THE ORIGIN OF NEW STARS. 11 
another hour you still see a number of ships about, but they 
are not the same ships that you saw before. So in the 
heavens there is a continual flux. The old stars are 
passing away, and new stars are coming into view. 
I will try to illustrate the appearance ‘of this new star— 
the way in which it came, and the evidence we have of 
its character. I am fortunate to be able to do this, for by 
the kindness of friends I have obtained the use of photo- 
graphs which will show us the peculiar circumstances which 
mark that star from all other ordinary stars, even if we had 
not the remarkable circumstances in connection with its 
sudden outbreak and its still more remarkable decline. I 
will now ask for the lights to be turned down for a few 
minutes while we look at the pictures thrown on _ the 
screen, 
[A picture was then exhibited. | 
That is merely a picture of a small part of the skies—not 
the whole heavens—not more than a one ten-thousandth 
part of the heavens. It is a very rich part of the Milky 
Way, containing innumerable myriads of stars. There is no 
spot on that diagiam upon which I could place the tip of 
my finger without hiding some star behind it. We take that 
as an example of the starry firmament as we see it. 
Now we will look at another, giving us a view of 
different part of the heavens. 
[ELvhilited on the screen. | 
It would take teu thousand such pictures as you are looking 
at to cover the whole stars of the heavens, and here, again, 
there are innumerable myriads of them, and in view of what 
is to come, I will ask you to retain a general impression of 
this picture in your minds. 
Now we come to a much more special picture. 
| Exhibited on the screen.] 
This was given to me by Mr. Stanley Williams, and it 
represents a ‘photograph of a part of the sky on I'ebruary 
22nd. That picture represents all those stars which have, 
no doubt, been there for thousands of years, and then, a week 
later, he took this second picture and this is the new star which 
appeared in the meantime. 
[Lehibiting on the screen. | 
It shows the sudden way in which that new star burst 
into view. It greatly increased in lustre until it exceeded, 
