Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-07-12
WONDERS OF ASTRONOMY
Some Facts About the Mighty
Universe Around Us.
The Fearful Speed with Which We Are
Rushing Through Space The Hoav-
ems Constantly Changing-A
Stellar Racehorse.

To ordinary vision all the stars ap-
pear to be at rest in the heavens; nor
can the astronomer himself recognize
any signs of motion except by patient
and long-continued observation, ex-
tending, in some instances, over a pc
riod of many years, and even centuries,
when succeeding astronomers complete
the work which their predecessors had
begun. But every star in the firma-
ment is on it's journey and moving
through space with wonderful velocity.
Absolute rest is unknown throughout
the material universe. If we look up
to the sky on a calm, bright night,
when the stars shine IN all their glory,
we are usually impressed with the feel
ing that a solemn stiffness reigns
throughout those infinite regions of
space. In reality, those amazing star
depths above us, which appear so
steadfast and Interchangeable from year
to year, are astir with life, energy and
activity, and there is a remarkable
process of change taking place all
around us.
Our earth is moving rapidly in it's
orbit at the rate OF eighteen miles per
second This is known to be our We
sleep seven hours the world on which
we dwell carries US 100000 miles
through space.
Some stars are known to be APP
preaching and others receding, from
the earth. Among those found to be
approaching US is Arcturus-mentioned
in the Bible, and the brightest star
north of the equator-which is moving
with velocity of ffty-fve miles every
second. Sirius, the famous dog star"
so glorious on winter evenings. and the
| brightest star in the heavens, is reced-
ing from us at the rate of twenty-six
| miles per second; and yet, even with
| these enormous velocities, the passage
| of thousand years will make no per-
ceptible difference in the appearance
| of these two stars, SO immense are
| the distances which separate them
| from our earth.
The greatest velocity that has been
| recognized among the stars, until quite
recently, is found in the motion of a
| small star near the north pole known
as the runaway STAR" as it is some
times called, which is believed to be
rushing through space at the rate of 232
miles per second. This star appears to
be moving in perfectly straight path
through the sky, and it may be
visiting our stellar system for
the first time; but whence it came, or
| whittier it is going, no one can tell.
Its wonderful velocity cannot be ex-
planned, as it is greater than could be
produced by the influence of all the
known bodies in the universe; and on
the other hand, the combined attrac-
ton of all the stars cannot stop this
wanderer in its solitary flight through
space, until it has rushed on to the eX-
IRENE limits beyond which the great
est telescopes have never penetrated.
1t has been mathe ma tically demon
strated that body approaching the
| center of our system, for an infinite
distance, cannot move with greater We
locity than twenty-five miles second,
if influenced by the attraction of the
| masses in our universe alone; but here
we have been considering a star NOV
ing with eight times that velocity, and
still, notwi outstanding the fact that it
has the greatest motion known among
the stars, it would require 1856, zoo
| years for this remarkable star to COM
plete an entire circuit around the
heavens! Until recently it was sup
posed that this star had the greatest
velocity of any in the heavens, but 1t Is
now known that Mu in Cassiopeia has
o velocity of so5 miles a second. while,
if the observations of DR.. Elkin are tC
be accepted, Arcturus is travelling at @
speed of 375 miles second.
These motions observed among the
stars are owing to the attractive intiu-
ence which they exert upon each other
But the whole of their proper mo-
tion," as it is called, is not real, part
of it being apparent only, and due te
the real or proper motion of the sun
together with the entire planetary sys
tenn. Our great universe of stars il
constantly undergoing vast change:
which will be perceptible to those who
inhabit the earth in future centuries
The configuration of our starry heav
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