NOVA AQUILAE

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 17, 19 July 1918, Page 8

NOVA AQUILAE

NEWS FROM AMERICA.

The first news by mail of the new star in Aquilie has been received to-day from the Harvard College Observatory,- Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. Professor Edward C. Pickering, Director of the Observatory, writes as follows: —

"Numerous telegrams have been received announcing the independent discovery of Nova Aquiltß, No. 3, E.A., 18hr 43rnin, Bth December, Odeg. Z9min (1900). Owing to the difference in longitude,] it was probably first seen in Europe. On Bth June, it was about 0.5 magn., on 9th. June, according to Barnard—l.4 magn. Parkhurst found its spectrum of the first type with dark lines on Bth June. This is the brightest nova since Kepler's star in Ophiuchus, which appeared in 1604.

"Announcements of discovery wera received here in the following ord«r:— By telephone, Saturday night, Mr. Warren H. Cudworth Norwood, Massachusetts; by telegram, Sunday, Miss Grace Jordan, Eads,. Colorado, through Professor J. A. Miller; Prof es<>or C. P. Olivier, University of Virginia; Professor A. H. Joy, Mount Wilson Observatory, through Professor F. H. Scares; Professor E. E. Barnard, Yerkes Observatory, through Professor E; B. Frost; Mr. W. H. Stevenson, Leeds, England, through Astronomer BoyaJ Dyson; Mr. H. Berioff, Claremont, California; Messrs. G. H. Peters, and W. A. Conrad, U.S. Naval Observatory, through Admiral Howard ; Professor H C. Wilson, Goodsell Observatory; Miss M. M. Hopkins, Southern Pacific train, Oregon; Messrs. W. J. Luyten, Utrecht, and L. Courvoisier, Neubabelsberg, through Professor E. Stromgrexi; Prolessor J. U, Portftl'j Cincinnati Observatory. .

"The prompt notification, of Mr. Cudworth enabled us to photograph it the same night and to determine at once its early .history. It was first photographed here on 22nd' May, 1888, when, it was of the 11th magnitude, and several hundred plates of it are now being examined to study its variations, which amount to at least half a magnitude. On 3rd June, 1918, it was of about normal magnitude. The 4th, sth, and 6th. of June were cloudy. On 7th June, if was sixth magnitude. A spectrum .plate taken 9th June confirms Parkhurst's discovery and showed narrow hydrogen lines 'on a nearly continuous spectrum." It will be seen that the first announcement was received at Harvard College Observatory on Saturday night, Bth June. If we assume, says Dr. C. E. Adams, New Zealand Government Astronomer, the time of this announcement to be say 10 p.m. at Harvard, the corresponding time and date in New Zealand would be 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, 9th June, for the change of date takes place between New Zealand and America. The particulars of the New Zealand discoveries are as follow :—

It was reported to the Government Astronomer (1) by Mr. Or. V. Hudson, of Karori, Wellington; (2) by Mr. Alex. G. Crust, of Dunedin; (3) by Sergeant-Major L. J. Comrie, on active service.

1: Mr. Hudson reported th^ discovery by telephone on the evening of Sunday, 9th June, N.Z.T. 2. Mr. Crust reported by letter dated 10th June, received 13th June.

3. Sergeant-Major Comrie reported by cable, received 14th June.

Mr. Hudson's time of discovery was lOhr 45min p.m. on Sunday, 9th June, equals Juno 8d 23hr 15min, 6.M.T. Mr. Crust's time of discovery was 9hr lOmin p.m. on Sunday, 9th June, equals June 8d 21hr 40min, G.M.T. Information has not yet been receiyed from Mr. Comrie as to the time of discovery by him. The times of discovery are remarkably close, the New Zealand times are only a few hours later. It is interesting to note that the star has been photographed since 1888 at Harvard. This confirms the observations made in Wellington, when photographs taken on the night of the discovery, and more recently, showed the star to be identical with a star of 8.8 -magnitude shown on the astrographic chart of the Algiers Observatory, photographed on 26th June, 1895. The position of this star for the year 1900 was 18hr43min 48sec R.A. and Odeg 28min 21sec north declination.