The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-05

we hope to demonstrate the universali- | ty of the law of gravitation in cosmic space.
 ] Bessels acuteness in forecasting the 1 direction of coming research was ann ply verified by the work of Ellxin in 1885 at Yale College. Provided with more ! modern instrument, but similar to BeS- 1 sells, Elkin was able to repeat his ob- | serVations with a slight increase of pre-
 cision. Motions in the interval of forty
 five years, sufficiently great to hint at | coming possibilities, were shown con- clusively to exist. Six stars at all
 events have been fairly excluded from | the group on account of their peculiar | motions shown by Ell1in's research. It is possible that they are merely seen in the background through the interstices
 of the cluster itself, or they may be sus- pended between us and the Pleiades, in either case having no real connection with the group. Finally, these obser- vations make it reasonably certain that
 many of the remaining mass of stars
 really constitute a unit aggregation in
 space. Astronomers of a coming gene
 ration will again repeat the Besselian
 work. At present we have been able to
 use his method only for the separation
 from the true Pleiades of chance stars
 that happen to lie in the same direc-
 ton. Let us hope that man shall exist
 long enough to see the clustered stars
 themselves begin and carry out such
 gyrations as gravitation imposes.
 These will doubtless be of a kind not
 even suggested by the lesser complexi-
 ties of our solar system. For the most
 wonderful thing of all about the Pie
 fades seems to point to an intricacX of
 structure whose details are destined to
 shake the confidence of the profound
 est mathematician. There is an extra
 primary nebulous condensation that
 seems to pervade the entire space occu-
 pied by the stellar constituents of the
 group. The stars are swimming in
 veritable sea of luminous cloud There
 are filmy tenu'ous places and again
 condensing whirfs of material doubtless still in the gaseous or plastic stage.
 Most noticeable of all are certain almost straight lines of nebula that connect se- ries of stars. In one case, shown upon photograph made by Henry at Paris, six stars are strung out upon such a hazy line. We might give play to fan cy, and see in this the result of some vast eruption of gaseous matter that has already begun to solidify here and there into stellar nuclei. But sound sci ences gives not too great freedom to mere speculative theories. Her duty has been found in quiet research, and her greatest rewards have ever flowed from speculation tempered by pure reason.
 Astronomical Predictions for March.
 TheSfollowing astronomical predc | tions gives the positions of the more | cancellations at about 9 | F. M., Mapch 15, 1900. They will be | found approximately correct also at about the same time of night through out the month.
 Orion is still the leading constella- tion, and is situated a little west of | southwest, about one-third of the way up from horizon to zenith. Sirius. the great dogstar, is about on level with Orion in altitude. It is rather to the 5outhward of southwest and can be found easily by following to the left a eASis iiiAS pccSiii5 AulOuSli tiiC tlliGC dose stars in rion's belt Procyon the esser dog-star, is south of southwest wo-thirds of the way up to the zenith, and almot directly above Sirius. The famous Pleiades cluster is in the con 'tellation Taurus, near the bright star Aldebran, a little north of west, and lbove the horizon about one-third of the whole distance to the zenith. The sickle ;haped figure in Leo with the first magnitude star Regulus, is little outh of southeast, two-thirds of the yay up to the zenith. Arcturus, gem f the constellation Bootes, is just noith # east, rising in the sky, and one-fifth If the distance up to the zenith. Ge- mini with the twins Castor and Polux, | s overhead southwest of the zenith
 The planets are not visible at 9 F. M, ut just after sunset Mercury can be cen in the west, about one-tenth of the vay up to the zenith. On the Sth there ( VIII be a good opportunity to see Mer- ury, as he will be up about one-fifth of he distance to the zenith just after unset. Venus will be about west, and half way up to the zen z tn just after sunset throughout the nonth. Jupiter and Saturn will be tFi- { norning stars, and will be seen in the outh before sunrise, up about one-quar- l ar of the distance between horizon and { enith. The moon will pass close to 8 lercury on the 2d. to Venus on the 4th. 3 Jupiter on the22d and to Saturn on I he 24th. h.-Harold Jacoby in New York i ,vening Post.