Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-04

Campbell in August, 1889. and soon after
was discovered independently by Mr.. II. F.
Newell Of Cambridge, England. Campbell
estimates that the principal star of the pair,
which Is yellow and gives a sp, ctrum of
the solar" type. is half magnitude
brighter photographically than its blue
Sirfan' class. The wass, or weight of the
brighter component, is about one and a
quarter times that of the companion star.
The period of revolution is 1O4 days.
The form of the orbit in which the two
stars circle about their common center Of
gravity has been found to be neariy cir
cuiar. The size of this orbit cannot be de-
termined with certainty. but there a e rta-
sons for thinking that it cannot be as small
as that of Mercury, nor much larger than
that Of the earth. Attempts made at the
Lick observatory to separate the two COM
ponentS of Capelia usually with the :,j-
inch telescope have thus far been ursuc-
cessful The star has maintained it's APP
peafance Of being single with the hsh st
teiescopic power used. and when the see
ing was excellent Upon this fact, taken
in connection with the most probable value
Of the size of the orbit. has b, en- based
minimum estimate of the distance of Ca
pella from us. 1t is calculated that the
great Lick telescope would dete ct some APP
pearance of dupltcity in the star were it
not more than thirty light years distant
from us. The sun removed TO that d s.
lance would become star of the fifth
magnitude; the light we would receive fl ON
it would be one hundred times less than
we receive from the pair of suns which
form the brilliant star Capella-
Nova Persei
The nova has fallen to below the ninth
magnitude. The cause of the remarkable
expanding nebula shown around it by pho
Biography is still undecided question. The
weight Of opinion seems to be that the
phenomenon is an electrical one. The idea
is that the region surrounding the nova is
hiled with cool gases or perhaps with me-
teoric dust, and that electrical disturb
ance caused by the outbreak of the nova
has since that time been moving outward.
the wave front successfully rendering lumi-
nous different portions Of this gaseous
mass Cor of the dust cloud encountered in
its course. Hence the apparent expansion
of the nebula, as indicated by successive
photographs.
Eclipse of the Moon.
On the night Of the 16th-17th of the
month there will be a total eclipse of the
moon, visible throughout North and South
America and over the western portion of
Europe and Africa. The moon will strike
the earth's shadow at 11:17 pm. eastern
time) on the 18th and will leave 1t at 80
am. on the 18th. Totally will begin at
1919 IN. and will last one hour and TWEEN
ty-nine minutes. One hour before the
eclipse proper begins the moon will enter
the penumbra, and will leave it one hour
shadow. These penumbral phases of a
lunar eclipse are not noticeable.
Algol.
A minimum of this interesting variable
star-the Demon Star''-will occur at mid
night on the It'll, and another at 9:35 pm.
on the 10th.
The Planets.
Mercury will be evening star until the
18th Of the month. 1t may be looked for
low in the southwest for a few days to
come, but being unfavorably situated owing
to it's great southern doclination, it is not
likely to be seen except on very clear
evening. After the 10th it will be a morn
ing star
Venus is still morning star, rising to-
day in the east an hour and ten minutes
before the sun. 1t will continue to be a
morning star until November %.
Mars is morning star in the constellation
Leo, about degrees west of the star Regu-
lus-on the first of the month-but travel
ing eastward nearly as fast as the sun. 1t
now rises about three hours before the sun.
Jupiter continues to be splendid evening
star, remaining above the horizon until
about 100 am Saturn, one hour and eight
minutes west of Jupiter sets at about mid
night. Uranus, barely visible to the naked
eye, maintains it's position near the star
Theta Ophiuchi. and now sets at about o
pm. Neptune, in Gemini, at three-ffths of
the distance from Aldebaran to Pollux, is
an evening star. rising at about 10 pm.