This new star in Perseus established, in one sense, a record. For the star was brighter than any new star which had been noticed since the days of accurate astronomical observations. Not indeed for three centuries had a star of such lustre sprung into existence. But a temporary star, such as this was, has been by no means an infrequent occurrence. Many such have been recorded. Those who have been acquainted with astronomical matters for thirty years will recollect four or five such stars. In each of them the general character was somewhat the same. There was a sudden outbreak, and then a gradual decline. The questions have sometimes arisen as to whether the outbreak of such an object is really the temporary exaltation of a star which was previously visible, or whether it ought not to be regarded as the creation of a totally new star. In some cases it does seem possible that a new star may have been partly, at all events, due to a large increase of brightness of some star which had been known before. In the case of Nova Persei, however, we have the best authority that this is not the case. Professor Pickering, the distinguished astronomer of Harvard College Observatory, happened to photograph the region in which Nova Persei appeared a few days before the outbreak took place. He tells us that there is not the least indication on his photograph of the presence of a star in that region. [Illustration: Fig. 54.—SPECTRUM OF NOVA PERSEI (1901). (_Photographed with the 40 in. Yerkes Telescope by Mr. Ferdinand Ellerman._)]