whose distance has been attempted, and a keen sense of the
uncertainty of such measures is conveyed by the fact that authorities of
apparently equal weight place eta Cassiopeiae at such discordant
distances as 124,000,000,000,000 miles, 70,000,000,000,000 miles, and
42,000,000,000,000 miles. It will be observed that the difference
between the greatest and the least of these estimates is about double
the entire distance given by the latter. The same thing is practically
true of the various attempts to ascertain the distance of the other
stars which have a perceptible parallax, even those which are evidently
the nearest. In some cases the later measures increase the distance, in
other cases they diminish it; in no case is there anything like a
complete accord. Yet of course we are not to infer that it is hopeless
to learn anything about the distances of the stars. With all their
uncertainties and disagreements the few parallaxes we possess have laid
a good foundation for a knowledge of the dimensions of at least the
nearer parts of the universe.

We find an interesting triple in psi, the magnitudes of the larger
components being four and a half and eight and a half, distance 30". The
smaller star has a nine-and-a-half-magnitude companion, distance 3". A
more beautiful triple is iota, magnitudes four, seven, and eight,
distances 2", p. 256 deg., and 7.5", p. 112 deg.. Cassiopeia contains many
star clusters, three of which are indicated in the map. Of these 392 is
perhaps the most interesting, as it includes stars of many magnitudes,
among which are a red one of the eighth magnitude, and a ninth-magnitude
double whose components are 8" apart. Not far from the star kappa we
find the spot where the most brilliant temporary star on record made its
appearance on November 11, 1572. Tycho Brahe studied this phenomenon
during the entire period of its visibility, which lasted until March,
1574. It burst out suddenly with overpowering splendor, far outshining
every fixed star, and even equaling Venus at her brightest. In a very
short time it began to fade, regularly diminishing in brightness, and at
the same time undergoing changes of color, ending in red, until it
disappeared. It has never been seen since, and the suspicion once
entertained that it was a variable with a period considerably exceeding
three hundred years has not been confirmed. There is a tenth-magnitude
star near the place given by Tycho as that occupied by the stran