Sagitta, The Arrow, lies midway between Albireo and the brilliant
Altair in Aquila. The point of the arrow is indicated by the star
that is farthest east; and the feather, by the two faint stars to the
west. Like Delphinus, this constellation is very small and contains
no objects of particular interest.
Altair (Flying Eagle) is the brilliant white star of the first
magnitude in Aquila and is attended by two fainter stars, one on
either side, at nearly equal distances from it. These two stars serve
readily to distinguish this star, all three stars being nearly in a
straight line. Altair is one of the nearer stars, its distance from
the earth being about sixteen light-years. It gives forth about ten
times as much light as the sun.
[Illustration: SEPTEMBER--DELPHINUS, AQUILA AND SAGITTA]
We cannot leave the constellation of Aquila without referring to
the wonderful temporary star or nova, known as Nova Aquilæ No. 3
(because it was the third nova to appear in this constellation),
which appeared in the position indicated on the chart upon the
eighth of June, 1918. A few days previous to this date, there was
in this position an extremely faint star, invisible to the naked
eye and in small telescopes. This fact became known from later
examinations of old photographs of this region that had been taken
at the Harvard College Observatory, where the photographing of the
heavens is carried on regularly for the purpose of having a record
of celestial changes and happenings. Clouds prevented the obtaining
of any photographs of this part of the heavens on the four nights
preceding the eighth of June, but on this evening there shone in the
place of the faint telescopic star, a wonderful temporary star, or
nova, which was destined on the next evening to outshine all stars
in the heavens, with the exception of the brightest of all, Sirius,
which it closely rivaled in brilliancy at the height of its outburst.
Within less than a week's time, this faint star in the Milky Way for
some mysterious reason increased in brightness many thousandfold.
Such outbursts have been recorded before, but on rare occasions,
however. No star since the appearance of the nova known as Kepler's
Star, in the year 1604, which at its greatest brilliancy rivaled
Jupiter, shone with such splendor or attracted so much attention as
Nova Aquilæ. In the year 1901, there appeared in the constellation of
Perseus a star known as Nova Persei which at its brightest surpassed
Vega, but its splendor was not as great as that of the wonderful nova
of 1918.
It speaks well for the zeal and interest of amateur astronomers, as
well as for their acquaintance with the stars, that Nova Persei was
discovered by an amateur astronomer, Dr. Anderson, and that among
the deluge of telephone calls and telegrams received at the Harvard
College Observatory on the night of June 8th, announcing independent
discoveries of the "new star," were many from non-professional
astronomers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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