544 



Marvels of the Universe 



CLUSTER STARS. 



Once, owing to deficiencies of the astronomi- 

 cal instrunnenls. classed as nebulae. 



CLUSTER STARS. 



it. through Sir John Hersche 

 telescope. 



CLUSTER STARS. 



The same group in Aquarii, through the Earl 

 of Rosse's telescope, sho\ving the numberless stars 

 which go to form the mass. 



fore-fins and the hind-fins to become less and less, until 

 the two pairs are now often close together and in the 

 front part of the bod}'. The Bommi, Hke other Gobies, 

 has developed out of its fore-fins, however, very service- 

 able arms with appendages exceedingly like hands with 

 webbed fingers, but the hind-limbs simph- become a sort 

 of pedestal upon which the body rests. This serves as a 

 fulcrum from which great leaps can be taken ; and also 

 as a kind of sucker, enabling the Bommi to stick pretty 

 closely to the bark of a tree up which it may climb by a 

 series of deft jumps. 



The rather ornamental fringe of back-fins can be 

 erected, and no doubt because of its armature of spikes 

 acts as a slight protection. The creature's real safeguard 

 seems to lie in its nasty uneatable flesh, which causes it 

 to be avoided by human beings, and apparently neglected 

 by most of the shore-frequenting birds. Its enemies 

 would seem to be other fishes in the water, before whose 

 advent the Bommies may be seen jumping out of that 

 element on to the mud and hopping well out of reach of 

 anything that is unable to leave the water. 



STAR CLUSTERS AND NEBULA 



BY G, F. CHAMBERS, F.R..\.S. 



W'hf.n one looks at the stars shining on a clear night the 

 natural impression conveyed to the mind is that we are 

 looking at so many single points of light. The telescope, 

 however, shows us that the light from many of these 

 single points comes from a pair of stars so close together 

 that they ordinarily seem to be one star only. Further 

 e.xamination b}' the aid of increased optical assistance will 

 disclose the fact that a certain number of these double 

 stars are really triple, being three stars looking as one ; 

 whilst a certain number are quadruple, and so on. From 

 such groups to the Clusters and Nebulae, to be now con- 

 sidered, though the stretch is a great one, yet so far as 

 the Clusters are concerned the difference is only one of 

 degree. It is not difficult to realize that the question 

 whether a group of stars is spread out so that the com- 

 ponent stars can be individualized, or is so squeezed 

 together as to appear a confused mass, is a matter entirely 

 dependent upon the nearness or the remoteness of the ob- 

 server's position from the objects looked at. To put it in 

 another way, to accord with the facts as disclosed to us on 

 the Earth, the distinctions just mentioned depend entirely 

 on the telescopic power at the command of the observer, 

 and this statement can be supported historically. 



