The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-18
JANUARY TWINKLERS.
STARS T SAT SHINE IN THE SOUTH
ERN SKY THIS MONTH.

SIRIUS and Its Companion an Inter
esting Study Just Now - Plane Is
That Have Eternal Day.
From the PittsbUr0 DisDatch
The most attractive quarter of the
heavens on a January evening IS toward
the south. Within a comparatively re-
stricted region, at the centsr Of which is
the splendid constellation Orion, are Gro 1ded
some of the brightest Of the celestial lumi-
naries. Orion itself contains two stars Of
the first magnitude Betslgeuse, IN the
right shoulder, and Rigel in the left foot.
To the right Of Orion, and al a some what
/ higher altitude. is Aldebaran, the Bulls
/ Eye the principal star ia Taurus 70 the
| left, and at about the same distance from
the three stars which form the belt in
Sirius the Dog STAR the most brilliant Of
the starry host, its hight being estimated to
equal from three to hvs times that OF an
average star Of the fast magnitude, SILL
farther 10 the left and at about the same
distance from Sirius and Bstelgeuse, form
| ing with these two stars q nearly equal tri-
angle, Is ProcyoD, the Lesser Dox.r Di-
rectly overhead is Carella, the KID like
wise a star of the first magnitude.
BRILLIANT CORNER OF THE SKY.
Here are six first magnitude star g. richly
interspersed with stars of the second and
| third, orders. and having for their back
ground the mellow light Of the milky way,
giving to this region an especially brilliant
aspect Some OF these lesser lights are
worth noting. II we will run a curved line
ftom Capella through Betelgeuse to Sirius
we will strike about midway between Ca
pella and Betelgeuse a noticeable pair OF
stars. which form the tips of the golden
horns' OF Taurus; A short distance east OF
the zenith the point directly overhsadl may
be seen a second pair, about equally distant
from Capella aud Betel&euse. These are the
"Twinsh-tbe northernmost, Castor; the
southernmost, Polux-a pair especially
noteworthy, since they mark very nearly
the place of the summer solstice, in the
Sign" Cancer, but in the constellation
Gemini.
Still lower in the east, about one third Of
the distance from the horizon TO the zenith,
is Regulus, formerly regarded as a star Of
the first magnitude, but now degraded to
the second rank. Regulus is the principal
star in the ancient Constellation Leo 1.-THE
Lion, and is in the handle Of the better
known sub-oonstellation of the Sickle.
THE NEBULA IN ORION.
The region here roughly outlined is espe-
cially interesting from an astronomical
point Of view. The great Nebula ia Orion,
although invisible to the naked eye, has so
often been described aud depicted in text
books and in recent years has been the sub
ject Of so much discussion that it lies fairly
within tho domain Of popular astronomy.
Its position is In the Sword Just below
the lowermost Of the three stars which form
thei" Belt.a
A field glass will reveal it as a blurred
star. Seen through telescope 10 has the
appearance of a luminous cloud-as its
name, "Nebpla," implies--too large to be
N ha1 hrlIS H. AL - n.
one side, where it is the brightest, it pre-
seuts fairly distinct outline, but on all
other sides 1t fades away gradually into i'm
perceptibihty. The brighter part has a curl
Gus resemblance TO the head of some mon
ster animal, dark recess forming an open
mouth, while above this q streamer of light
so much resembles the uplifted trunk Of an
elephant that 1t is often referred to as the
'proboscis. At the bottom of the dark
gulf or mouthlike opening, is bright star,
which telescope even Of moderate power
resolves into multiple star of four CONS
ponents-to which q larger telescope adds
two others-forming the ''trapezlum, (which
is the principal point Of reference in the
nebula.
ANALYzHD BY THE sPECTRosCoPE.
Although this mysterious, mist-like object
had long been studied with the telescope
had been explored carefully with the power
Lord Rosse-itS true nature remained a de-
bated point until that wonderful instrument
the spectroscope was brought Co bear upon
it independently by Father Secchi and Dr.
Higgins some twenty-five years ago. Both
OF these observers found its spectrum to
consist of bright lines, instead Of being
continuous" like the spectrum of the sun
and other solid bodies, ald. the long debated
question of its 'resolvability" was definitely
settled.
There is no longer a doubt that this is a
true nebula, as was always maintained by
Herschel, and not simply an aggregation Of
stars so minute or so distant as to shire only
by their blended light. as has proved to be
the case with many other supposed nebula.
If the story Of its light, as that story is now
read by astronomers, can be trusted, this
vast luminous cloud, the extent Of which
battles the power of the imagination to con-
ceive, is a mass of glowing gases, among
which hydrogen and nitrogen seem to be the
most abundant.
THE NEW METEOR THEORY.
But just at this point. just as astronomers
are congratulating themselves upon having
determined the nature of this and other
nubule, Mr.. Lockyer comes forward with
his new meteor theory" based also upon
spectroscopic work, and the discussion, in
stead Of being closed, has simply branched
Off In new direction. According to Mr..
Lockyer, not only nebule, but all of the
celestial bodies, including the stars are due
to the impact of meteors upon one smother
the differences in the resulting phenomena
being caused by the differences in the degree
or condensation in the meteor streams.
Among the numerous drawings which
have been made OF the Orion nebula, with
greater or less care and skill, the finest are
one made by the Bonds, at Cambridge, in
lSo9-6S, and one upon which Lord Rose ex-
pended all the available hours Of several
years with the aid OF the great Rarsontown
reflector. These two pictures, though both
were executed with the most conscientious
care, have only n general resemblance to
each other. To one who is unable to make
due allowance for the difficulty. of depict
ing 50 vaguely defined an object, they seem
strangely discordant in their details. In
deed, these drawings may be cited to prove
and illustrate the utter hopelessness OF ds-
plotting a nebula with the pencil and brush:
nor is it likely that the attempt will ever
again be made.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
Photography promises not only to render ;.
this labor unnecessary, but also to yield re-r
suits that will be far more reliable. The
late Prof. Draper was the pioneer in this
work. having succeeded in 1880 in obtain
ing with an exposure of nearly an hour a
very satisfactory negative Of the Orion
nebula, and in 1882 second, in which the
difference in the intensity Of tina various
nw-Nr - ~ u. \.