The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-03-20

heVOlutIon Tor Other OrDss
New York sun.
The many wonderful discoveries in as
tronomy recently made by the aid Of pho
Biography have seemed to leave the older
methods Of astronomical investigation far
In the rear. But just now Mr.. S. c. Chand-
Ter of Boston has made what may be called
discovery by the aid of mathematical
methods. recalling the achievement of Lev
errier and Adams in the detection of Nep-
tune hfty years ago. There is IN The north
ern sky star known as Algol, which the
sharp-slghted Arabs who discovered Its varl-
atoms IN light called the demon star. Every
TWO days twenty hours and fOrty-nine min
utes this star suddenly begins TO fade and con-
tlnue5 to grow fainter fer three or four
hours. at the end of which 1t has sunk from
the second to nearly the fourth magnitude.
Alter remaining thus for few minutes 1t
begins TO brighten, and in the course of three
or four hours more regains its former bril-
liancy. Within the past few years il mas
been discovered that there is a huge dark
body revolving around Alg0i at distance
OF some 5000 600 miles, and to this phe-
nomenOn the variations IN Alg0Ps light are
due. At regular intervals the dark COM
panion star comes into the line of sight be-
tween Algol and the earth, and thus par
TALLY eelipses Algol, cutting off perhaps
fve-sixths Of its light.
These stars, Algol and its strange nom
luminous comrade. are of great size, Algol
itself being of more than eleven hundred
thousand miles in diameter, while the diam
eter Of the dark body that circles around it
Is $40 600 miles.
Mr. Chandler. meditating on certain irreg-
ularities in the motions of Algol and its
companion, suspected that they might be
due 10 the presence of another invisible
star in their immediate neighborhood. He
carefully compared the observations back
to the time of Goodricke, more than
re- IL
ing a mathematical method similar to
that which resulted in the discovery Of
Neptune through the effect of its attraction
on Uranus, he arrived at the conclusion
that such another star must actually exist.
According TO his conclusion this mysterious
body is far more massive than either Algol
or its companion. but does not give forth
any perceplible light, and ii forms center
of attraction around which both Of the
other stars Ievolve in a nearly circular
orbit, in a period Of $50 years. Mr.. Chan
dleT's theory seems TO 1T in well with the
observed Irregularities OF Algol. He re-
marks, moreover, that there are several
other stars known to astronomers to be
variable which evidently have one or more
dark companions like those OF AlgOL
1t is natural TO inquire what is the nature
of these mysterious dark bodies existing in
the neighbOThOOd Of bright stars comparable
In brilliaDcy with our own sun, and evil
IDENTIFY obeying the same law OF gravitation
bDet prevails III our sonar system. he pfl-
mary distinction between "a sun and planet
is that the former CLOVIS with a brilliant
light Of its own, while the planet having
been encruSted with a solid and opaque
shell. only shines by the reflected light
which 1t receives from its sun. The
dark companions OF Algol may then be
regarded as in the planetary condition.
at least so far as the question of luminosity
is concerned. But they differ widely
from any of the planets of our system in
their grea. size as compared with the sun,
in whose neghborhood they circle. That
companion of Algol which. by its eclipsing
effect, produces the variation in the light of
the star, is not very inferior in size TO its
bright comrade, while the greater dark
body, whose existence seems to be Demon
stTated by Mr. Chaudler's Investigations.
greatly exceeds them both in mass. Here,
then, If we chose 20 adopt the idea that this
great invisible orb around which Algol re-
wolves is planet in our sense of the word,
we have world which is the center of mo-
tion for the sun that Eliminates il.