The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-09-10
MARvEISOP ASTRONOMY
wosogRFUL DISCOVERY OF PLAN
Ers REvoLviSc AROUND STARS.

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No achievement OF the human intel.
let - more wonderful than the dis
corery 90 planets revolving around
many % the stars. writes Professor
simVA NewcQmb. LID. m these
tosi,cs could r. seen with telescope
fnere would Dc nothing wonderful I'm
their Being found. but they are gen.
orally. 80 far as We know. entirely
dark at least. they send forth no light
that The human ere could discern IN
the most powerful telescope They
are. aud must forever b. Invisible.
How, then. is their existence made
knowuf ~ their attraction on the
stars around which they revolve. and
which they cause 20 swing first 20
one side and then 20 the other. But
this swing of star H. 20 small as TO
De entireiy beyond the power OF de-
lection b. the most delicate eye and
the most powerful telescope To all
nppearances. the stars remain ahso-
lutely az rest except for the slow.
straiKhtfurwurd motion which we find
many % them 20 have when Obserya-
tons on their positions are extended
through years or generations. n we
cannot see any motion. how do we
know that the stars mover
This r. the real wonder IL Il done
BY Analysing the light which the star
sends 90 us. IL has long been known
that light really consists I'm minute VI
brations or whvelike motions In an
ether which fills all space. There are
from 10000 TO 10000 OF these waves
In the length OF n single inch. and yet
they travel forward SO rapidly that
they would enclrcle the earth seven
times between the two beats of the
clock. Small though they are. each lit
tie wave has its crest. as have the bill
lows OF the ocean. On the latter the
distances between two successive
crests may be more than the length Of
a ship or less than that of n ships
boat so is 1t with light. Although
countless millions OF millions OF waves
pass in n single second. some vlbrate
more rapidly than others.
By the lid Of the spectroscope the
astronomer analyses the light OF n
star. and thus finds the length OF GER
tain OF the waves which It sends to-
ward us. III 1t is moving liz our direc-
ton these waves Will be little short
er than when IL is moving away from
us. And thus II Is said that. by meas
uring the length Of the llght-wave
w cfo IL
ined whether the star is increasing or
diminishing Its distance from us.
When these most delicate and difficult
measures were made upon n number
OF the brighter stars, It was found that
some of them changed their motion 10
or from us. For a few hours. or per
haps a few days, a star would be NOV
Ing toward us. then IL would slacken
it's pace and move away from US. 10
return toward us again. Thus It would
yibrate backward and forward. as Il
were. Ike n swinging pendulum. As
n matter Of fact. we know that the
motion was more likely TO be around
and around In circle. But this circle.
though millions of miles In extent, IS
so small as 20 be quite invisible 40 the
enormous distances OF the fixed stars.
The motion OF the stars which /
hay des ribbed. being made known by
the light. can be as well determined
npon a star at the most immeasurable
distance as upon one Ia our immediate
nelghbOrhood. And thus u Is that
these motions are made out when the
telescope fails To show any movement
whatever They can be caused only
by the attraction OF Invisible. but
massive. bodies revolving around the
stars as the planets revolve around
the sun. SO exact have these measures
been made I'm recent times that the
form of the orbit Of a dark body can.
In some cases. be calculated with
more or less exactness. \ ID thus u
happens that, II there are any inhabl-
tants on these planets. our astrOnOm-
ers here on earth could tell them more
about the motion OF the world ON
which they live than the most civil
lied people a few centuries ngo knew
OF the motions Of the earth on which
we dwell.
The most recent researches show
that there Is an Immense variety
among the stars. especially as to their
actual brightness. or course. a star
OF any given brightness Will look faint
er the farther it Is from US Thus Il
was In former times, supposed that the
brightest stars were most near US. But
this is not n Ways the case. II Is
rue that Sirius. the brightest star On
ne heavens, Is among the nearer ones.
about twice as far as the nenrest star
known. But the next brightest Is
Campus. which never rises I'm our
northern attitudes though IL may
sometimes be seen I'm the Gulf Stntos.
1t Is there visible low down near tho
southern horizon some time during the
winter evenings. GIN at the Cane OF
e ID Hope, made a long series of the
most exact measures on the position
of this star amongst those scattered
around It, with n view of determining
its distance The result OF his wori,
was that this distance must be inn.
measurably great Had it been only
ten millions times the distance OF the
sun he would have found 70 out
The result OF his work is that this
star must be thousands aud perhaps
tens OF thousands of times as BRIGHT
as our sun. If our earth rovolyod
around it at the same distance that