I
CHAPTERXVIIIDifferenceinGlory'^"I"Tusedtobethoughtthatthestarswereallvery
muchalike inmagnitudeandconstitution;not,
indeed,without considerabledifference,butas
muchresemblingeachotheras doindividuals ofthe
samerace."
—Young's"Astronomy."
That one star shines more brightly than another
wasalwaysapparent. Butmenthoughtthatonestar
wasbrighterthananothersimplybecauseitwasnearer
tous. Theydidnotbelievethatthedifferenceinthe
radiance ofdifferentstars meantanactualdifference
inthestarsthemselves.
Buttherecameatime whenmenlearnedthatthis
explanation was not sufficient. There might be in-
stances where one star was brighter than another
simplybecauseitwasnearer;butasthedistancesto
thestarscametobemeasured,itwasfoundthatsome-
timesaverybrightstarisactuallymanytimesfarther
awaythananotherstarveryinferiorinbrilliancy.
Alpha Centauri is about two hundred and thirty
thousandtimesfartherfromusthanisthesun. This
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