♦ KNOVV^LEDGE 



239 



situate about t-sveuty seconds of arc preceding and ten 

 seconds south of the nucleus of the nebula, -which, in 

 consequence of the proximity of the new star, 



to be conspicuous. Ther 

 a new star. No star ii 

 tions of the nebula a 

 shown in any of the d: 

 " Yesterday I was }! 

 taken by Mr. Comm^ ■ 

 is no trace whatever 

 covered with very nn 



e that this interesting pict 



sort of doubt that this 

 Y of the descrii; 



li 



spn 



i-ved, for ho 



regarded it as a failure because of defects of instrumental 

 adjustment. 



" It is improbable that the new star is in any way 

 physically connected with the nebula. 



"G. L. TuPMAx." 



[This idea is of course disposed of now by the spectro- 

 scopic evidence, which pjroves bej-ond doubt tluit i\u: star 

 is in the midst of the nebula.— K. P.] 



" Your anonymous correspondent, in the Tiim s of 

 September 8, says ' that a star of the ei-^-lith iu;i-iiitu(h- 

 should be visible in the heart of tliis ,1,'ivut vlunA of ^l;■r 

 material,' <tc. Again, ilr. Tarrant, in tlie s:tiiii' is.-Rc, 

 says the star on September 4 was ' very liazy, not slinwiiiL;- 

 a clean disc with any power.' The inference from both 

 these statements is that the star is to be deemed an out- 

 come of and intimately connected with the nebula. I 

 think it worth while to point out that, as I saw the star 

 on September 3, my conclusions would be just the other 

 way. I was especially struck with the remarkable sharp- 

 ness of the star in my C in. Grubb refractor ; and the 

 conclusion forced itself irresistibly on my mind that the 

 star was an independent outburst of light physically 

 detached from the nebula, in front of it, and, there fia-o, 

 optically projected on the nebula, but having no either 

 connection with it. The point is one of great interest 

 and importance, and it would be worth while to know 

 what other observers may say. Nor did I notice the 

 orange-red colour seen by Mr. Tarrant. However, the 

 exhibition of such colour would in general be a ground 

 for supposing that the star was probably a variable or 

 temporary one, and, therefore, independent altogether of 

 the nebula. " G. F. Chambeks, F.R.A.S." 



"Mr. Chambers has apparently ovcil.ml , ,1 (li,. 

 evidence given by the spectrum of the mw ^j,,l. 'I'lic 

 identity of this spectrum with the eli:ir:ii't( ri^i ir s| ic- 

 trum of the nebula proves beyond furllur i|iii-iIoi! tlml 

 the star is physically associated with tlir mliil . I( 

 would have been a strange chance tliat :i Hi!, iv-lU 

 much nearer, should by chance have ;i|'i.(:ii-. 1 m ilir 

 very heart of the most interestiiiL:' lul'iil:! in ilu In: \,ii-, 

 and a yet stranger chance thai n inw .s(:ir, :i i^ . -rmt;- 

 somewhere else, should have sIl^nmi il,,. samr |Mviiliir 

 spectrum as the Andromeda nebula; Iml llial l.tli iI.c.m 

 chances should be combined is altogetlur iiuTnlillr. '[',, 

 this we may add that we have other rcasi^ns fm- i.^mivI- 

 ing stars in nebulce as physically associated with ilie 

 nebulous matter amid which they seem inunt isrd. 

 The most wonderful variable star in the In a \ ins, 

 Fta Argus, is in the very heart of the great Key- 

 hole nebula in the keel of the star-ship Argo, Xow, 

 that star outshone in 1840 even Canopus, the second 

 star in the heavens for splendour, and rivalled Sirius, the 

 first. It is now barely visible on the darkest and clearest 

 night. Imagine that nebula ten times as far away and 

 wo shcmld havo had in the outblazing of Eta Argiis the 

 apparent formation of a new star. But the most decisive 



evidence was given by the new star in Cygnus in^ 1876, 

 without which, indeed, the coincidence of Eta Arsus in 

 position with the great Argo nebula might still be 

 regarderl a- r-i-^^ifyin^,' no j hysical association; for that 

 new si - !• ;!i tlh' midst of a nebula Eot before 



deteci i ' . !;e in the place where that star had 



■ V... T Ill's eliservation of September 3, combined 



' "/'■ ' 'iiiiliers'seif September 4, proves thatthe new 



: ' nebula are actively disturbed. The star's 



sieminj- eli:in-'e of pesition, if confirmed, will be worth 



watching, 



"The sudden appearance of the new star is decidedly 

 the most interesting astronomical discovery — or rather 

 event, for the discovery was inevitable — since Adams and 

 Leverrier calculated the place of the as yet unknown 

 Neptune. It disposes finally of the theory that the 

 nebula) are, or may some of them be, external galaxies. 

 Mr, Herbert Spencer, in 1859, gave three or four con- 

 vincing reasons showing that the nebulse cannot be 

 external to our galaxy ; and ten years later (not knowing 

 (if this work) I repeated those, and supplemented them 

 with many other.s, and with maps of nebular distribution 

 ileiimr.stratin'j- t<i tlie eye that the nebulffi belong to our 

 system. Some ef tlieso reasons and illustrative statistics 

 I pi-esenteil at a Friday evening lecture at the Royal 

 Institution in May, 1870. The views I then urged were 

 precisely those which the new star, regarded as physically 

 connected with the Andromeda nebula, has made certain, 

 and, what is more, obvious and clear to all. — Yotu's 

 obediently, " Richaed A. Peocioe." 



" Scarborough." 



" Sir, — It seems at present to be improbable that the 

 new star in the Andromeda nebula will remain visible to 

 us very long ; it has already become much fainter. Last 

 nio-ht (Seiit, 9) the star was conspicuously less bright 

 than when first seen on Sept, 3; the total diminutien of 

 light as determined with a limiting aperture photrmcter 

 being nine-tenths of a magnitude. On Sept. 4 it was 

 four-tenths of a magnitude 'le.^s bright than on Sept. 3, 

 and on Sept. 9 the brightness had still ftirther diminished 

 five-tenths of a magnitude. The star is of a yellow 

 colour, about 20" distant from the real nucleus of the 

 nebula, 112" from a small star preceding it, and 228" 

 from a similar small star nearlv south of it. 



■■ V.'lth ivf, ivnee (.1 Mr. CI lambers's letter in the Times 



(if ie-'l_\-. 1 e nly say ilait the object appears in an 



,"^,', in. r. Heeler ilisi inetly si ai'-like under all powers fi'om 

 CO to .'00. liiii in exiin-nisliing it with the limiting 

 a| eriui'e ] iliel eniei i !■ il e-- e,-, out Somewhat peculiarly, 

 wliieh I a.tli'iliiie in ii Im in-' superposed upon the bright 

 o-i-eiin.l of tlie nel nl:i the fact being that the star'" in 

 ilsr el,^. r'.-aii-n dees itot become blotted out, bnt only 

 r, ihsel e-iliesiine brightness as the luminary surface 

 ef ilie neliila \\ 1 K 11 it bccomes indistinguishable from 

 iliii : ' !' II. \ a matter of fact, on Sept, 9 the new 

 stir v. :e :: ' .1 with an aperture of 2-81 in,, with 



tin > . ■ : I einpl.v. In the monthly notices 



of ill'. :: \ ■ ■ ■ ■■' ie:.' S'loiotr for ilarch, ISSl, I 



of tin- .. i ■;■■'■ I 



•■II, I : ..'•■ ! ' ' I- method it will be 



(lillieiili e ' . ; ■ , . ::, jnitude of the new 



starrefeiTLa to an oriliiuirj, si ar seen on the dark back- 

 ground of the sky. — I am, sii', your obedient seiTant, 



" Booking, near Braintree." "Edward B. Kxobel. 



