The Red Cloud chief., 1895-11-01
recent disturbances

| E~oYNSS@ ly predict It's reap
" O~ ~pearance, and thu
recent disturbances
n the heavenly bodies have encouraged
ZONE to believe that great Astronomical
phenomenon is approaching. Accord.
ing to the calculations Of the past, the
star should appear some time between
1890 and 1895. and the present year
being the last Of the time set for 1t
there is considerable anxiety displayed
by those interested In the question. in
the year 1872 the star appeared the last
time, and OF It's appearance then We
have the most trustworthy account.
"One evening az | was watching the
heavens In my accustomed manner
Tycho Brahe writes, IL saw. Il my as
constituent. In the constellation of Cas-.
slOpeia, a brilliant star of unusual clear
ness" A few nights before this the
author-astronomer. Cornelius Comma,
saw the star. and called 1t the new
Venus" Both men thought this Won
derfully brilliant phenomenon Of the
heavens was the old star of Bethlehem,
and its appearance at that time tailed
with Its periodical appearance in 1864.
945. $50 and 315. In 1864 the Bohemian
astronomer and astrologer, Cyprian Lo-
WITT. gives an account OF the appearance
In the heavens OF a wonderfully at
tractive star that had not been there
before. In his accounts we have SINH
lar descriptions of the strange visitor,
appearing suddenly and moving grad
ually away, until finally swallowed up
in space. To him. also. We are indebted
for an account of the same star, which
appeared in 945, when the heavens
seemed to be lighted up by this strange
heavenly phenomenon. The Chinese
chroniclers. who watched the heavens
with great care, also mention the ap-
pearance OF a comet or new heavenly
body, which they thought meant disas-
ter to their crops. It did not bring any
Ill luck to the country. and the common
people then attributed its appearance
to their good gods. and they rejoiced
that the "one-eyed'' was looking down
upon them.
There have been altogether twenty
six historical accounts Of the appear
ance of strange new stars in the heav-
ems. Many astronomers reason from
this that should an unusually brilliant
star appear this year. 1t would not in
dictate that 1t was the old star of Beth
lehem. They say that the wise men
simply saw Venus at the time OF its
greatest %spiendor. Others assume that
the star was occasioned by the conjunc-
ton of planets. or that 1t was a comet.
In 1926 the German astronomer Ideler,
suggested that the star was a conjunc-
ton OF planets. and Encke repeated It
in 1881. To support their theory, they
show that there was a conjunction Of
Jupiter. Mars and Saturn in September
of the year 3 b. G.
During the last year unusual dis
turbances and appearances in the heav-
emily bodies have been noticed by the
scientists, as IL they were somewhat
affected by the attractive force Of an
other body not regularly acting upon
them. More meteoric showers have
been reported In the southern part OF
the world than usual. and storms of
great destructiveness have swept over
the whole globe. The coldness of the
last winter Is attributed by astronomers
to the influence Of the planets, and
whenever a comet has approached the
earth In the past, unusual weather has
prevailed beforehand. as IL to nnoun
its coming. Moreover, the powerful
telescopes now used for scanning the
heavens reveal an unusual number Of
eclipses, as IL the disturbance had
caused some OF the lesser bodies to tray
ell a little out of their courses. The
wonderful variable star Algol, in Pere-
sus, for instance, has constantly of late
undergone great changes. A dark body.
almost as large as Algol, has several
times blotted out its existence from our
view. The appearance Of this huge black
object is a mystery to astronomers to-
day. Then the SHOWS of Mars, which
have SO long been visible to powerful
telescopes, have gradually disappeared.
Early last October 1t was reported that
the polar snow cap OF Mars had en-
tirely disappeared. No such rapid and
unexplained disappearance OF the snow
on the earth or on Mars has ever before
been reported. Jupiter. in its recent
appearances, has been more brilliantly
belted than ever before, and as It rises
1t displays an unwonted profusion of
color. Venus has been shrouded In
more or less showers of meteurs, so that
its face could not be seen distinctly,
but when the atmosphere did for a short
time clear up, 1t shone with unusual
b~rilliancy. Its brightness in the last
few months has attracted considerable
attention, ever among those who are
expert '..star gazers." All of these
facts, taken in conjunction with the
changing condition of the weather upon
the earth, have led many to predict the
approach OF something unusual in the
solar system. This object will. very
be a new star. comet or wonder
ful ~ontuuctian nf fwo or mara plooot. 4