The Evolution of the Sciences 



has been made possible by the use of photo- 

 graphy ; Miss Fleming, alone, at the observatory 

 of Harvard College, has been able to discover 

 ten. The appearance of stars of this kind 

 has always filled mankind with astonish- 

 ment and anxiety; they have been looked on as 

 "omens in the sky" and the forerunners of 

 great events on earth. By rare good fortune 

 one of them, the celebrated Peregrina, was 

 observed by one of the greatest astronomers 

 of all times, Tycho-Brahe; we give in his own 

 words the description of this memorable observa- 

 tion: 



" When in 1572 I left Germany to return to 

 the Danish Isles, I stopped at the ancient and 

 beautifully -situated cloister of Herritzwaldt, 

 belonging to my uncle, Steno Bill, and I got 

 into the habit of remaining in my chemical 

 laboratory until nightfall. 



" One evening, i5th November 1572, while 

 contemplating as usual the dome of the heavens, 

 whose aspect is so familiar to me, I saw with 

 inexpressible astonishment, near the zenith in 

 Cassiopea, a radiant star of extraordinary size. 



In my surprise I did not know whether I should 



244 



