THE SUN AND FIXED STABS. 193 



neighborhood of the central point, the motions, which 

 are only apparent, and therefore contrary to the solar 

 motion, must preponderate for all stars between the sun 

 and the Pleiades. 



The most rapid proper motions, according to this 

 hypothesis, must be sought for near the great circle 

 described about the Pleiades as a pole ; and accordingly 

 we find near this circle two of the most decided of all 

 the proper motions hitherto discovered. 



Professor Madler accordingly infers that the central 

 point of the starry heavens must be placed in the neigh- 

 lorhood of the Pleiades. This group is the nearest, the 

 brightest, and the richest cluster in the whole heavens. 

 Moreover, Alcyone is the optical center of this group, 

 :ind he infers that this is the star which combines the 

 strongest probability of being the true central sun. 



Alcyone, known also as TJ Tauri, or 25 Tauri, is a 

 double star of the third or fourth magnitude, in right 

 ascension 3h. 38m., declination 23 39' north. 



Assuming the parallax of 61 Cygni, as determined by 

 Bessel, and that the sun and this star are moving with 

 the same velocity about Alcyone, Madler has computed 

 that the distance of Alcyone is 34 millions of times that 

 of the sun, requiring 537 years for its light to come to 

 us, although moving at the rate of twelve millions of 

 miles per minute. The periodic time of the sun about 

 Alcyone is estimated at 18 millions of years ; and the 

 sum of the masses of all the stars within the sphere 

 described about Alcyone as a center, with a radius equal 



