The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-05-08
somE STRANGE SUNS.
BfasisR Stars That Double Their
Light and Hegt and Fade again
Every Twelve Hours, and One That


There have been some discoveries made
In astronomy which should open peoples
eyes to the narrowness OF the doctrine
that our little corner OF the universe Is
tyne OF the whole. The particular discov-
cries referred to have been made with the
aid OF photography, and they relate to the
conditions prevailing in certain clusters
of stars which have long excited the as
constituent of astronomers by the count
less number of glowing orbs packed with
In their limits, but whose most wonderful
characteristics have only just been res
vcaled.
Among these star heaps--for when seen
with powerful telescope they really do
resemble piles OF glittering sand heaped
upon a table, thick in the middle and
scattered thinly around the edges-there
are two 20 which reference is especially
made--viz, the so called Great Cluster in
the constellation Hercules aud the mass
named Mo in the constellation Libra. In
both of these the central stars are so nu-
merous that they present a perfect blaze
Of light, amid which the eye cannot dis
tinguish the individual luminaries. But
photographs deal more satisfactorily with
them, fixing the images of maay hun
dreds of the stars so that they eau be ae-
curately counted and their comparative
magnitudes correctly measured. In his
photographs Of cluster No Professor So
Ion Bailey got clear images of no less
than 900 Of the assembled stars.
Now comes the surprising thing, dis
covery which shows that we have only
just begun TO uncover the wonders of
starry space. Out of the 300 stars clear
ly photographed in the cluster no less
o. ~. liz. Ht.,If
| as il were. At one time they are between
two and three times as bright as at an
other. And evidently they all obey the
same law and are connected in their won
derful vcssitudes by some subtle link Of
| relationship. because while they do net
| all rise and fall together in brilliancc, yet
| the period of change in every case is of
nearly the same length, and the amount
| of change is also nearly uniform.
Then the rapidity with which these
| strange suns gain and lose their light il
| absolutely startling. The average lapse
| of time from oae of their maxima OF
| spisndor to the next is only between II
| and 10 hours. Think what terror our
sun would be il twice every "a hours he
| b!azed out with between two and three
| times his ordinary light and heat. And
| that appears to be actually what occurs
with the variable stars in Mo. II is
| series of sudden outbursts by which they
| are affected. Nearly half the time they
are at the minimum OF brightness. Sud
| denly they begin to gain and to glow with
waxing energy. In an hour or two they
| have doubled in radiant power, but still
| the furnace becomes fercer. When they
have attained their greatest intensity,
they instantly fall off again and, less
rapidly than they had risen, sink back to
| their original condition.
In the Great Cluster in Hercules, which
also contains an astonishing number Of
yariables, there is one star which actual
ly doubles its light in - minutes. con-
fagration could not be kindled as swiftly
as that. And this blazing star would
wrap the whole earth in its mounting
flames as easily as n gaslight singes n fly.
There are variable stars scattered sin
gly in the heavens which undergo changes
almost as wonderful, but they do not
arouse the interest that is awakened b.
the sight of these clustered variablcs,
whose restlessness seems TO arise from
common cause and to indicate that there
is something mysterious to our apprehen-
sion occurring among them. One is re-
| minded of the olu adage, Birds of a
| feather flock Ngether."
Besides, what is to be thought OF suns
| that behave after such n fashion, and
what kind of life can exist in n star clus-
| ter where large portion OF the eongre-
| gated orbs fare and flicker like guttering
| candles? Ii doesn't look comfortable
| from our terrestrial point of view. And
| this IL just where the significance of these
| discoveries becomes manifest. We are too
| prone TO wear the green spectacles OF our
little terraqueous globe. The importance
| of Professor Bailey's photographs of the
| assemblage of winkng and blinking stars
| in Libra is largely due to the fact that
| such revelations tend TO free mems minds
| from the bonds of the old, unintelligent
| notion that where we dwell is the garden
| of the gods and that the earth and its
| luminaries set the pace for the whole
creation.
| 1t is a good thing to be assured that
suns are not all as quiet as ours, not all
| cradle tenders for worlds hlled with crea-
| lures whom slight alterations of tempera-
| ture and climate destroy as blast from
| the north destroys the roses. Those stars
| that periodically blaze and CLEAN with
redoubled fierceness of radiation give MS
a glimpse into Il part of the universe
where the conditions of existence and of
| vitality must necessarily be vastly differ
| ent from what they are here. Yet the
| same elements are there. The variety is
| in their combinations. We shouldn't ex-
| pect to meet men among the stars, but
there is no reason for expecting to meet
nobody there.
The infinite variety of the universe
adds zest TO the hope that in future
| state we shall see more of it. Why should
| tho Ghosts OF denartcd men and women