102 BARNARD— SOME PECULIARITIES OF THE NOV^. 



Nova Cygni of 1876, which was discovered by Schmidt at Athens, 

 attained the second magnitude and was therefore a very bright object 

 to the naked eye. It has long since returned to what was probably 

 its original condition — that of a very faint star of perhaps 15th mag- 

 nitude. For many years at least it has been irregularly variable with 

 a light range of over one magnitude. 



The old novae that are now variable do not seem to have any 

 definite p'eriods. They are very irregular in their fluctuations and 



Light changes of Nova Persei. 



in the extent of their light changes. These light changes do not 

 resemble those of the ordinary variable star, for their variability 

 seems to he of a spasmodic nature with no distinct period. It is 

 therefore very important to know if their original variability was of 

 this same erratic nature, so that we can tell if they have entirely 

 resumed their original condition. Photography will play a highly 

 important part in answering this question for some of the future 

 novae. At present, for Nova Persei and Nova Aquilse, there is not 

 enough material to tell us what their pre-nova state really was, fur- 



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