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Vol. 10 March, 1914 No. 3 



The Beginning of Star Study II 



Anna Botsford Comstock 



Although the stars are so far away from us we have learned 

 many things about them, and after the ' pupils have become 

 familiar with the Polar Constellations and Orion, as outlined in 

 the preceding number of The Nature-Study Review, it would 

 be well to give them some idea of what a star really is. An informal 

 talk should cover the following points: ^ ' 



The scientists have three ways of finding out facts about the 

 stars; first, through the telescope, second, through the wonderful 

 instrument, the spectroscope, which can only be understood after 

 we study physics, and third, by mathematical calculations. 

 Through these agencies we know that every shining star is a great 

 fiery sun, and we may well believe that many of these suns have 

 worlds like our earth revolving about them, but a little world 

 like ours we could not see if it were revolving about even the 

 nearest star. 



It is very hard for tis to comprehend how far away from us is 

 the nearest star, but astronomers have been able to measure the 

 distance from us to many stars, and this distance is so great that 

 it can only be reckoned at the rate at which light travels, which is 

 186,400 miles per second or about six trillions of miles per year 

 and this distance is called a light-year. It requires light about eight 

 minutes to reach our earth from the sun, but it requires more 

 than four years for light to reach us from the nearest star. Most 

 of the stars are so far away that we cannot measure the distance 

 from them to us, but it is interesting to know that the light from 

 the Pole Star which reaches our eyes in cloudless nights may have 



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