A NEW STAR DISCOVERED.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1918, Page 2

A NEW STAR DISCOVERED.

OBSERVED AT WA2SGANOL Ey Telegraph.—l*ress Association. Wanganui. June 10. Mr. J. T. Ward, director of Waaganui Observatory, reports that word has; been received of the discovery of a new star in the consteUatic.ii Aquarius. Observations at Wanganai show that j its brilliancy is greater than tliat of a star of the first magnitude. Mr. Ward says some great stellar catastro- j phe must have taken place. It may u»-| that a dark star has crashed into a j cloud of cosmic matter and thus generated this enormous outburst of light' and heat. It is so far away that possibly the catastrophe happened him-: dreds of years ago, its light waves though travelling 670 million miles per hour taking all this time to. reach us; Changes are taking place in its light 'as viewed by the spectroscope. Wellington, June 10. The new star was observed by Mr.r .G. V. Hudson at 10.45 p.m. on the 9th*: Its position has been checked by Dr. Adams, Government astronomer, and photographs taken show that the star i 3 of the first magnitude, and is the seventh brightest. It is in the constellation Aquila, in the right ascension, 18 hours 44 minutes, and 0 degrees 30 seconds north declination London, June 10. The new star has been observed by five, astronomers in different places in England, also in Madrid. It is regarded as the most interesting discovery since the appearance of If ova Perseia recorded in 1901.,