649 



SCIENTIFIC SIDE-LIGHTS 



Stars 



3211. STARS OF A NEW HEMI- 

 SPHERE Sir John Herschel Opens the Study 

 of the Southern Skies. " Strongly invited," 

 as he [Sir John Herschel] tells us him- 

 self, " by the peculiar interest of the sub- 

 ject, and the wonderful nature of the objects 

 which presented themselves," he resolved to 

 attempt the completion of the survey in the 

 southern hemisphere. With this noble ob- 

 ject in view, he embarked his family and in- 

 struments on board the " Mount Stewart El- 

 phinstone," and, after a prosperous voyage, 

 landed at Cape Town on the 16th of Janu- 

 ary, 1834. Choosing as the scene of his 

 observations a rural spot under the shelter 

 of Table Mountain, he began regular " sweep- 

 ing" on the 5th of March. The site of his 

 great reflector is now marked with an obel- 

 isk, and the name of Feldhausen has become 

 memorable in the history of science, for the 

 four years' work done there may truly be 

 said to open the chapter of our knowledge 

 as regards the southern skies. CLEBKE His- 

 tory of Astronomy, pt. i, ch. 2, p. 56. (Bl., 

 1893.) 



3212. STARS OF MANY COLORS 

 " Star Differeth from Star in Glory " (1 Cor. 

 xv, Jfl) A Suggestion of the Foundations 

 of the New Jerusalem (Rev. xxi, 19-21). 

 In the heavens there are stars of many col- 

 ors; for one star differeth from another 

 in glory. But the colors we see with the 

 unaided eye are far less beautiful and less 

 striking than those which are brought into 

 view by the telescope. And among the col- 

 ored stars seen by the telescope there are 

 none more beautiful than the colored pairs 

 of stars. Amongst these we find the most 

 strongly marked contrasts such combina- 

 tions as green and red, orange and blue, 

 yellow and purple; then again we some- 

 times see both the companions of the same 

 color; and yet again we find combinations 

 where the contrast, tho not so striking as 

 in the pairs first mentioned, is nevertheless 

 exceedingly beautiful, as when we have 

 gold and lilac, or white and blue, or white 

 and green stars; and lastly, we find among 

 the smaller companions of double stars such 

 hues as gray, fawn, ash-colored, puce, 

 mauve, russet, and olive. PROCTOR Expanse 

 of Heaven, p. 220. (L. G. & Co., 1897.) 



3213. STARS OF THE ABYSS Phos- 

 phorescence of Echinoderms from Deep Sea 

 Starfish Coruscating with Green Light. 

 Among the echinoderms we have not many 

 recorded instances of a phosphorescent light 

 being emitted, but it is quite possible that 

 many, if not all of them, may possess this 

 power. The curious deep-sea form, Brisinga, 

 that was first discovered by Ch. Asbjornsen, 

 is known to be so brilliantly phosphores- 

 cent that it has been called a veritable 

 gloria maris, and writing of the curious 

 brittle-star Ophiacantha spinulosa (dredged 

 by the " Porcupine " in 584 fathoms of wa- 

 ter), Professor Wyville Thomson remarks 

 that the light was of a " brilliant green, cor- 



uscating from the center of the disk, now 

 along one arm, now along another, and some- 

 times vividly illuminating the whole outline 

 of the starfish." HICKSON Fauna of the 

 Deep Sea, ch. 4, p. 81. (A., 1894.) 



3214. STARS OF THE MILKY WAY 



Each Star a Sun Myriad Centers of 

 Light, Motion, and Power. The least of the 

 stars seen in the galactic^ depths even tho 

 the telescope which reveals it be the might- 

 iest yet made by man, so that with all other 

 telescopes that star would be unseen is a 

 sun like our own. It is a mighty mass, 

 capable of swaying by its attraction the 

 motions of worlds, like our earth and her 

 fellow planets, circling in their stately 

 courses around it. It is an orb instinct 

 with life (if one may so speak), aglow with 

 fiery energy, pouring out each moment sup- 

 plies of life and power to the worlds which 

 circle around it. It is a mighty engine, 

 working out the purpose of its great Cre- 

 ator; it is a giant heart, whose pulsations 

 are the source whence a myriad forms of 

 life derive support; and until the fuel which 

 maintains its fires shall be consumed, that 

 mighty engine will fulfil its work; until its 

 life-blood shall be exhausted, that giant 

 heart will throb unceasingly. PROCTOR Ex- 

 panse of Heaven, p. 300. (L. G. & Co., 

 1897.) 



3215. STARS PRESENT NEW AS- 

 PECT TO MODERN WORLD Change Due 

 to Precession of the Equinoxes. In conse- 

 quence of the precession of the equinoxes 

 the starry heavens are continually changing 

 their aspect from every portion of the 

 earth's surface. The early races of mankind 

 beheld in the far north the glorious con- 

 stellation of our southern hemisphere rise 

 before them, which, after remaining long in- 

 visible, will again appear in those latitudes 

 ofter the lapse of thousands of years. Ca- 

 nopus was fully 1 20' below the horizon at 

 Toledo (39 54' north latitude) in the time 

 of Columbus, and now the same star is al- 

 most ass much above the horizon at Cadiz. 

 While at Berlin and in the northern lati- 

 tudes the stars of the Southern Cross, as 

 well as a and ft Centauri, are receding more 

 and more from view, the Magellanic clouds 

 are slowly approaching our latitudes. Ca- 

 nopus was at its greatest northern approxi- 

 mation during the last century, and is now 

 moving nearer and nearer to the south, al- 

 tho very slowly, owing to its vicinity to the 

 south pole of the ecliptic. HUMBOLDT Cos- 

 mos, vol. ii, pt. ii, p. 290. (H., 1897.). 



3216. STARS, SPLENDOR OF, BUT 

 PARTIALLY KNOWN TO MAN Owr At- 

 mosphere a Veil Radiance in the Tropics 

 The Dimness of Distance. The splendor of 

 these natural illuminations can hardly be 

 conceived by our terrestrial imagination. 

 The tints which we admire in these stars 

 from here can give but a distant idea of the 

 real value of their colors. Already, in pass- 



