El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-10-04

one there are people who observe the
heavens they VIII see the sun as q
star OF what we call the fifth maglil-
tude for the Capella suns combined
are 20 times as bright as the sun.
II Is interesting 70 note the impor-
tanr position which the great family
occupies in the economy Of the an
Client people whose name for & re-
NAMED with the star We would
hardly honor the lowly goat with a
star OF capelia's beauty
The PIeiades.
The Pleiades are a famous old
group they figure prominently in the
religions and customs OF many an
clent, and modern peoples They are
also one OF the easiest stellar con-
figurati0ns FOR the beginner 10 be-
come familiar with and TO fix per-
manently in the memory They form
naked eye cluster which is unique.
Without the aid OF the telescope or
opera glass one can make out six
OF seven Erars which form a sort Of
Upper these seem surrounded BY a
hay cloud which in the telescope Is
shown 70 be more stars. On eUceD-
uonally good nights a very good pair
OF eyes can distinguish about a dozen
brighter stars, at least so the writer
has been told. IN the telescope one
can see a great many more The
Drign. est OF this sub-group has the
name AlcEoue and was by some re-
garded a. a possible central sun OF
the universe but this undoubtedly Is
incorrect
Noteworthy stars.
The brighter stars OF the PIeiades
are noteworthy because they differ
somewhat from nearly all the other
stars Tor a long exposure Photograph
shows Instead OF the small image
which stars usually give. a consid-
cradle neoulous cloud surrounding
them This real nebulous matter
and Is not the hazy cioudiike back
ground which the naked eye sees. The
distance OF the Pleiades from the
earth is probably more than ten mil-
non astronomic units. ten million
times the distance OF the sun The
brighter stars Of the group must have
several hundred times the briluancy
OF the sun which AZ that enormous
distance would be Invisible to the hu-
man eye. Every writer on astrououlf-
cal topics likes 10 emphasize the i'm
mensity OF many Of the stars by com
PARSONS with the sun which are
greatly TO the iatter's disadrsntara
and may leave the reader with tho
opinion that the sun Is only a very
sorry star after all But this IS not
50 for # ls we'll above the average
Of All the stars
Discovers Two Comsta.
This remarkable achievement vas
accomplished BIZ Rev. Joel II. Metcalf,
az Camp Idlewlld, South Hero. Yer
mont, the first on the night Of
august 20 and the second on the
night Of August %. 1919. The first
one was In right ascension p hours
4S min declination north % degrees:
magnitude g. This was IN Pegasus
and the latest ephemeris at hand
Sept. s, gives its dsclinatfon north
on that date as SO degrees 50 min.
which is practically at the pole. show
ing that IL Is moving with great "a
pl4lly- II appears as hay mass
without any indication OF q tail. and
looks not unlike the Great Nebula in
Andromeda as seen in a low power
telescope Il is thought Il may de-
vel0p into a naked eye object some
time In October. Its periheiion pas
sage VIII occur on October Is, 1919
It's path Is shown on our evening SKY
same Ola Comet.
A telegram from Prof Leuschnar.
director OF the Students observatory.
Berkeley. California. states that the
first Metcalf comet Is Identical with
comet lS47 v which was discovered
by Brorsen and its period has been
given as about Is years.
The second comet at the time OF
discovery was in right ascension IA
b. 5 m Defamation north q degrees
magnitude 9. on Sept 9. Il vas in
right ascension Il h. 80 m. Decisna-
tion north Is degrees So m. THIS
would place u very near the firs-
Magnitude star Arcturus IN Bootes|
and show that Il was moving In
southerlv direction. IT Is said to have
a well defined nucleus and 70 be Wis
IDLE fl a low power telescope. It's
perihelion passage Is given for Dec
rs, 1919 A telegram TO Harvard
shows that IL was discovered indepen-
IDENTITY the next night by Borreily at
Rev. aIr. BfetcaIf has an interna-
tlonal reputation IN astronomical cir
cles as the discoverer OF several a.
teroids and other comets.
The Planets For October.
Mercury viii be found low IN the
western evening sky the last week IN
October but Is so far south OF the
sun az that time and setting about
a half hour later that unless the
observer has a very clear horizon ID
viii not be visible.
Venus is now in the morning sky
and finely IN view. Il reaches its
greatest brilliancy on the goth when
its stellar magnitude Is AZ. It's
crescent Is widening.
Mars Is near ReEulus IN Leo this
month, and rises about four hours
before the sun. on the 18th il IS I99
million miles from the earth Mars
and Saturn will be IN very close con-
junction on the gath. Mars being only
i've minutes south-one-sixth OF the
moons diameter.
Jupiter rises about ,. m. on Sep
TENDER 30th and remains In view ali
night. Il is in conjunction with the
moon on the 18th.
Saturn Is a few degrees east OF
Regulus and rises about four hours
before the sun Il is finely placed for
observation