﻿118 
  Transactions. 
  — 
  Miscellaneous, 
  

  

  of 
  ■which 
  the 
  exquisite 
  pain 
  so 
  enraged 
  him 
  that 
  he 
  ran 
  the 
  New 
  Zealander 
  

   through 
  with 
  the 
  bayonet. 
  M. 
  Crozet 
  found 
  great 
  quantities 
  of 
  dresses, 
  

   arms, 
  tools, 
  and 
  raw 
  flax 
  in 
  this 
  i^a, 
  together 
  with 
  a 
  prodigious 
  store 
  of 
  dried 
  

   fish 
  and 
  roots. 
  He 
  completed 
  the 
  repairs 
  in 
  his 
  ship 
  without 
  interruption 
  after 
  

   accomplishing 
  this 
  enterprise, 
  and 
  prosecuted 
  his 
  voyage 
  after 
  a 
  stay 
  of 
  

   sixty-four 
  days 
  in 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Islands, 
  — 
  Forster's 
  Voyage, 
  Vol, 
  II., 
  pp. 
  

   461-465, 
  

  

  Abt. 
  VII. 
  — 
  On 
  Temporary 
  and 
  Variable 
  Stars. 
  By 
  Professor 
  A. 
  W. 
  

  

  BicKERTON, 
  F.C.S., 
  Associate 
  of 
  the 
  Eoyal 
  School 
  of 
  Mines, 
  London. 
  

   [Read 
  before 
  the 
  Philosophical 
  Institute 
  of 
  Canterbury, 
  4th 
  July, 
  1878.] 
  

   The 
  sudden 
  appearances 
  of 
  stars 
  in 
  various 
  regions 
  of 
  the 
  sky 
  have 
  been 
  

   recorded 
  from 
  very 
  early 
  dates. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  stars 
  have 
  had 
  an 
  intensity 
  

   of 
  light 
  greater 
  than 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  fixed 
  stars, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  have 
  remained 
  

   visible 
  for 
  a 
  year 
  or 
  more, 
  the 
  intensity 
  of 
  light 
  all 
  the 
  while 
  gradually 
  

   diminishing. 
  

  

  Two 
  considerable 
  stars 
  of 
  this 
  kind 
  have 
  appeared 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  twelve 
  

   years, 
  and 
  in 
  both 
  cases 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  examined 
  with 
  the 
  spectroscope. 
  

   Unfortunately 
  the 
  results 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  so 
  satisfactory 
  as 
  could 
  be 
  desired. 
  

   The 
  spectrum 
  of 
  the 
  star 
  of 
  1866 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  continuous, 
  with 
  

   bright 
  lines. 
  The 
  lines 
  diminished 
  in 
  number 
  and 
  intensity 
  until 
  they 
  

   finally 
  disappeared, 
  leaving 
  only 
  a 
  feeble 
  continuous 
  spectrum. 
  The 
  light 
  

   of 
  the 
  star 
  of 
  1877 
  at 
  first 
  appeared 
  yellowish, 
  and 
  when 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  days 
  

   afterwards 
  it 
  was 
  examined 
  with 
  the 
  spectroscope, 
  a 
  line 
  spectrum 
  was 
  

   seen. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  lines 
  gradually 
  lessened 
  until 
  only 
  one 
  was 
  left, 
  and 
  

   that 
  the 
  same 
  Hue 
  as 
  is 
  seen 
  in 
  some 
  nebulto. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  considerations 
  will 
  show 
  the 
  stupendous 
  nature 
  of 
  these 
  pheno- 
  

   mena. 
  Temporary 
  stars 
  have 
  all 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  fixed 
  in 
  the 
  heavens, 
  this 
  

   fact 
  showing 
  them 
  to 
  be 
  at 
  true 
  stellar 
  distances, 
  and 
  consequently, 
  like 
  the 
  

   fixed 
  stars, 
  their 
  luminosity 
  is 
  comparable 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  our 
  sun. 
  The 
  sun 
  

   may 
  be 
  roughly 
  classed 
  as 
  a 
  star 
  of 
  the 
  second 
  magnitude 
  ; 
  its 
  intensity 
  is 
  

   approximately 
  one 
  four-hundredth 
  that 
  of 
  Sirius, 
  which 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  short 
  

   distance 
  from 
  us 
  relatively 
  to 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  universe, 
  therefore 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  

   improbable 
  that 
  these 
  temjDorary 
  stars 
  should 
  be, 
  on 
  an 
  average, 
  at 
  least 
  

   as 
  far 
  away 
  as 
  he 
  is. 
  

  

  We 
  may 
  therefore 
  safely 
  assume 
  that 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  temporary 
  stars 
  whose 
  

   appearance 
  has 
  been 
  recorded, 
  have 
  had 
  an 
  intensity 
  of 
  light 
  as 
  gi-eafc 
  as 
  the 
  

   sun, 
  and 
  probably 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  many 
  times 
  greater. 
  The 
  amount 
  of 
  heat 
  

  

  