Smyrna times., 1893-11-15
A Cataclysm in Stellar Space.
TWO STARS ON FIRE.

While it is the business of a news.
paper to purvey to its readers the daily
happenings in this world of ours, an
occasional item of news from the
worlds lying far beyond in the realms
OF space may not be devoid of human
interest. Especially is this the case
when the news conveys such a catas-
trOphe as must be involved in the de.
struction of two worlds, teeming pro-
baby with life like our own. That
such an event may have happened
has been suggested by a scientific in
depreciation of the phenomena pre-
sented by the 'new star" in the con.
stellatiOn Auriga, which has been en-
gaging the attention of the astronomers
for several months past. The star in
question, which heretofore had been
an Insignificant telescope object of the
sixteenth magnitude or less, scarely
visible with the aid of the most power
ful instrument, was observed 10 in.
crease in brilliancy until it attained
the fifth and approached the fourth
magnitude. From this point it has
diminished until now it is as faint as il
was before its sudden haring up.
1t may be presented that nearly
everybody is familiar to some extent
with spectral analysis. Filtered
through the prism of a spectroscope
the light of the sun or of other stellar
bodies is resolved into its component
colors and by certain dark lines in the
spectrum thus obtained we are enabled
to establish the fact that the atmos.
phere of the body thus examined con.
talns, in gaseous form, iron, sodium
and many other of the known chemical
elements. Other lines in the spectrum
indicat the presence in the higher
regions of the stellar atmosphere. OF
incandescent hydrogen; these, how.
ever, are not dark, like the first named
but luminous.
Another fact not so well established
is that by an observation of the bright
line of hydrogen we are enabled ia
determine the rate of motion of the stal
itself. If the hydrogen lines be shifted
toward the red end of the spectrum the
star is moving from us; if toward the
blue end of the spectrum the star is ap-
preaching. The extent of the shift OF
these lines one way or the other indi-
N0eOo bhO NCAOOAby vi bu0 LOWaFU
or from US. When two stars approach
each other so closely that their spectra
is superposed in the spectroscope the
result is very complicated spectra of
each OF the two stars, and the bright
lined spectrum Of the hydrogen flames
of each. Lastly, there is a we'll defined
difference between the spectrum of a
star and of nebHla, the spectrum OF
the latter consisting entirely of bright
lines,
Now, what's the phenomena obtained
in Nova Auriga, as the new star is
astrOnomically called ? FIRST, the in.
creased shifting of the hydrogen lines
indicated an enormous acceleratiop of
the motion of the star, The overlapp.
ing or complex spectrum shown by the
spectroscope indicated that there were
two stellar bodies In proximity: the
tiaring up and the enormous increase in
magnitude portended a tremendous
development of heat; and, most re-
markable of all, the change in it's spect.
rum from a complex stellar spectrum
to nebular spectrum indicated that
the body or bodies were no longer stars
but had become nehulae. In other
Worus, more readily eomprehended
this means that two stellar bodies
each probably encircled by a system
of planets, have been in collision; and
in the inconceivably great heat
generated by the impact they and their
respective planetary systems have been
dissipated into cosmic dust.
The human interest in the pheno-
mena Is that here we have had pre-
sented, literally under our own eyes, q
chapter in the past history of our owu
sun as we'll as of the probable ultimate
fate OF our own solar universe. The
solar system was evolved out of q
shapeless nebula, and after time i'm
measurable, and by just such an oc.
curreRce as that witnessed in Nova
Auriga, it may be again dissipated into
a luminous oosmic cloud. This, Ia
turn, may oondense into a new sun.
and new planetary system be created
What we have just seen, therefore
was not only the death ola world, hut
the birth of a new one. Thus in an
endless Cycle of destruction and re-
generation the grand cosmic drama
goes on.--PhiIadelphia Record.