The Story of the Solar SystemChambers, George F. (George Frederick)
Science
The Story of the Solar System
Chambers, George F. (George Frederick)
Solar system
The results he ultimately arrived at were, that the yellow and red stars
of the IInd and IIIrd types twinkle less rapidly than the white stars of
the Ist type. Whilst the average number of scintillations per second of
the stars of type III. were 56, those of type II. were 69, and those of
type I. 86. These differences may be confidently said to depend upon too
many observations of too many different stars to be fortuitous. Montigny
also arrived at a number of incidental conclusions of considerable
interest. The one main thread running through them, is that there is a
connection between the twinkling of a star and its spectrum, which had
never before been thought of. We are justified, indeed, in going so far
as to say, that Montigny’s observations point distinctly to a law on
this subject, the law being that the more the spectrum of a star is
interrupted by dark lines, the less frequent are its scintillations. The
individual character of the light, therefore, emitted by any given star
appears to affect its twinkling, both as regards the frequency thereof
and the colours displayed.
Montigny collected some other interesting facts with reference to
twinkling, which may here be stated in a concise form. There is a
greater display of twinkling in showery weather, than when the
atmosphere is in a normal condition; and in winter than in summer,
whatever may be the weather. In dry weather in Spring and Autumn the
twinkling is about the same, but wet has more effect in Autumn than in
Spring in developing the phenomenon. Variations in the barometric
pressure and in the humidity of the air also affect the amount of
twinkling; there is more before a rainy period, likely to last 2 or 3
days, than before a single, or, so to speak, casual rainy day. Twinkling
also varies with the aggregate total rain-fall of any group of days,
being more pronounced as the rain-fall is greater, but decreasing
suddenly and considerably as soon as the rainy condition of the
atmosphere has passed away. The number of scintillations found to be
observable with the aid of Montigny’s instrument (which he called a
“_scintillomètre_”), varied from a minimum of 50 during June and July,
to 97 in January, and 101 in February, increasing and decreasing in
regular sequence from month to month. When an Aurora Borealis is
visible, there is a marked increase in the amount of twinkling. It would
be interesting to follow up this last named discovery by an endeavour to
ascertain whether the fluctuations which are coincident in point of time
with an Auroral display depend upon optical considerations connected
with the Aurora, or on physical considerations having any relation to
the increased development of terrestrial magnetism.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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