III. THE STELLAR UNIVERSE.

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I. GENERAL ASPECT OF THE HEAVENS.

322. The Magnitude of the Stars.—The stars that are visible to the naked eye are divided into six classes, according to their brightness. The brightest stars are called stars of the first magnitude; the next brightest, those of the second magnitude; and so on to the sixth magnitude. The last magnitude includes the faintest stars that are visible to the naked eye on the most favorable night. Stars which are fainter than those of the sixth magnitude can be seen only with the telescope, and are called telescopic stars. Telescopic stars are also divided into magnitudes; the division extending to the sixteenth magnitude, or the faintest stars that can be seen with the most powerful telescopes.

The classification of stars according to magnitudes has reference only to their brightness, and not at all to their actual size. A sixth magnitude star may actually be larger than a first magnitude star; its want of brilliancy being due to its greater distance, or to its inferior luminosity, or to both of these causes.

None of the stars present any sensible disk, even in the most powerful telescope: they all appear as mere points of light. The larger the telescope, the greater is its power of revealing faint stars; not because it makes these stars appear larger, but because of its greater light-gathering power. This power increases with the size of the object-glass of the telescope, which plays the part of a gigantic pupil of the eye.

The classification of the stars into magnitudes is not made in accordance with any very accurate estimate of their brightness. The stars which are classed together in the same magnitude are far from being equally bright.

The stars of each lower magnitude are about two-fifths as bright as those of the magnitude above. The ratio of diminution is about a third from the higher magnitude down to the fifth. Were the ratio two-fifths exact, it would take about

2-1/2 stars of the 2d magnitude to make one of the 1st.
6 stars of the 3d magnitude to make one of the 1st.
16 stars of the 4th magnitude to make one of the 1st.
40 stars of the 5th magnitude to make one of the 1st.
100 stars of the 6th magnitude to make one of the 1st.
10,000 stars of the 11th magnitude to make one of the 1st.
1,000,000 stars of the 16th magnitude to make one of the 1st.

323. The Number of the Stars.—The total number of stars in the celestial sphere visible to the average naked eye is estimated, in round numbers, at five thousand; but the number varies much with the perfection and the training of the eye and with the atmospheric conditions. For every star visible to the naked eye, there are thousands too minute to be seen without telescopic aid. Fig. 364 shows a portion of the constellation of the Twins as seen with the naked eye; and Fig. 365 shows the same region as seen in a powerful telescope.

Constellation

Fig. 364.

Constellation

Fig. 365.

Struve has estimated that the total number of stars visible with Herschel's twenty-foot telescope was about twenty million. The number that can be seen with the great telescopes of modern times has not been carefully estimated, but is probably somewhere between thirty million and fifty million.

The number of stars between the north pole and the circle thirty-five degrees south of the equator is about as follows:—

Of the 1st magnitude about 14 stars.
Of the 2d magnitude about 48 stars.
Of the 3d magnitude about 152 stars.
Of the 4th magnitude about 313 stars.
Of the 5th magnitude about 854 stars.
Of the 6th magnitude about 2010 stars.
——
Total visible to naked eye 3391 stars.

The number of stars of the several magnitudes is approximately in inverse proportion to that of their brightness, the ratio being a little greater in the higher magnitudes, and probably a little less in the lower ones.

324. The Division of the Stars into Constellations.—A glance at the heavens is sufficient to show that the stars are not distributed uniformly over the sky. The larger ones especially are collected into more or less irregular groups. The larger groups are called constellations. At a very early period a mythological figure was allotted to each constellation; and these figures were drawn in such a way as to include the principal stars of each constellation. The heavens thus became covered, as it were, with immense hieroglyphics.

There is no historic record of the time when these figures were formed, or of the principle in accordance with which they were constructed. It is probable that the imagination of the earlier peoples may, in many instances, have discovered some fanciful resemblance in the configuration of the stars to the forms depicted. The names are still retained, although the figures no longer serve any astronomical purpose. The constellation Hercules, for instance, no longer represents the figure of a man among the stars, but a certain portion of the heavens within which the ancients placed that figure. In star-maps intended for school and popular use it is still customary to give these figures; but they are not generally found on maps designed for astronomers.

325. The Naming of the Stars.—The brighter stars have all proper names, as Sirius, Procyon, Arcturus, Capella, Aldebaran, etc. This method of designating the stars was adopted by the Arabs. Most of these names have dropped entirely out of astronomical use, though many are popularly retained. The brighter stars are now generally designated by the letters of the Greek alphabet,—alpha, beta, gamma, etc.,—to which is appended the genitive of the name of the constellation, the first letter of the alphabet being used for the brightest star, the second for the next brightest, and so on. Thus Aldebaran would be designated as Alpha Tauri. In speaking of the stars of any one constellation, we simply designate them by the letters of the Greek alphabet, without the addition of the name of the constellation, which answers to a person's surname, while the Greek letter answers to his Christian name. The names of the seven stars of the "Dipper" are given in Fig. 366. When the letters of the Greek alphabet are exhausted, those of the Roman alphabet are employed. The fainter stars in a constellation are usually designated by some system of numbers.

Dipper

Fig. 366.

326. The Milky-Way, or Galaxy.—The Milky-Way is a faint luminous band, of irregular outline, which surrounds the heavens with a great circle, as shown in Fig. 367. Through a considerable portion of its course it is divided into two branches, and there are various vacant spaces at different points in this band; but at only one point in the southern hemisphere is it entirely interrupted.

Milky Way

Fig. 367.

The telescope shows that the Galaxy arises from the light of countless stars too minute to be separately visible with the naked eye. The telescopic stars, instead of being uniformly distributed over the celestial sphere, are mostly condensed in the region of the Galaxy. They are fewest in the regions most distant from this belt, and become thicker as we approach it. The greater the telescopic power, the more marked is the condensation. With the naked eye the condensation is hardly noticeable; but with the aid of a very small telescope, we see a decided thickening of the stars in and near the Galaxy, while the most powerful telescopes show that a large majority of the stars lie actually in the Galaxy. If all the stars visible with a twelve-inch telescope were blotted out, we should find that the greater part of those remaining were in the Galaxy.

Star Distribution

Fig. 368.

The increase in the number of the stars of all magnitudes as we approach the plane of the Milky-Way is shown in Fig. 368. The curve acb shows by its height the distribution of the stars above the ninth magnitude, and the curve ACB those of all magnitudes.

327. Star-Clusters.—Besides this gradual and regular condensation towards the Galaxy, occasional aggregations of stars into clusters may be seen. Some of these are visible to the naked eye, sometimes as separate stars, like the "Seven Stars," or Pleiades, but more commonly as patches of diffused light, the stars being too small to be seen separately. The number visible in powerful telescopes is, however, much greater. Sometimes hundreds or even thousands of stars are visible in the field of view at once, and sometimes the number is so great that they cannot be counted.

328. NebulÆ.—Another class of objects which are found in the celestial spaces are irregular masses of soft, cloudy light, known as nebulÆ. Many objects which look like nebulÆ in small telescopes are shown by more powerful instruments to be really star-clusters. But many of these objects are not composed of stars at all, being immense masses of gaseous matter.

Nebula Distribution

Fig. 369.

The general distribution of nebulÆ is the reverse of that of the stars. NebulÆ are thickest where stars are thinnest. While stars are most numerous in the region of the Milky-Way, nebulÆ are most abundant about the poles of the Milky-Way. This condensation of nebulÆ about the poles of the Milky-Way is shown in Figs. 367 and 369, in which the points represent, not stars, but nebulÆ.

II. THE STARS.

The Constellations.

Great Bear

Fig. 370.

Great Bear

Fig. 371.

329. The Great Bear.—The Great Bear, or Ursa Major, is one of the circumpolar constellations (4), and contains one of the most familiar asterisms, or groups of stars, in our sky; namely, the Great Dipper, or Charles's Wain. The positions and names of the seven prominent stars in it are shown in Fig. 370. The two stars Alpha and Beta are called the Pointers. This asterism is sometimes called the Butcher's Cleaver. The whole constellation is shown in Fig. 371. A rather faint star marks the nose of the bear, and three equidistant pairs of faint stars mark his feet.

330. The Little Bear, Draco, and Cassiopeia.—These are all circumpolar constellations. The most important star of the Little Bear, or Ursa Minor, is Polaris, or the Pole Star. This star may be found by drawing a line from Beta to Alpha of the Dipper, and prolonging it as shown in Fig. 372. This explains why these stars are called the Pointers. The Pole Star, with the six other chief stars of the Little Bear, form an asterism called the Little Dipper. These six stars are joined with Polaris by a dotted line in Fig. 372.

Little Bear

Fig. 372.

The stars in a serpentine line between the two Dippers are the chief stars of Draco, or the Dragon; the trapezium marking its head. Fig. 373 shows the constellations of Ursa Minor and Draco as usually figured.

Ursa Minor and Draco

Fig. 373.

To find Cassiopeia, draw a line from Delta of the Dipper to Polaris, and prolong it about an equal distance beyond, as shown in Fig. 372. This line will pass near Alpha of Cassiopeia. The five principal stars of this constellation form an irregular W, opening towards the pole. Between Cassiopeia and Draco are five rather faint stars, which form an irregular K. These are the principal stars of the constellation Cepheus. These two constellations are shown in Fig. 374.

Cassiopeia and Draco

Fig. 374.

Lion

Fig. 375.

331. The Lion, Berenice's Hair, and the Hunting-Dogs.—A line drawn from Alpha to Beta of the Dipper, and prolonged as shown in Fig. 375, will pass between the two stars Denebola and Regulus of Leo, or the Lion. Regulus forms a sickle with several other faint stars, and marks the heart of the lion. Denebola is at the apex of a right-angled triangle, which it forms with two other stars, and marks the end of the lion's tail. This constellation is visible in the evening from February to July, and is figured in Fig. 376.

Lion

Fig. 376.

In a straight line between Denebola and Eta, at the end of the Great Bear's tail, are, at about equal distances, the two small constellations of Coma Berenices, or Berenice's Hair, and Canes Venatici, or the Hunting-Dogs. These are shown in Fig. 377. The dogs are represented as pursuing the bear, urged on by the huntsman BoÖtes.

Dogs

Fig. 377.

332. BoÖtes, Hercules, and the Northern Crown.Arcturus, the principal star of BoÖtes, may be found by drawing a line from Zeta to Eta of the Dipper, and then prolonging it with a slight bend, as shown in Fig. 378. Arcturus and Polaris form a large isosceles triangle with a first-magnitude star called Vega. This triangle encloses at one corner the principal stars of BoÖtes, and the head of the Dragon near the opposite side. The side running from Arcturus to Vega passes through Corona Borealis, or the Northern Crown, and the body of Hercules, which is marked by a quadrilateral of four stars.

Triangle

Fig. 378.

BoÖtes, who is often represented as a husbandman, Corona Borealis, and Hercules, are delineated in Fig. 379. These constellations are visible in the evening from May to September.

Triangle

Fig. 379.

Lyre, Swan, Dolphin

Fig. 380.

333. The Lyre, the Swan, the Eagle, and the Dolphin.Altair, the principal star of Aquila, or the Eagle, lies on the opposite side of the Milky-Way from Vega. Altair is a first-magnitude star, and has a faint star on each side of it, as shown in Fig. 380. Vega, also of the first magnitude, is the principal star of Lyra, or the Lyre. Between these two stars, and a little farther to the north, are several stars arranged in the form of an immense cross. The bright star at the head of this cross is called Deneb. The cross lies in the Milky-Way, and contains the chief stars of the constellation Cygnus, or the Swan. A little to the north of Altair are four stars in the form of a diamond. This asterism is popularly known as Job's Coffin. These four stars are the chief stars of Delphinus, or the Dolphin. These four constellations are shown together in Fig. 381. The Swan is visible from June to December, in the evening.

Lyre, Swan, Dolphin

Fig. 381.

334. Virgo.—A line drawn from Alpha to Gamma of the Dipper, and prolonged with a slight bend at Gamma, will reach to a first-magnitude star called Spica (Fig. 382). This is the chief star of the constellation Virgo, or the Virgin, and forms a large isosceles triangle with Arcturus and Denebola.

Lyre, Swan, Dolphin

Fig. 382.

Virgo is represented in Fig. 383. To the right of this constellation, as shown in the figure, there are four stars which form a trapezium, and mark the constellation Corvus, or the Crow. This bird is represented as standing on the body of Hydra, or the Water-Snake. Virgo is visible in the evening, from April to August.

Virgo

Fig. 383.

Twins

Fig. 384.

Virgo

Fig. 385.

335. The Twins.—A line drawn from Delta to Beta of the Dipper, and prolonged as shown in Fig. 384, passes between two bright stars called Castor and Pollux. The latter of these is usually reckoned as a first-magnitude star. These are the principal stars of the constellation Gemini, or the Twins, which is shown in Fig. 385. The constellation Canis Minor, or the Little Dog, is shown in the lower part of the figure. There are two conspicuous stars in this constellation, the brightest of which is of the first magnitude, and called Procyon.

The region to which we have now been brought is the richest of the northern sky, containing no less than seven first-magnitude stars. These are Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, and Rigel. They are shown in Fig. 386.

Virgo

Fig. 386.

Betelgeuse and Rigel are in the constellation Orion, being about equally distant to the north and south from the three stars forming the belt of Orion. Betelgeuse is a red star. Sirius is the brightest star in the heavens, and belongs to the constellation Canis Major, or the Great Dog. It lies to the east of the belt of Orion. Aldebaran lies at about the same distance to the west of the belt. It is a red star, and belongs to the constellation Taurus, or the Bull. Capella is in the constellation Auriga, or the Wagoner. These stars are visible in the evening, from about December to April.

336. Orion and his Dogs, and Taurus.Orion and his Dogs are shown in Fig. 387, and Orion and Taurus in Fig. 388. Aldebaran marks one of the eyes of the bull, and is often called the Bull's Eye. The irregular V in the face of the bull is called the Hyades, and the cluster on the shoulder the Pleiades.

Orion

Fig. 387.

Orion

Fig. 388.

Wagoner

Fig. 389.

337. The Wagoner.—The constellation Auriga, or the Wagoner (sometimes called the Charioteer), is shown in Fig. 389. Capella marks the Goat, which he is represented as carrying on his back, and the little right-angled triangle of stars near it the Kids. The five chief stars of this constellation form a large, irregular pentagon. Gamma of Auriga is also Beta of Taurus, and marks one of the horns of the Bull.

Pegasus

Fig. 390.

338. Pegasus, Andromeda, and Perseus.—A line drawn from Polaris near to Beta of Cassiopeia will lead to a bright second-magnitude star at one corner of a large square (Fig. 390). Alpha belongs both to the Square of Pegasus and to Andromeda. Beta and Gamma, which are connected with Alpha in the figure by a dotted line, also belong to Andromeda. Algol, which forms, with the last-named stars and with the Square of Pegasus, an asterism similar in configuration to the Great Dipper, belongs to Perseus. Algenib, which is reached by bending the line at Gamma in the opposite direction, is the principal star of Perseus.

Pegasus

Fig. 391.

Andromeda

Fig. 392.

Cetus

Fig. 393.

Pegasus is shown in Fig. 391, and Andromeda in Fig. 392. Cetus, the Whale, or the Sea Monster, shown in Fig. 393, belongs to the same mythological group of constellations.

Scorpio

Fig. 394.

339. Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus.—During the summer months a brilliant constellation is visible, called Scorpio, or the Scorpion. The configuration of the chief stars of this constellation is shown in Fig. 394. They bear some resemblance to a boy's kite. The brightest star is of the first magnitude, and called Antares (from anti, instead of, and Ares, the Greek name of Mars), because it rivals Mars in redness. The stars in the tail of the Scorpion are visible in our latitude only under very favorable circumstances. This constellation is shown in Fig. 395, together with Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. Sagittarius, or the Archer, is to the east of Scorpio. It contains no bright stars, but is easily recognized from the fact that five of its principal stars form the outline of an inverted dipper, which, from the fact of its being partly in the Milky-Way, is often called the Milk Dipper.

Scorpio

Fig. 395.

Ophiuchus, or the Serpent-Bearer, is a large constellation, filling all the space between the head of Hercules and Scorpio. It is difficult to trace, since it contains no very brilliant stars. This constellation and Libra, or the Balances, which is the zodiacal constellation to the west of Scorpio, are shown in Fig. 396.

Libra

Fig. 396.

Aquarius

Fig. 397.

340. Capricornus, Aquarius, and the Southern Fish.—The two zodiacal constellations to the east of Sagittarius are Capricornus and Aquarius. Capricornus contains three pairs of small stars, which mark the head, the tail, and the knees of the animal.

Aquarius is marked by no conspicuous stars. An irregular line of minute stars marks the course of the stream of water which flows from the Water-Bearer's Urn into the mouth of the Southern Fish. This mouth is marked by the first-magnitude star Fomalhaut. These constellations are shown in Fig. 397.

Pisces and Aries

Fig. 398.

341. Pisces and Aries.—The remaining zodiacal constellations are Pisces, or the Fishes, Aries, or the Ram (Fig. 398), and Cancer, or the Crab.

The Fishes lie under Pegasus and Andromeda, but contain no bright stars. Aries (between Pisces and Taurus) is marked by a pair of stars on the head,—one of the second, and one of the third magnitude. Cancer (between Leo and Gemini) has no bright stars, but contains a remarkable cluster of small stars called PrÆsepe, or the Beehive.

Clusters.

342. The Hyades.—The Hyades are a very open cluster in the face of Taurus (334). The three brightest stars of this cluster form a letter V, the point of the V being on the nose, and the open ends at the eyes. This cluster is shown in Fig. 399. The name, according to the most probable etymology, means rainy; and they are said to have been so called because their rising was associated with wet weather. They were usually considered the daughters of Atlas, and sisters of the Pleiades, though sometimes referred to as the nurses of Bacchus.

Hyades Cluster

Fig. 399.

343. The Pleiades.—The Pleiades constitute a celebrated group of stars, or a miniature constellation, on the shoulder of Taurus. Hesiod mentions them as "the seven virgins of Atlas born," and Milton calls them "the seven Atlantic sisters." They are referred to in the Book of Job. The Spaniards term them "the little nanny-goats;" and they are sometimes called "the hen and chickens."

Pleiades Cluster

Fig. 400.

Pleiades Cluster

Fig. 401.

Usually only six stars in this cluster can be seen with the naked eye, and this fact has given rise to the legend of the "lost Pleiad." On a clear, moonless night, however, a good eye can discern seven or eight stars, and some observers have distinguished as many as eleven. Fig. 400 shows the Pleiades as they appear to the naked eye under the most favorable circumstances. Fig. 401 shows this cluster as it appears in a powerful telescope. With such an instrument more than five hundred stars are visible.

344. Cluster in the Sword-handle of Perseus.—This is a somewhat dense double cluster. It is visible to the naked eye, appearing as a hazy star. A line drawn from Algenib, or Alpha of Perseus (338), to Delta of Cassiopeia (330), will pass through this cluster at about two-thirds the distance from the former. This double cluster is one of the most brilliant objects in the heavens, with a telescope of moderate power.

Hercules Cluster

Fig. 402.

345. Cluster of Hercules.—The celebrated globular cluster of Hercules can be seen only with a telescope of considerable power, and to resolve it into distinct stars (as shown in Fig. 402) requires an instrument of the very highest class.

Aquarius Cluster

Fig. 403.

346. Other Clusters.—Fig. 403 shows a magnificent globular cluster in the constellation Aquarius. Herschel describes it as appearing like a heap of sand, being composed of thousands of stars of the fifteenth magnitude.

Toucan Cluster

Fig. 404.

Fig. 404 shows a cluster in the constellation Toucan, which Sir John Herschel describes as a most glorious globular cluster, the stars of the fourteenth magnitude being immensely numerous. There is a marked condensation of light at the centre.

Centaur Cluster

Fig. 405.

Scorpio Cluster

Fig. 406.

Fig. 405 shows a cluster in the Centaur, which, according to the same astronomer, is beyond comparison the richest and largest object of the kind in the heavens, the stars in it being literally innumerable. Fig. 406 shows a cluster in Scorpio, remarkable for the peculiar arrangement of its component stars.

Star clusters are especially abundant in the region of the Milky-Way, the law of their distribution being the reverse of that of the nebulÆ.

Double and Multiple Stars.

347. Double Stars.—The telescope shows that many stars which appear single to the naked eye are really double, or composed of a pair of stars lying side by side. There are several pairs of stars in the heavens which lie so near together that they almost seem to touch when seen with the naked eye.

Pair of Stars

Fig. 407.

Pair of Stars

Fig. 408.

Pairs of stars are not considered double unless the components are so near together that they both appear in the field of view when examined with a telescope. In the majority of the pairs classed as double stars the distance between the components ranges from half a second to fifteen seconds.

Epsilon Lyrae

Fig. 409.

Epsilon LyrÆ is a good example of a pair of stars that can barely be separated with a good eye. Figs. 407 and 408 show this pair as it appears in telescopes magnifying respectively four and fifteen times; and Fig. 409 shows it as seen in a more powerful telescope, in which each of the two components of the pair is seen to be a truly double star.

Multiple Star

Fig. 410.

Multiple Star

Fig. 411.

348. Multiple Stars.—When a star is resolved into more than two components by a telescope, it is called a multiple star. Fig. 410 shows a triple star in Pegasus. Fig. 411 shows a quadruple star in Taurus. Fig. 412 shows a sextuple star, and Fig. 413 a septuple star. Fig. 414 shows the celebrated septuple star in Orion, called Theta Orionis, or the trapezium of Orion.

349. Optically Double and Multiple Stars.—Two or more stars which are really very distant from each other, and which have no physical connection whatever, may appear to be near together, because they happen to lie in the same direction, one behind the other. Such accidental combinations are called optically double or multiple stars.

Multiple Star

Fig. 412.

Multiple Star

Fig. 413.

350. Physically Double and Multiple Stars.—In the majority of cases the components of double and multiple stars are in reality comparatively near together, and are bound together by gravity into a physical system. Such combinations are called physically double and multiple stars. The components of these systems all revolve around their common centre of gravity. In many instances their orbits and periods of revolution have been ascertained by observation and calculation. Fig. 415 shows the orbit of one of the components of a double star in the constellation Hercules.

Multiple Star

Fig. 414.

351. Colors of Double and Multiple Stars.—The components of double and multiple stars are often highly colored, and frequently the components of the same system are of different colors. Sometimes one star of a binary system is white, and the other red; and sometimes a white star is combined with a blue one. Other colors found in combination in these systems are red and blue, orange and green, blue and green, yellow and blue, yellow and red, etc.

Multiple Star Orbits

Fig. 415.

If these double and multiple stars are accompanied by planets, these planets will sometimes have two or more suns in the sky at once. On alternate days they may have suns of different colors, and perhaps on the same day two suns of different colors. The effect of these changing colored lights on the landscape must be very remarkable.

New and Variable Stars.

352. Variable Stars.—There are many stars which undergo changes of brilliancy, sometimes slight, but occasionally very marked. These changes are in some cases apparently irregular, and in others periodic. All such stars are said to be variable, though the term is applied especially to those stars whose variability is periodic.

Algol

Fig. 416.

353. Algol.Algol, a star of Perseus, whose position is shown in Fig. 416, is a remarkable variable star of a short period. Usually it shines as a faint second-magnitude star; but at intervals of a little less than three days it fades to the fourth magnitude for a few hours, and then regains its former brightness. These changes were first noticed some two centuries ago, but it was not till 1782 that they were accurately observed. The period is now known to be two days, twenty hours, forty-nine minutes. It takes about four hours and a half to fade away, and four hours more to recover its brilliancy. Near the beginning and end of the variations, the change is very slow, so that there are not more than five or six hours during which an ordinary observer would see that the star was less bright than usual.

This variation of light was at first explained by supposing that a large dark planet was revolving round Algol, and passed over its face at every revolution, thus cutting off a portion of its light; but there are small irregularities in the variation, which this theory does not account for.

354. Mira.—Another remarkable variable star is Omicron Ceti, or Mira (that is, the wonderful star). It is generally invisible to the naked eye; but at intervals of about eleven months it shines forth as a star of the second or third magnitude. It is about forty days from the time it becomes visible until it attains its greatest brightness, and is then about two months in fading to invisibility; so that its increase of brilliancy is more rapid than its waning. Its period is quite irregular, ranging from ten to twelve months; so that the times of its appearance cannot be predicted with certainty. Its maximum brightness is also variable, being sometimes of the second magnitude, and at others only of the third or fourth.

Eta Argus

Fig. 417.

355. Eta Argus.—Perhaps the most extraordinary variable star in the heavens is Eta Argus, in the constellation Argo, or the Ship, in the southern hemisphere (Fig. 417). The first careful observations of its variability were made by Sir John Herschel while at the Cape of Good Hope. He says, "It was on the 16th of December, 1837, that, resuming the photometrical comparisons, my astonishment was excited by the appearance of a new candidate for distinction among the very brightest stars of the first magnitude in a part of the heavens where, being perfectly familiar with it, I was certain that no such brilliant object had before been seen. After a momentary hesitation, the natural consequence of a phenomenon so utterly unexpected, and referring to a map for its configuration with other conspicuous stars in the neighborhood, I became satisfied of its identity with my old acquaintance, Eta Argus. Its light was, however, nearly tripled. While yet low, it equalled Rigel, and, when it attained some altitude, was decidedly greater." It continued to increase until Jan. 2, 1838, then faded a little till April following, though it was still as bright as Aldebaran. In 1842 and 1843 it blazed up brighter than ever, and in March of the latter year was second only to Sirius. During the twenty-five years following it slowly but steadily diminished. In 1867 it was barely visible to the naked eye; and the next year it vanished entirely from the unassisted view, and has not yet begun to recover its brightness. The curve in Fig. 418 shows the change in brightness of this remarkable star. The numbers at the bottom show the years of the century, and those at the side the brightness of the star.

Eta Argus

Fig. 418.

356. New Stars.—In several cases stars have suddenly appeared, and even become very brilliant; then, after a longer or shorter time, they have faded away and disappeared. Such stars are called new or temporary stars. For a time it was supposed that such stars were actually new. They are now, however, classified by astronomers among the variable stars, their changes being of a very irregular and fitful character. There is scarcely a doubt that they were all in the heavens as very small stars before they blazed forth in so extraordinary a manner, and that they are in the same places still. There is a wide difference between these irregular variations, or the breaking-forth of light on a single occasion in the course of centuries, and the regular and periodic changes in the case of a star like Algol; but a long series of careful observation has resulted in the discovery of stars of nearly every degree of irregularity between these two extremes. Some of them change gradually from one magnitude to another, in the course of years, without seeming to follow any law whatever; while in others some slight tendency to regularity can be traced. Eta Argus may be regarded as a connecting link between new and variable stars.

357. Tycho Brahe's Star.—An apparently new star suddenly appeared in Cassiopeia in 1572. It was first seen by Tycho Brahe, and is therefore associated with his name. Its position in the constellation is shown in Fig. 419. It was first seen on Nov. 11, when it had already attained the first magnitude. It became rapidly brighter, soon rivalling Venus in splendor, so that good eyes could discern it in full daylight. In December it began to wane, and gradually faded until the following May, when it disappeared entirely.

Tycho Brahe

Fig. 419.

A star showed itself in the same part of the heavens in 945 and in 1264. If these were three appearances of the same star, it must be reckoned as a periodic star with a period of a little more than three hundred years.

358. Kepler's Star.—In 1604 a new star was seen in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was first noticed in October of that year, when it was of the first magnitude. In the following winter it began to fade, but remained visible during the whole year 1605. Early in 1606 it disappeared entirely. A very full history of this star was written by Kepler.

One of the most remarkable things about this star was its brilliant scintillation. According to Kepler, it displayed all the colors of the rainbow, or of a diamond cut with multiple facets, and exposed to the rays of the sun. It is thought that this star also appeared in 393, 798, and 1203; if so, it is a variable star with a period of a little over four hundred years.

359. New Star of 1866.—The most striking case of this kind in recent times was in May, 1866, when a star of the second magnitude suddenly appeared in Corona Borealis. On the 11th and 12th of that month it was observed independently by at least five observers in Europe and America. The fact that none of these new stars were noticed until they had nearly or quite attained their greatest brilliancy renders it probable that they all blazed up very suddenly.

360. Cause of the Variability of Stars.—The changes in the brightness of variable and temporary stars are probably due to operations similar to those which produce the spots and prominences in our sun. We have seen (188) that the frequency of solar spots shows a period of eleven years, during one portion of which there are few or no spots to be seen, while during another portion they are numerous. If an observer so far away as to see our sun like a star could from time to time measure its light exactly, he would find it to be a variable star with a period of eleven years, the light being least when we see most spots, and greatest when few are visible. The variation would be slight, but it would nevertheless exist. Now, we have reason to believe that the physical constitution of the sun and the stars is of the same general nature. It is therefore probable, that, if we could get a nearer view of the stars, we should see spots on their disks as we do on the sun. It is also likely that the varying physical constitution of the stars might give rise to great differences in the number and size of the spots; so that the light of some of these suns might vary to a far greater degree than that of our own sun does. If the variations had a regular period, as in the case of our sun, the appearances to a distant observer would be precisely what we see in the case of a periodic variable star.

The spectrum of the new star of 1866 was found to be a continuous one, crossed by bright lines, which were apparently due to glowing hydrogen. The continuous spectrum was also crossed by dark lines, indicating that the light had passed through an atmosphere of comparatively cool gas. Mr. Huggins infers from this that there was a sudden and extraordinary outburst of hydrogen gas from the star, which by its own light, as well as by heating up the whole surface of the star, caused the extraordinary increase of brilliancy. Now, the spectroscope shows that the red flames of the solar chromosphere (197) are largely composed of hydrogen; and it is not unlikely that the blazing-forth of this star arose from an action similar to that which produces these flames, only on an immensely larger scale.

Distance of the Stars.

361. Parallax of the Stars.—Such is the distance of the stars, that only in a comparatively few instances has any displacement of these bodies been detected when viewed from opposite parts of the earth's orbit, that is, from points a hundred and eighty-five million miles apart; and in no case can this displacement be detected except by the most careful and delicate measurement. Half of the above displacement, or the displacement of the star as seen from the earth instead of the sun, is called the parallax of the star. In no case has a parallax of one second as yet been detected.

362. The Distance of the Stars.—The distance of a star whose parallax is one second would be 206,265 times the distance of the earth from the sun, or about nineteen million million miles. It is quite certain that no star is nearer than this to the earth. Light has a velocity which would carry it seven times and a half around the earth in a second; but it would take it more than three years to reach us from that distance. Were all the stars blotted out of existence to-night, it would be at least three years before we should miss a single one.

Alpha Centauri, the brightest star in the constellation of the Centaur, is, so far as we know, the nearest of the fixed stars. It is estimated that it would take its light about three years and a half to reach us. It has also been estimated that it would take light over sixteen years to reach us from Sirius, about eighteen years to reach us from Vega, about twenty-five years from Arcturus, and over forty years from the Pole-Star. In many instances it is believed that it would take the light of stars hundreds of years to make the journey to our earth, and in some instances even thousands of years.

Proper Motion of the Stars.

363. Why the Stars appear Fixed.—The stars seem to retain their relative positions in the heavens from year to year, and from age to age; and hence they have come universally to be denominated as fixed. It is, however, now well known that the stars, instead of being really stationary, are moving at the rate of many miles a second; but their distance is so enormous, that, in the majority of cases, it would be thousands of years before this rate of motion would produce a sufficient displacement to be noticeable to the unaided eye.

Fig. 420.

364. Secular Displacement of the Stars.—Though the proper motion of the stars is apparently slight, it will, in the course of many ages, produce a marked change in the configuration of the stars. Thus, in Fig. 420, the left-hand portion shows the present configuration of the stars of the Great Dipper. The small arrows attached to the stars show the direction and comparative magnitudes of their motion. The right-hand portion of the figure shows these stars as they will appear thirty-six thousand years from the present time.

Star Motion

Fig. 421.

Fig. 421 shows in a similar way the present configuration and proper motion of the stars of Cassiopeia, and also these stars as they will appear thirty-six thousand years hence.

Star Motion

Fig. 422.

Fig. 422 shows the same for the constellation Orion.

365. The Secular Motion of the Sun.—The stars in all parts of the heavens are found to move in all directions and with all sorts of velocities. When, however, the motions of the stars are averaged, there is found to be an apparent proper motion common to all the stars. The stars in the neighborhood of Hercules appear to be approaching us, and those in the opposite part of the heavens appear to be receding from us. In other words, all the stars appear to be moving away from Hercules, and towards the opposite part of the heavens.

Star Motion

Fig. 423.

This apparent motion common to all the stars is held by astronomers to be due to the real motion of the sun through space. The point in the heavens towards which our sun is moving at the present time is indicated by the small circle in the constellation Hercules in Fig. 423. As the sun moves, he carries the earth and all the planets along with him. Fig. 424 shows the direction of the sun's motion with reference to the ecliptic and to the axis of the earth. Fig. 425 shows the earth's path in space; and Fig. 426 shows the paths of the earth, the moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars in space.

Star Motion

Fig. 424.

Star Motion

Fig. 425.

Star Motion

Fig. 426.

Whether the sun is actually moving in a straight line, or around some distant centre, it is impossible to determine at the present time. It is estimated that the sun is moving along his path at the rate of about a hundred and fifty million miles a year. This is about five-sixths of the diameter of the earth's orbit.

366. Star-Drift.—In several instances, groups of stars have a common proper motion entirely different from that of the stars around and among them. Such groups probably form connected systems, in the motion of which all the stars are carried along together without any great change in their relative positions. The most remarkable case of this kind occurs in the constellation Taurus. A large majority of the brighter stars in the region between Aldebaran and the Pleiades have a common proper motion of about ten seconds per century towards the east. Proctor has shown that five out of the seven stars which form the Great Dipper have a common proper motion, as shown in Fig. 427 (see also Fig. 420). He proposes for this phenomenon the name of Star-Drift.

Star Motion

Fig. 427.

367. Motion of Stars along the Line of Sight.—A motion of a star in the direction of the line of sight would produce no displacement of the star that could be detected with the telescope; but it would cause a change in the brightness of the star, which would become gradually fainter if moving from us, and brighter if approaching us. Motion along the line of sight has, however, been detected by the use of the tele-spectroscope (152), owing to the fact that it causes a displacement of the spectral lines. As has already been explained (169), a displacement of a spectral line towards the red end of the spectrum indicates a motion away from us, and a displacement towards the violet end, a motion towards us.


By means of these displacements of the spectral lines, Huggins has detected motion in the case of a large number of stars, and calculated its rate:—

STARS RECEDING FROM US.

Sirius 20 miles per second.
Betelgeuse 22 miles per second.
Rigel 15 miles per second.
Castor 25 miles per second.
Regulus 15 miles per second.

STARS APPROACHING US.

Arcturus 55 miles per second.
Vega 50 miles per second.
Deneb 39 miles per second.
Pollux 49 miles per second.
Alpha UrsÆ Majoris 46 miles per second.

These results are confirmed by the fact that the amount of motion indicated is about what we should expect the stars to have, from their observed proper motions, combined with their probable distances. Again: the stars in the neighborhood of Hercules are mostly found to be approaching the earth, and those which lie in the opposite direction to be receding from it; which is exactly the effect which would result from the sun's motion through space. The five stars in the Dipper, which have a common proper motion, are also found to have a common motion in the line of sight. But the displacement of the spectral lines is so slight, and its measurement so difficult, that the velocities in the above table are to be accepted as only an approximation to the true values.

Chemical and Physical Constitution of the Stars.

368. The Constitution of the Stars Similar to that of the Sun.—The stellar spectra bear a general resemblance to that of the sun, with characteristic differences. These spectra all show Fraunhofer's lines, which indicate that their luminous surfaces are surrounded by atmospheres containing absorbent vapors, as in the case of the sun. The positions of these lines indicate that the stellar atmospheres contain elements which are also found in the sun's, and on the earth.

Spectra

Fig. 428.

369. Four Types of Stellar Spectra.—The spectra of the stars have been carefully observed by Secchi and Huggins. They have found that stellar spectra may be reduced to four types, which are shown in Fig. 428. In the spectrum of Sirius, a representative of Type I., very few lines are represented; but the lines are very thick.

Next we have the solar spectrum, which is a representative of Type II., one in which more lines are represented. In Type III. fluted spaces begin to appear, and in Type IV., which is that of the red stars, nothing but fluted spaces is visible; and this spectrum shows that something is at work in the atmosphere of those red stars different from what there is in the simpler atmosphere of Type I.

Lockyer holds that these differences of spectra are due simply to differences of temperature. According to him, the red stars, which give the fluted spectra, are of the lowest temperature; and the temperature of the stars of the different types gradually rises till we reach the first type, in which the temperature is so high that the dissociation (161) of the elements is nearly if not quite complete.

III. NEBULÆ.

Classification of NebulÆ.

370. Planetary NebulÆ.—Many nebulÆ (328) present a well-defined circular disk, like that of a planet, and are therefore called planetary nebulÆ. Specimens of planetary nebulÆ are shown in Fig. 429.

Nebulae

Fig. 429.

371. Circular and Elliptical NebulÆ.—While many nebulÆ are circular in form, others are elliptical. The former are called circular nebulÆ, and the latter elliptical nebulÆ. Elliptical nebulÆ have been discovered of every degree of eccentricity. Examples of various circular and elliptical nebulÆ are given in Fig. 430.

Nebulae

Fig. 430.

372. Annular NebulÆ.—Occasionally ring-shaped nebulÆ have been observed, sometimes with, and sometimes without, nebulous matter within the ring. They are called annular nebulÆ. They are both circular and elliptical in form. Several specimens of this class of nebulÆ are given in Fig. 431.

Nebulae

Fig. 431.

373. Nebulous Stars.—Sometimes one or more minute stars are enveloped in a nebulous haze, and are hence called nebulous stars. Several of these nebulÆ are shown in Fig. 432.

Nebulae

Fig. 432.

374. Spiral NebulÆ.—Very many nebulÆ disclose a more or less spiral structure, and are known as spiral nebulÆ. They are illustrated in Fig. 433. There are, however, a great variety of spiral forms. We shall have occasion to speak of these nebulÆ again (381-383).

Nebulae

Fig. 433.

375. Double and Multiple NebulÆ.—Many double and multiple nebulÆ have been observed, some of which are represented in Fig. 434.

Nebulae

Fig. 434.

Fig. 435 shows what appears to be a double annular nebula. Fig. 436 gives two views of a double nebula. The change of position in the components of this double nebula indicates a motion of revolution similar to that of the components of double stars.

Nebulae

Fig. 435.

Nebulae

Fig. 436.

Irregular NebulÆ.

376. Irregular Forms.—Besides the more or less regular forms of nebulÆ which have been classified as indicated above, there are many of very irregular shapes, and some of these are the most remarkable nebulÆ in the heavens. Fig. 437 shows a curiously shaped nebula, seen by Sir John Herschel in the southern heavens; and Fig. 438, one in Taurus, known as the Crab nebula.

Nebulae

Fig. 437.

Nebulae

Fig. 438.

377. The Great Nebula of Andromeda.—This is one of the few nebulÆ that are visible to the naked eye. We see at a glance that it is not a star, but a mass of diffused light. Indeed, it has sometimes been very naturally mistaken for a comet. It was first described by Marius in 1614, who compared its light to that of a candle shining through horn. This gives a very good idea of the impression it produces, which is that of a translucent object illuminated by a brilliant light behind it. With a small telescope it is easy to imagine it to be a solid like horn; but with a large one the effect is more like fog or mist with a bright body in its midst. Unlike most of the nebulÆ, its spectrum is a continuous one, similar to that from a heated solid, indicating that the light emanates, not from a glowing gas, but from matter in the solid or liquid state. This would suggest that it is really an immense star-cluster, so distant that the highest telescopic power cannot resolve it; yet in the largest telescopes it looks less resolvable, and more like a gas, than in those of moderate size. If it is really a gas, and if the spectrum is continuous throughout the whole extent of the nebula, either it must shine by reflected light, or the gas must be subjected to a great pressure almost to its outer limit, which is hardly possible. If the light is reflected, we cannot determine whether it comes from a single bright star, or a number of small ones scattered through the nebula.

With a small telescope this nebula appears elliptical, as in Fig. 439. Fig. 440 shows it as it appeared to Bond, in the Cambridge refractor.

Nebulae

Fig. 439.

Nebulae

Fig. 440.

378. The Great Nebula of Orion.—The nebula which, above all others, has occupied the attention of astronomers, and excited the wonder of observers, is the great nebula of Orion, which surrounds the middle star of the three which form the sword of Orion. A good eye will perceive that this star, instead of looking like a bright point, has a hazy appearance, due to the surrounding nebula. This object was first described by Huyghens in 1659, as follows:—

"There is one phenomenon among the fixed stars worthy of mention, which, so far as I know, has hitherto been noticed by no one, and indeed cannot be well observed except with large telescopes. In the sword of Orion are three stars quite close together. In 1656, as I chanced to be viewing the middle one of these with the telescope, instead of a single star, twelve showed themselves (a not uncommon circumstance). Three of these almost touched each other, and with four others shone through a nebula, so that the space around them seemed far brighter than the rest of the heavens, which was entirely clear, and appeared quite black; the effect being that of an opening in the sky, through which a brighter region was visible."

Nebulae

Fig. 441.

The representation of this nebula in Fig. 441 is from a drawing made by Bond. In brilliancy and variety of detail it exceeds any other nebula visible in the northern hemisphere. In its centre are four stars, easily distinguished by a small telescope with a magnifying power of forty or fifty, together with two smaller ones, requiring a nine-inch telescope to be well seen. Besides these, the whole nebula is dotted with stars.

In the winter of 1864-65 the spectrum of this nebula was examined independently by Secchi and Huggins, who found that it consisted of three bright lines, and hence concluded that the nebula was composed, not of stars, but of glowing gas. The position of one of the lines was near that of a line of nitrogen, while another seemed to coincide with a hydrogen line. This would suggest that the nebula is a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen gas; but of this we cannot be certain.

Nebulae

Fig. 442.

379. The Nebula in Argus.—There is a nebula (Fig. 442) surrounding the variable star Eta Argus (355), which is remarkable as exhibiting variations of brightness and of outline.

In many other nebulÆ, changes have been suspected; but the indistinctness of outline which characterizes most of these objects, and the very different aspect they present in telescopes of different powers, render it difficult to prove a change beyond a doubt.

380. The Dumb-Bell Nebula.—This nebula was named from its peculiar shape. It is a good illustration of the change in the appearance of a nebula when viewed with different magnifying powers. Fig. 443 shows it as it appeared in Herschel's telescope, and Fig. 444 as it appears in the great Parsonstown reflector (20).

Nebulae

Fig. 443.

Nebulae

Fig. 444.

Spiral NebulÆ.

381. The Spiral Nebula in Canes Venatici.—The great spiral nebula in the constellation Canes Venatici, or the Hunting-Dogs, is one of the most remarkable of its class. Fig. 445 shows this nebula as it appeared in Herschel's telescope, and Fig. 446 shows it as it appears in the Parsonstown reflector.

Nebulae

Fig. 445.

Nebulae

Fig. 446.

382. Condensation of NebulÆ.—The appearance of the nebula just mentioned suggests a body rotating on its axis, and undergoing condensation at the same time.

It is now a generally received theory that nebulÆ are the material out of which stars are formed. According to this theory, the stars originally existed as nebulÆ, and all nebulÆ will ultimately become condensed into stars.

Nebulae

Fig. 447.

Nebulae

Fig. 448.

Nebulae

Fig. 449.

383. Other Spiral NebulÆ.—Fig. 447 represents a spiral nebula of the Great Bear. This nebula seems to have several centres of condensation. Fig. 448 is a view of a spiral nebula in Cepheus, and Fig. 449 of a singular spiral nebula in the Triangle. This also appears to have several points of condensation. Figs. 450 and 451 represent oval and elliptical nebulÆ having a spiral structure.

Nebulae

Fig. 450.

Nebulae

Fig. 451.

THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS.

Magellanic Clouds

Fig. 452.

384. Situation and General Appearance of the Magellanic Clouds.—The Magellanic clouds are two nebulous-looking bodies near the southern pole of the heavens, as shown in the right-hand portion of Fig. 452. In the appearance and brightness of their light they resemble portions of the Milky-Way.

Magellanic Clouds

Fig. 453.

The larger of these clouds is called the Nubecula Major. It is visible to the naked eye in strong moonlight, and covers a space about two hundred times the surface of the moon. It is shown in Fig. 453. The smaller cloud is called the Nubecula Minor. It has only about a fourth the extent of the larger cloud, and is considerably less brilliant. It is visible to the naked eye, but it disappears in full moonlight. This cloud is shown in Fig. 454. The region around this cloud is singularly bare of stars; but the magnificent cluster of Toucan, already described (346), is near, and is shown a little to the right of the cloud in the figure.

Magellanic Clouds

Fig. 454.

Magellanic Clouds

Fig. 455.

385. Structure of the NubeculÆ.—Fig. 455 shows the structure of these clouds as revealed by a powerful telescope. The general ground of both consists of large tracts and patches of nebulosity in every stage of resolution,—from that which is irresolvable with eighteen inches of reflecting aperture, up to perfectly separated stars, like the Milky-Way and clustering groups. There are also nebulÆ in abundance, both regular and irregular, globular clusters in every state of condensation, and objects of a nebulous character quite peculiar, and unlike any thing in other regions of the heavens. In the area occupied by the nubecula major two hundred and seventy-eight nebulÆ and clusters have been enumerated, besides fifty or sixty outliers, which ought certainly to be reckoned as its appendages, being about six and a half per square degree; which very far exceeds the average of any other part of the nebulous heavens. In the nubecula minor the concentration of such objects is less, though still very striking. The nubeculÆ, then, combine, each within its own area, characters which in the rest of the heavens are no less strikingly separated; namely, those of the galactic and the nebular system. Globular clusters (except in one region of small extent) and nebulÆ of regular elliptic forms are comparatively rare in the Milky-Way, and are found congregated in the greatest abundance in a part of the heavens the most remote possible from that circle; whereas in the nubeculÆ they are indiscriminately mixed with the general starry ground, and with irregular though small nebulÆ.

THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS.

386. The Basis of the Nebular Hypothesis.—We have seen that the planets all revolve around the sun from west to east in nearly the same plane, and that the sun rotates on his axis from west to east. The planets, so far as known, rotate on their axes from west to east; and all the moons, except those of Uranus and Neptune, revolve around their planets from west to east. These common features in the motion of the sun, moons, and planets, point to the conclusion that they are of a common origin.

387. Kant's Hypothesis.—Kant, the celebrated German philosopher, seems to have the best right to be regarded as the founder of the modern nebular hypothesis. His reasoning has been concisely stated thus: "Examining the solar system, we find two remarkable features presented to our consideration. One is, that six planets and nine satellites [the entire number then known] move around the sun in circles, not only in the same direction in which the sun himself revolves on his axis, but very nearly in the same plane. This common feature of the motion of so many bodies could not by any reasonable possibility have been a result of chance: we are therefore forced to believe that it must be the result of some common cause originally acting on all the planets.

"On the other hand, when we consider the spaces in which the planets move, we find them entirely void, or as good as void; for, if there is any matter in them, it is so rare as to be without effect on the planetary motions. There is, therefore, no material connection now existing between the planets through which they might have been forced to take up a common direction of motion. How, then, are we to reconcile this common motion with the absence of all material connection? The most natural way is to suppose that there was once some such connection, which brought about the uniformity of motion which we observe; that the materials of which the planets are formed once filled the whole space between them. There was no formation in this chaos, the formation of separate bodies by the mutual gravitation of parts of the mass being a later occurrence. But, naturally, some parts of the mass would be more dense than others, and would thus gather around them the rare matter which filled the intervening spaces. The larger collections thus formed would draw the smaller ones into them, and this process would continue until a few round bodies had taken the place of the original chaotic mass."

Kant, however, failed to account satisfactorily for the motion of the sun and planets. According to his system, all the bodies formed out of the original nebulous mass should have been drawn to a common centre so as to form one sun, instead of a system of revolving bodies like the solar system.

388. Herschel's Hypothesis.—The idea of the gradual transmutation of nebulÆ into stars seems to have been suggested to Herschel, not by the study of the solar system, but by that of the nebulÆ themselves. Many of these bodies he believed to be immense masses of phosphorescent vapor; and he conceived that these must be gradually condensing, each around its own centre, or around the parts where it is most dense, until it should become a star, or a cluster of stars. On classifying the nebulÆ, it seemed to him that he could see this process going on before his eyes. There were the large, faint, diffused nebulÆ, in which the condensation had hardly begun; the smaller but brighter ones, which had become so far condensed that the central parts would soon begin to form into stars; yet others, in which stars had actually begun to form; and, finally, star-clusters in which the condensation was complete. The spectroscopic revelations of the gaseous nature of the true nebulÆ tend to confirm the theory of Herschel, that these masses will all, at some time, condense into stars.

389. Laplace's Hypothesis.—Laplace was led to the nebular hypothesis by considering the remarkable uniformity in the direction of the rotation of the planets. Believing that this could not have been the result of chance, he sought to investigate its cause. This, he thought, could be nothing else than the atmosphere of the sun, which once extended so far out as to fill all the space now occupied by the planets. He begins with the sun, surrounded by this immense fiery atmosphere. Since the sum total of rotary motion now seen in the planetary system must have been there from the beginning, he conceives the immense vaporous mass forming the sun and his atmosphere to have had a slow rotation on its axis. As the intensely hot mass gradually cooled, it would contract towards the centre. As it contracted, its velocity of rotation would, by the laws of mechanics, constantly increase; so that a time would arrive, when, at the outer boundary of the mass, the centrifugal force due to the rotation would counterbalance the attractive force of the central mass. Then those outer portions would be left behind as a revolving ring, while the next inner portions would continue to contract until the centrifugal and attractive forces were again balanced, when a second ring would be left behind; and so on. Thus, instead of a continuous atmosphere, the sun would be surrounded by a series of concentric revolving rings of vapor. As these rings cooled, their denser materials would condense first; and thus the ring would be composed of a mixed mass, partly solid and partly vaporous, the quantity of solid matter constantly increasing, and that of vapor diminishing. If the ring were perfectly uniform, this condensation would take place equally all around it, and the ring would thus be broken up into a group of small planets, like the asteroids. But if, as would more likely be the case, some portions of the ring were much denser than others, the denser portions would gradually attract the rarer portions, until, instead of a ring, there would be a single mass composed of a nearly solid centre, surrounded by an immense atmosphere of fiery vapor. This condensation of the ring of vapor around a single point would not change the amount of rotary motion that had existed in the ring. The planet with its atmosphere would therefore be in rotation; and would be, on a smaller scale, like the original solar mass surrounded by its atmosphere. In the same way that the latter formed itself first into rings, which afterwards condensed into planets, so the planetary atmospheres, if sufficiently extensive, would form themselves into rings, which would condense into satellites. In the case of Saturn, however, one of the rings was so uniform throughout, that there was no denser portion to attract the rest around it; and thus the ring of Saturn retained its annular form.

Condensing Mass

Fig. 456.

Such is the celebrated nebular hypothesis of Laplace. It starts, not with a purely nebulous mass, but with the sun, surrounded by an immense atmosphere, out of which the planets were formed by gradual condensation. Fig. 456 represents the condensing mass according to this theory.

390. The Modern Nebular Hypothesis.—According to the nebular hypothesis as held at the present time, the sun, planets, and meteoroids originated from a purely nebulous mass. This nebula first condensed into a nebulous star, the star being the sun, and its surrounding nebulosity being the fiery atmosphere of Laplace. The original nebula must have been put into rotation at the beginning. As it contracted and became condensed through the loss of heat by radiation into space, and under the combined attraction of gravity, cohesion, and affinity, its speed of rotation increased; and the nebulous envelop became, by the centrifugal force, flattened into a thin disk, which finally broke up into rings, out of which were formed the planets and their moons. According to Laplace, the rings which were condensed into the planets were thrown off in succession from the equatorial region of the condensing nebula; and so the outer planets would be the older. According to the more modern idea, the nebulous mass was first flattened into a disk, and subsequently broken up into rings, in such a way that there would be no marked difference in the ages of the planets. The sun represents the central portion of the original nebula, and the comets and meteoroids its outlying portion. At the sun the condensation is still going on, and the meteoroids appear to be still gradually drawn in to the sun and planets.

The whole store of energy with which the original solar nebula was endowed existed in it in the potential form. By the condensation and contraction this energy was gradually transformed into the kinetic energy of molar motion and of heat; and the heat became gradually dissipated by radiation into space. This transformation of potential energy into heat is still going on at the sun, the centre of the condensing mass, by the condensation of the sun itself, and by the impact of meteors as they fall into it.

It has been calculated, that, by the shrinking of the sun to the density of the earth, the transformation of potential energy into heat would generate enough heat to maintain the sun's supply, at the present rate of dissipation, for seventeen million years. A shrinkage of the sun which would generate all the heat he has poured into space since the invention of the telescope could not be detected by the most powerful instruments yet constructed.

The least velocity with which a meteoroid could strike the sun would be two hundred and eighty miles a second; and it is easy to calculate how much heat would be generated by the collision. It has been shown, that, were enough meteoroids to fall into the sun to develop its heat, they would not increase his mass appreciably during a period of two thousand years.

The sun's heat is undoubtedly developed by contraction and the fall of meteoroids; that is to say, by the transformation of the potential energy of the original nebula into heat.

It must be borne in mind that the nebular hypothesis is simply a supposition as to the way in which the present solar system may have been developed from a nebula endowed with a motion of rotation and with certain tendencies to condensation. Of course nothing could have been developed out of the nebula, the germs of which had not been originally implanted in it by the Creator.

IV. THE STRUCTURE OF THE STELLAR UNIVERSE.

391. Sir William Herschel's View.—Sir William Herschel assumed that the stars are distributed with tolerable uniformity throughout the space occupied by our stellar system. He accounted for the increase in the number of stars in the field of view as he approached the plane of the Milky-Way, not by the supposition that the stars are really closer together in and about this plane, but by the supposition that our stellar system is in the form of a flat disk cloven at one side, and with our sun near its centre. A section of this disk is shown in Fig. 457.

Disc

Fig. 457.

An observer near S, with his telescope pointed in the direction of S b, would see comparatively few stars within the field of view, because looking through a comparatively thin stratum of stars. With his telescope pointed in the direction S a, he would see many more stars within his field of view, even though the stars were really no nearer together, because he would be looking through a thicker stratum of stars. As he directed his telescope more and more nearly in the direction S f, he would be looking through a thicker and thicker stratum of stars, and hence he would see a greater and greater number of them in the field of view, though they were everywhere in the disk distributed at uniform distances. He assumed, also, that the stars are all tolerably uniform in size, and that certain stars appear smaller than others, only because they are farther off. He supposed the faint stars of the Milky-Way to be merely the most distant stars of the stellar disk; that they are really as large as the other stars, but appear small owing to their great distance. The disk was assumed to be cloven on one side, to account for the division of the Milky-Way through nearly half of its course. This theory of the structure of the stellar universe is often referred to as the cloven disk theory.

Cloven Ring

Fig. 458.

392. The Cloven Ring Theory.—According to MÄdler, the stars of the Milky-Way are entirely separated from the other stars of our system, belonging to an outlying ring, or system of rings. To account for the division of the Milky-Way, the ring is supposed to be cloven on one side: hence this theory is often referred to as the cloven ring theory. According to this hypothesis, the stellar system viewed from without would present an appearance somewhat like that in Fig. 458. The outlying ring cloven on one side would represent the stars of the Milky-Way; and the luminous mass at the centre, the remaining stars of the system.

393. Proctor's View.—According to Proctor, the Milky-Way is composed of an irregular spiral stream of minute stars lying in and among the larger stars of our system, as represented in Fig. 459. The spiral stream is shown in the inner circle as it really exists among the stars, and in the outer circle as it is seen projected upon the sky. According to this view, the stars of the Milky-Way appear faint, not because they are distant, but because they are really small.

Spiral

Fig. 459.

394. Newcomb's View.—According to Newcomb, the stars of our system are all situated in a comparatively thin zone lying in the plane of the Milky-Way, while there is a zone of nebulÆ lying on each side of the stellar zone. He believes that so much is certain with reference to the structure of our stellar universe; but he considers that we are as yet comparatively ignorant of the internal structure of either the stellar or the nebular zones. The structure of the stellar universe, according to this view, is shown in Fig. 460.

Structure

Fig. 460.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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