The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-09-15
THREE STARS IN ONE.
The Cameras Remarkable Revela
lions About the North star.

Il
The Cameras Remarkable Revelh-
lions About tbe North star.
The news from Lick observatory that
the North star. 2s5.oOO.OOo.OOO of miles
away from US has been found to be not
one star, but three-swlnging around in
great orbits says the New York Sun,
like the moon. earth and SUMS an
other remarkable result Of the appllca-
tion Of photo-spectroscopy to the tele-
scoplc study of the heavens. Always
fascinating. the search for double and
multiple stars has become of the high
est interest since the spectroseope has
made It possible to discover multiple
stars which the greatest telescopes do
not reveal to the eye. The three COM
ponents of Polaris cannot be seen with
the most powerful telescope In the
world. But the Lick star spectroscope,
attached to the great Ss-inch refractor.
makes 1t plain that there are suns re-
volving about a sun where the eye dis
tingulshes but one twinkling light.
Ten years ago at the Harvard uni
versity observatory. the first photo
spectroscopic multiple star was discov-
cred Unexpectedly. The star MiZar, the
middle star Of the handle Of the Big
Dipper, has been called a naked eye"
double because II has a visible COM
panion, Alcor, close to II. But Rlccloli,
In 1850, discovered with the telescope
that Mar had telescope double.
Mar seems to have been the frst,
double star discovered with the tele-
scope. The apparent distance between
MiZar and Alcor Is nearly forty times
the distance that separates the COM
ponents Of Mlzar. The telescope shows,
too, that there are other stars between
MIzar and Alcor.
Two centuries after the telescope re-
vealed two stars in MlZar the spectro-
scope showed that the brighter of the
components was itself made up Of two
stars. In photographs taken at the
Harvard observatory in 1889 the X line
in the spectrum Of Mar appeared
double. In other plates the line was
single. in others It was hazy. A close
scrutiny Of all the plates showed that
the line was double at intervals Of fifty
two days. This proved to astronomers
wns really two stars. A spectroscope
takes cognizanee Of the motion Of star
10 or from the earth. When one star
begins to approach and the other to re-
cede from US the lines in the spectrum
Of the approaching star will be dis
placed toward the violet end, while
those OF the recedIng star will be dis
placed toward the red end. The lines
will at first appear hazy, but when the
approach and recession Of the stars
reach a maximum the lines will appear
double. The calculated distance be-
tween the componentB Of Mlzar is about
14S, 100000 miles, and the brilllancy Of
the star Is estimated to be over hum
bred times greater than that Of our sun.
A number Of other photo-spectro-
scopic multiple stars have been discov-
cred recently. With the Lick telescope
and spectroscope fourteen have been
found. This method Of discovery came
about from the use Of the spectra to
determine the velocity with which stars
approached or receded from the earth.
The North star. 1t was found short
while ago. is now shooting earthward
at a velocity Of sixteen miles n second.
Two Of the suns Of the North star trip
let revolve about each other every four
days. and these two swing about the
third