The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-03-10
rLiE DISCnNEREE:.

Dr. T. d. Anderson, the discoverer,
despite the fact that he has already
aGdet. a star in the Constellation Atlri2;ae,
is not a professional astronomer; his real
profession is the ministry AS IS the case
with many another il Great Britain,
astronomy is simply a personal pleasure
amounting practically to an avocatlon
it is interesting u nCte that IN his first
discovery he so doubted the possibility
OF having been the first astronomer TO
notice Nova Aurigae thar he announced
the fact to the OhSerVatOrieS on q modest
and anonymous postcard. ConcealinE his
own identity until the value of his lind
made it impossible longer to conceal it.
Nevertheless, although the Photographic
plates would eventually have told the
same story, the value of his present dis
covery was none the less important, for
it served Immediately to focus on that
one portion of the heavens the entire
astronomical observation of the earth
When a new star has been discovered
the first questions naturally concern its
location in the armament and its COM
parative brightness. Therefore, While the
first technicalities of the science are IA
n1iliar to many leaders, it may be inter-
esting to others to follow roughly the
process upon which Dr.. Anderson, having
discovered Nova Persei. based his figures,
r. y. 3h 24m. els: and Dec. X 10 deg. 81
min.
LOCATING THE STAR.
The exact situation may be seen most
readily by examination of an ordinary
globe bearing in mind that to DR.. Ander-
son the heavens are the inside surface of
such a globe, enlarged enormously. and
the earth from which he makes his OBJ
serva tons an enthusiastically smaller
globe exactly in the centre of it. Grant
ing this, it will be seen that a great
plane passing through both globes like
an enormous sheet OF paper and dividing
the earth at the equator into two hems
rheres. would make, on the surface of
the ether globe, a great circle compar-
able, on an enormous scale, 10 the euua-
tor of the earth ana called, in fact, the
celestial equator; that other planes cut
ting the earth at the poles would make
upon the outer globe other great circles
comparable tc the earth'S own circles
Of lorsitude; ana that the sun as seen
from the earth would, as the earth makes
its yearly revolution, trace on the outer
sphere another enormous circle called
The ecliptic) cutting each Of the other
lines at two points. Here then we have
a great Surtace-the inner lining o. an
enormous glCbe--SubdVided by regularly
draw. lines and dotted with the st:ErS,
il, locating Nova Persei, therefore, .lac
diSccverer found first, by an especially
contrived mechanism, the distance IL
hours, minutes and seconds or the new
star on the greater equatorial line, meas
urinE from the liked point at which that
line crosses the suns ecliptic-a point
subject to minor variations which his ap-
raratus allowed him to take into exact
consideration, and measured III hours,
II inutes and seconds because such are the
natural divisions of the greater circum-
ference, and So Used in preference TO the
degrees measuring our own equator. Co
ing eastward he found his star in right
ascension CT. Al, 3h, 24m, as. This, 1t
will be seen, fixes it somewhere IN the
great circle corresponding to our own
circle of longitude and passing through
what we have called the greater equator
ial line at this point. Going north along
this greater circle of longitude. and meas
uring by degrees, he finds the declina-
ton Deco of the new star this in the
case of Nova Fersei being X as degrees,
8; minutes. This may be verified. by other
methods. and the new star is thus scien-
,:iicalIy settled in its proper place in the
armament.
HOW NAMED.
A new star is never Immediately given
a new name, although later it may be
named after its discoverer Nova Persei
tthe Latin stella being nnderstood)
means literally a new star in the con-
stelation Perseus. This fact, and the
date of its discovery, are sufficient for
all scientific purposes. and 1t is thus duly
catalogued for further study. t would
pe difficult to say at present how far
Nova Persei is from the earth, exactly
how it has been formed, or how long it is
likely to remain a bright object; but an
examination of the Photographic plates
at the Harvard Observatory shows that
it was not visible two days previous to
its discovery. and that in those forty
eight hours it must have increased some
10000 times in brilliancy. New stars do