diligence and with the aid of improv-
ed instruments, but without arriving
at satisfactory explanation of the
phenomenon. One theory suggested
is that the suddenly increased bril-
hancy is CAUSED by an outburst of
flaming hydrogen gas from the body
of the distant Sun-for every fixed
star is supposed to be the central sun
of its own planetary system, and it is
recalled in this connection that there
was a remarkable outburst of hydro
gen flames in our sun September 1,
1859, which was attended by per-
ceptible increase of light. Another
suggested explanation is that the
sight is world in conflagration-be
ing set on fire by the enormous heat
evolved in the impact of some other
body brought in collision with it.
Neither theory is demonstrable, and
both are unsatisfactory. The interest
of the phenomenon is complicated by
the immense distances of the fixed
stars from our earth. The velocity at
which light travels is measurable and
is found to be about 1876, 900 miles in
second, so that if the stars are as re-
mote from us as the astronomers teach,
the awful spectacle of a world in con-
hagration which we look upon in
the stellar outbursts are events which
took place weeks, months, and it
may be years before their light
reaches US. The star may have been