468 Transactions. — Miscellaneotis. 



It may be very difficult to distinguish the hght of the two 

 stars, unless satisfactory photographs can be taken. If this 

 be possible a decade should give us a fair insight into their 

 future. I believe that astronomers will then be able to predict 

 that their variability will last more than a century. 



Should it be possible to photograph the disc of the nebula 

 through a spectroscope, the disc presented by the different 

 elements will probably be of different dimensions, that of the 

 lighter atoms being the larger. I do not know if any observa- 

 tions to this effect were made, but in the original photographs 

 the bands of the different elements should have been of different 

 widths, the lighter elements being the widest. 



If we could get the increased size of the disc and the 

 width of the same elementary band at intervals of time, it 

 would enable us to calculate the actual distance of the body. 

 Everything points to the star being at an incredible distance — 

 at least a hundred times as distant as Alpha Centauri, and, 

 although its light has only just reached us, the fact that the 

 telescope has not divided the two stars, and the small size of 

 the nebula, suggest that it probably occurred before the hero 

 of Cre9y was born. The high velocities so long after its 

 birth suggest that it must have been an event of the most 

 gigantic character. 



The following gives the state of the theory up to the pre- 

 sent time : — 



Summary of the Principles of Constructive Impact. 



1. There are over a hundred million bright stars in the 

 Milky Way. 



2. The companion of Sirius and the dark component of 

 Algol prove the existence of dead suns. These are possibly 

 very numerous. 



3. Stars have an independent velocity, or "proper mo- 

 tion," of about ten miles a second upon an average. 



4. This motion is apparently without much order, and will 

 tend to alter the relative distance of stars, and may bring 

 them near each other, and possibly into impact. 



5. If they are brought near each other their mutual attrac- 

 tion will alter their velocity, and curve their courses into 

 hyperbolic orbits. If they do not graze they will ultimately 

 again attain tlieir original proper motion. 



6. When very near each other their attraction will cause 

 them to be distorted into an egg-shape. 



7. The tendency to collision will therefore be increased 

 in these two ways by their mutual attraction. This increase 

 over chance impacts will probably average about a hundred 

 times. The increase in the case of two such bodies as our 

 sun would be over a thousand times. 



