THE NEW STAR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 165, 10 July 1918, Page 6

THE NEW STAR

(To the Editor.)

Sin—-I was interested to notice, in an article on ''New, Variable, and Compound .Stars./' -m Mitoer 8 book, "Gallery of Nature," the following paragraph : "The occurrence of stars 3takirg into temporary visibility, shra--rvr with ■ great lustre, and then entirely%anishing, however unaccountable, is 4> well authenticated as to obtain a place in the class of unquestionable phenomena. An; instance of this kind occurred in the year 389 of our era. In the neighbourhood of Attair, m the constellation Aquila, a star suddenly appeared, continuing as brilliant as Venus for three weeks." What makes the above extract so interesting i S that the position of this star seems to have been the same as that of the present apparinon The writer goes on to describe -ertain other new t&ars which have appeared, and states that a star appeared hi the years 945, 1264/ and 1572, fti the same part- of *he heavens, and -•iates that- it is conceived that these were not different stars, but the same. Another interesting point is that the =tar of 1572, which glowed with great splendour, not only remained exactly -in the same relative position a? regards the fixed stars around it, but that it exhibited no parallax, although it gave mple time Tor observance of it. This fact at once proved that it was much further from the earth than most of the stars of first or second magnitude. —1 am, etc., F. J. JEFFREYS. Nelson, Bth July, 1918.