SCIEXCE- G QSSIP. 



■■ In fche year 1264 an eminently bright star" burst 

 out in Cassiopeia, also near Cepheus, " which kept 

 itself in the same place, and had no proper 

 motion." There has been doubt as to whether 

 the stars of 945 and 1264 were not really comets, 

 but the evidence seems rather in favour of their 

 g stars. 

 We ■enter upon an era of greater exactitude when 

 the great star of 1572 in Cassiopeia forced atten- 

 tion. Schuler of Wittemberg is said to have 

 observed it upon August 6th. though Dr. Halley 

 writes that Cornelius Gemma did not see it on 

 November 8th. when he ~ considered that part of 

 the heavens in a very serene sky. and saw it not : 

 but that the next night, Xovember 9th, it appeared 

 with a splendour surpassing all the fixed stars." 

 Tycho Brahe was at the time staying with an 

 uncle at the monastery of Herritzwadt, working in 

 the chemical laboratory until the evening. In 

 coming home on November 11th his attention 

 was attracted by the brilliant visitor in El. 

 h. 19-2 m.. De " X. (1890), about equal to 



Sirius. It became brighter even than Yenus. 

 and was then visible in daylight. At this time 

 its colour was white : but it quickly began to lose 

 its brilliance, at the same time becoming yellow, 

 and, as it diminished, reddish, and finally tinged 

 with blue. Hind and Plummer found a small 

 variable KlII -magnitude star within 1' o: its 

 place. In 1604 the pupils of Kepler, John 

 BronowsM and Mostlin, whilst observing Mars, 

 Jupiter, and Saturn, then in close proximity in the 

 constellation Ophinchus. were interrupted by bad 

 weather for a day or two, but on resuming work 

 on October 10th they were surprised to find a star 

 in brightness between Jupiter and Yenus situated 

 K.A. 17 :. ." m., Dec. 21° 23' .S. (1890). It- 

 scintillation was exceptionally great, but its 

 actual colour does not seem to have changed like 

 that of 1572. It soon faded. By January 1 " 

 it had fallen below the brightness of Arcturus. and 

 in March was described as of third magnitude. 

 Between February and March 1606 it became 

 invisible At the present time there appears to be 

 a variable star of about the twelfth magnitude at 

 this place. On June 20th, 1670. a Carthusian monk 

 named ADthelm found a third-magnitude star in 

 the head of Yulpecula, not far from /3 Cygni which 

 by August 10th had fallen to the fifth magnitude. 

 After three months it disappeared : but on March 

 17th. 16/1, it reappeared as a star of the fourth 

 magnitude, and a month later Dominique Cassini 

 found it very variable in brightness. After at 

 length reaching the third magnitude it faded and 

 was missing during February 1672 ; but at the 

 end of March it brightened to the sixth magnitude, 

 thour not afterwards seen. Its posit; 



was E-A 19 h. 435 m.. Dec. 27° 1' N., and 

 'lose to this spot there is an 1112 magnitude 

 which is said to be decidedly variable, and some- 

 what hazv-lookine. 



.: : the lapse of 178 years J. Bussell Hind 

 found a reddish-yellow fifth-magnitude star in 

 Ophinchus. B.A. 16 h. 54 m.. Dec. 12° 45' S. 

 I 590) on April 28th. 1848, where he was certain 

 no star exceeding ninth magnitude could have 

 existed on April 5th. It remained steady until 

 May 9th. By the 10th it had increased to fourth 

 magnitude : but by the 18th had fallen to the sixth, 

 from which it gradually receded to between the 

 eleventh and twelfth magnitudes, and still so 

 remains, showing a very slight variation. 



In 1866 the celebrated '■■ Blaze Star7 T Coronae 

 Borealis, made its appearance near e in the same 

 constellation, B.A. 15 h. 553m., Dec. 26° 12' X 

 (1890). Professor Julius Schmidt of Athens 

 found no trace of it. at a little after 9 p.m., on 

 May 12th, or of any star of more than fourth 

 magnitude in its place, but a little before midnight 

 Birmingham at Tuam in Ireland found the place 

 occupied by a second-magnitude star. Through a 

 telescope it appeared nebulous, and looked like a 

 yellow star seen through a blue film On May 14th 

 it was seen in America, and observed by Baxendell 

 of Manchester upon the 15th to have already 

 fallen to the fourth magnitude. By May 24th it 

 was only 8 5, and afterwards fell to ninth magni- 

 tude. After the 25th the blue tinge was lost, and 

 the star passed through the many tints of orange 

 and yellow. On June 26th it appeared as of tenth 

 magnitude, and so remained until August 20th, 

 then commencing to steadily increase to between 

 the sixth and seventh magnitudes on Septem- 

 ber 15th, continuing steady until Mbvember 9th.. 

 when it began to decrease till the tenth magnitude 

 was reached. Its colour in September was a 

 pretty bright yeUow, but at last assumed a dullish 

 white. Before the " blaze " traces of variation 

 had been shown, for Sir John Herschel found it 

 6-3 magnitude in 1*42. whilst in 1855 Argelander 

 found it 9-5 in magnitude. 



Since the previous Xova a new instrument had 

 come into use, the spectroscope, and Sir William 

 Huggins and Dr. A. Miller on May 16 commenced 

 to study the nature of the lights Lake other stars 

 as converted into a rainbow band crossed by- 

 black absorption lines, but with this difference, 

 the lines that showed the presence of hydrogen 

 were reversed, bright instead of dark. By some 

 means there was a large accession of heat, and a 

 great atmosphere of hydrogen was rendered in- 

 candescent. This is the first step towards the 

 knowledge of the nature of these phenomena. 

 Quite early in the evening of Xovember 24th. 

 Schmidt had his attention attracted by a 

 third-magnitude star appearing in Cygnus, R.A. 

 21 37-8 m., Dec. 42° 23' X. (1890). Only 

 nights previously he had been examining 

 is "■ -: " region, and was positive no bright star 

 in the position. At midnight it was 

 decidedly yellc*. K - was sent to Paris and 

 Yieni at until December 2nd the weather proved 



