Washington sentinel., 1899-04-29
Heavenly Problems.

pearance Of new stars, and another
fact, not less striking, is that OF the
disappearance Of both new and old
stars. 1t is said that the appear
ance Of a new star in the time OF
Hipparchus, A. d. I3o, led that as
tronomer to construct his cata.
logue OF the stars, and similar ap-
pearances are said to have taken
place in the years AID. soc, GAS and
1904, Coming down to more
modern times, we have two re-
markable and carefully observed
instances OF this strange phenom-
enon. In the year IS7a, a new
star blazed forth in the constella-
ton Cassiopeia, shone with great
brilliancy for about month, and
then gradually declined in splen-
dor, until in March, 1874, it finally
disappeared. Who shall say what
mighty cataclysm had caused this
wonderful event9 1t was closely
observed by the astronomer TYcho
Brlhe, who supposed the new star
to be generated from the ethereal
substance of which he imagined
the Milky Way to be composed,
and TO have been afterwards dissi-
pated bv the light OF the sun and
the other stars, or to have dissolved
spontaneously from some internal
cause. The modern view is that
the phenomenon was caused by
some vast combustion, and this
theory is strengthened by the fact
that the new star exhibited various
changes OF color. Thirty two
years later another splendid new
star made its appearance in the con-
stellation Serpentarius. First seen
by Kepleron October II, 1904, 1t
shone for a briei period with great
brilliancy, surprising the stars oil
the first magnitude, and also the
planets Mars, Saturn and Jupiter
Like the new star of fI57a, however,
it soon began to decline, and
ceased to be visible in February,
1906,
These are examples of the ap.
pearance and disappearance OF new
stars, but in some cases, old stars,
which have been shining in the
heavens for untold ages, have
mysteriously disappeared. There
is always some difficulty in verify
ing the disappearance OF a star,
owing to the imperlections of the
earlier observations Of astronom-
ers, But stars have been mentioned
by Montanari, Maraldi, and Sir
William Herschel which, we can.
not doubt, have become extinct
Astronomers OF the future, armed
with improved instruments, and
furnished with large masses of &C
curate observations accumulated
through many years, may be able
to suggest some reasonable theory
for the causes of these wonderful
phenomena, but at present they
remain entirely without explana-
ton. A deeply interesting fact
which has been demonstrated with
regard to the fixed stars is that
they are not fixed, as was believed
down to the days OF HALEY (I7I8),
but that they have proper mo
tion. And here we confront prob
lens and speculations whose
depth and vastness fill the mind
with wondering awe, as we catch
glimpses and suggestions Of the
in1nire grandeur Of the scale on
which the universe is built. For
there is reason to believe that not
only are all the stars IN motion,
but that the sun also, accompanied
by his planets, is revolving around
! some central body; that, in short,
the whole Of the 10000, 900 stars
within human ken, and probably
more beyond, form one great sys.
tenn, revolving around one central
sun, 1t has been suggested that
this central sun is probably the
star AlCYone, the brightest of the
Pleiades, which constellation may
be regarded as in the centre of the
starry system. The researches Of
astronomers tend TO show that the
sun and his attendant planets are
moving through space with a vel.
ocity Of I54, 900, 900 miles per an.
mum, while the star q Centauri
moves at the rate OF $4,000, 900
miles per annum, and another star,
OF CYgni, moves at the rate Of
1854, ,ooo, 900 miles per annum.
Have we not here a stupendous
thought A whole universe OF
millions upon millions of burning
suns with their probably still more
numerous attendant bodies, all
rushing through the space with
velocities inconceivably great, all
constantly changing their posi-
tlOns, both relative and absolute,
yet all linked together in orderly
array, and moving round one COM
mon centre. Gravitation-Ghat
mysterious force discovered and
formulated by Newton-Is the
physical agent which holds these
innumerable globes together, and
which prevents the orderly Cos
mos from degenerating into wild
est chaos
a. PALACE ERECTED THROUGH
SPITE.-It seems that the new pal
-, Dill