Pleasant Ways in ScienceProctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
Science
Pleasant Ways in Science
Proctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
Science
The question, be it noted, is simply whether we should regard the kind
of light which lasts longest in this star as it fades out of view as
more probably belonging to the star’s abnormal brightness or to its
normal luminosity. It seems to me there can be little doubt that the
persistence of this part of the star’s light points to the latter
rather than to the former view.
Let it also be noticed that the changes which had been observed thus
far were altogether unlike those which had been observed in the case of
the star in the Northern Crown, and therefore cannot justly be regarded
as pointing to the same explanation. As the star in the Crown faded
from view, the bright lines indicative of glowing hydrogen died out,
and only the ordinary stellar spectrum remained. In the case of the
star in the Swan, the part of the spectrum corresponding to stellar
light faded gradually from view, and bright lines only were left, at
least as conspicuous parts of the star’s spectrum. So that whereas one
orb seemed to have faded into a faint star, the other seemed fading
out into a nebula—not merely passing into such a condition as to
shine with light indicative of gaseity, but actually so changing as
to shine with light of the very tints (or, more strictly, of the very
wave-lengths) observed in all the gaseous nebulæ.
The strange eventful history of the new star in Cygnus did not end
here, however. We may even say, indeed, that it has not ended yet. But
another chapter can already be written.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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