Astronomical Notes. 133 



ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. 



BY THE EEV. T, W. WEBB, M.A., F.E.A.S. 



THE GBEAT STAR OF 1572. 



No one can peruse the account given of the Temporary Star 

 of 1572 without a conviction that it was one of the most 

 marvellous phenomena which the Creator has ever exhibited 

 to the eyes of men. Its sudden apparition ; its astonishing 

 splendour, rivalling, in the opinion of Tycho Brahe, Yenus at 

 her maximum, and rendering it visible even at noon-day, and 

 that at a period when there were no telescopes to point to its 

 place, after the mode practised by Schmidt in our own days ; 

 its visibility to all eyes during seventeen months, precluding the 

 possibility of deception ; its invariable position with regard to 

 the neighbouring stars, proving that, if not equally distant 

 with them, it was far removed beyond the bounds of the solar 

 system ; its scintillating aspect, indicating, in all probability, 

 the smallness of its apparent disc, and its community of nature 

 with other stars ; its change of colour corresponding with its 

 regular decrease in magnitude — all these combine to place it 

 in the highest rank of celestial wonders. And time, that has 

 done so much to throw light upon other difficulties, has brought 

 none to this. It is now indeed known that the phenomenon, 

 though extremely rare, is not unique ; twenty-one instances of 

 temporary, as distinguished from periodically- variable stars, 

 having been collected by the industry of Humboldt. These 

 are chiefly from the Chinese record of Ma-tuan-lin ; and some 

 of them appear to rest on no good authority; but there can 

 be no question as to the splendid star seen by Kepler in 1604, 

 which almost equalled, and in the opinion of some surpassed, 

 that of 1572, or that discovered by Hind in 1848, which, 

 though far inferior in magnitude, exhibited the same character. 

 It has, too, been suspected that such phenomena are periodical, 

 and, if so, may be looked upon as extreme cases of variable 

 light. The chief ground for this idea is the statement that 

 new stars are said to have appeared in the years 945 and 1264 

 1 ' between Cepheus and Cassiopea," a description which, allow- 

 ing for the inaccuracy of ancient chronicles, might pass for the 

 position of that in 1572 ; nor would the inequality of interval 

 be a sufficient bar to the supposition, as similar irregularities 

 are constantly occurring in the periods of variable stars. If 

 this could be admitted, and a period of something more than 

 300 years be reckoned upon, it is plain that observers ought 

 to be now on the look-out for its possible return. With this 

 impression, Professor Argelander, of Bonn, one of the very 



