Evening star., 1897-01-02

and brilliant with stars. Of which two are
Of the first magnitude. but it has also
proved to be Of especial interest from an
astronomical point of view. Foremost
among it's attractions is its great nebula,
an object which probably has received more
attention from astronomers than any other
in the heavens outside the limits Of the
solar system. Unfortunately for us, it is in
visible to the naked eye, and is barely dis
cernible through an opera glass, but we can
fix our eyes on the spot where 1t is-marked
on the planisphere-and imagine, IL we have
not access to photograph OF 1t, "a light
stain of indescribable glory. vast volume
Of blush gaseous material with hues OF
infinite softness and delicacy, here present
ing luminous tracts which glow with an
exquisite light, there graduating off until
it is impossible to say where the nebula
ceases and the black sky begins"
1t is true that this indescribabl ble object Is
referred to by Prof. Ball, who is familiar
with Its appearance in the field of the great
telescope Of Lord Rosse.
With no telescope, however. can this and
kindred objects be seen as they have been
depicted by photography. Thanks to it's
ability to look for hours at single spot,
and, unlike the human eye, to see more the
longer it looks, the telescope camera has
not only laid its grasp upon invisible out
lying portions of the long-known nebulae,
and has seen in these mist-like objects an
a
gaps wisps, wherls of nebulus matter
which are quite beyond the power of the
eye to discern in looking at the objects
themselves, but it has also discovered other
nebulae, which cannot be seen even now by
direct vision through telescope. This
whole constellation has been found by this
means to be rich in nebulae, nebulous
stars and ''nebulosities' that 1t has been
aptly described as vast nebular vortex"
The Spiral NebuIa.
The location and general form of the
great spiral nebula," first brought out on
a photograph taken by Prof. w. H. Pick
ering at Wilson's Peak, in 1889, and SUBJ
sequently on one taken at Mount Hamil-
ton by Prof. Barnard, is indicated by a
dotted line on our chart Beginning near
the star Bellatrix 1t curves downward on
the left to the star Saiph, and then, curv-
ing inward and upward, seems to include
the so-called Great Nebula' In Its vortex.
It's general form is that Of the figure 6.
The nebula is exceedingly faint, utterly i'm
perceptible to the eye and 1t does not ap-
pear continuous through the whole length
Of the spiral, even on the Photographic
plate. But it's general appearance Is such
as to render 1t highly probable that 1t is
really continuous throughout, and 1t is,
rerhaps, the grandest object which has
hitherto been discovered in the heavens
The question has been raised whether the
Orion nebula lies in the midst of the stars
" hich form the constellation or Is merely
in the same line Of sight, either en- this
side of them or beyond them. Among the
reasons for thinking that 1t lies in the
midst Of these stars, and that 1t has close
physical association with them, Is the fact
that many of the stars OF Orion agree in
having a certain spectrum line, which ap-
pears to coincide in position with one "
the bright lines of the nebula, and which
has been observed in but one star in any
other part of tie heavens This region,
therefore, would seem to constitute, in a
verse.
The spectrosccpe has shown conclusively
that the faint glow of a nebula comes from
matter in a gaseous form and not, as was
formerly thought by many astronomers,
from an aggregation of stars, invisible sep
arately because of their smallness their
troscope has proved the existence of true
nebulae 1t has at the same time necessi-
tated some modification of the view of a
nebula held by Herschel and La Place.
The cid conception Of a nebula was that 1t
was a mass Of gases at an inconceivably
high temperature, containing In this form
the material of future worlds.
Condensed Into Planets.
As this gaseous mass parted with it's heat
and contracted it's dimensions 1t would
gradually be troken up under the operation
Of mechanical forces and its revolving frag-
ments would eventually cool and condense
into planets, with their satellites, while the
central portion of the mass, reduced by
contraction to the merest fraction of the
nebula's original volume, would remain still
glowing as q sun. Upon this supposition
the great nebula out Of which was evolved
the solar system must have contained. In
the form Of luminous gases, all Of the ele-
ments row found in the earth's compost
tion. and which are also detected by the
spectroscope in the atmosphere Of the sun.
Could II have been examined by the as
tronomers Of some then existing earth its
spectrum would have been found to consist
Of hundreds Of bright lines, indicative Of
the luminous gases and vapors Of metals
which composed Its mass.
No nebula which hSs = 'h0eetr,,,u ~ yy,,..