Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-03

will join the host of dark suns" with
which, is known from various indica-
tons. space is thronged.
Such, briefly sketched. are the salient
features of the meteoritic theory. which as
plres to supplant the ''nebular theory of
Kant and Laplace. The fundamental differ
ence between the two is that the older
theory starts with matter in the gaseous
state intensely hot: the rival theory starts
with matter in the solid state and abso-
iuteiy without heat.
The MILKY Way.
photography has rendered for the study
of the Milky Way, which tonight forms a
grand arch passing, at o'clock. directly
overhead, service hardly less important
than in the case of the nebulae. The view
of Herschel and of most astronomers since
his time that the Milky Way stars are suns,
comparable in size with our own sun, that
they are at vastly unequal distances from
US, the faintest of them being SO remote
that their light requires thousands of years
to cross the intervening space. has been
thoroughly disproved by photography 1t
is impossible to examine closely any OF the
numerous photographs which we now have
of sections of the Milky Way. particularly
the fine set of photograph secured by
Barnard with the short-focus Willard lens
and not to be convinced that this galaxy
is really what it seems to be to the naked
eye, cloud-like formation. and that its
tiny twinklers are all at essentially the
same distance from us. Moreover there
are good reasons for thinking that the
vast majority of the stars which form the
groundwork of the Milky WAY are COM
paratively small bodies. hundreds per-
haps thousands. of times smaller than the
sun, to quote the words of Barnard which
Is another way of saying that the Milky
Way is probably at no very great distance
from us, star distances are reckoned
If this view of the galaxy comes finally 20
be established ii will necessitate a very
important change in our notions of the
If vic h,.n a
of the number Of worlds which IL contains
for of the 100000. 900 or more stars brought
into view by the largest telescopes, about
hne-tenths lie in or near the Milky Way.
AIsoFs Mfnima.
Three minima Of this famous variable
star will occur this month at hours favora-
bic for observation. On the 7th it will be
at its faintest at II m; on the 10th at o
PM; on the 18th at 6 pm.
Algol is easily identified from its posi-
ton at about three-ffths of the distance
from the center of Cassiopeia to the
Pleiades. Ordinarily it is of the second
magnitude, but at intervals of a little less
mtude, IN the space of about four hours.
and in the next four hours returns to its
usual brightness.
The Planets.
Mercury will be a morning star until the
9TH and after that date an evening star but
will not be visible during this month
Venus has been an evening star since
September 15 and is now a splendid OBJ
ject in the southwestern sky. remaining
above the horizon until after o'clock She
Will continue to be an evening star during
the first half OF the year. attaining her
greatest brilliancy June 1. July s she will
be in inferior conjunction with the sun
Will pass between us and the sun-and after
that date for the remainder of the year will
be a morning star being at her greatest
briliancy as such August IA
That Venus far surpasses in splendor the
brightest of the fixed stars is known 10
every one. Yet most even of her habituaI
admirers will be surprised to learn how
much she surpasses them. Photometric
measures have shown that when Venus is
at her brightest her light equals that of
ninety-eight average stars of the first mag
nitude. She is then nearly twelve times as
bright as Sirius and sixty times as bright
Arcturus-
Mars. in Capricorn. is morning star, rfs-
ing at about T:30 am
Jupiter. in the Scorpion, is a morning star,
rising at about am.
Saturn, In Sagittarius rises at about 4
am.
Uranus, in the Scorpion, rises at about 3
a.
Neptune, near the tip of the southern
horn of Taurus. is an evening star. and is
the only planet above the horizon at pm.