Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-11-20
It Establishes the Correctness OF
The NebuIar Theory
MADE BY PROF. RITCHEY.
Obtains Photographic Evidence OF
Evolution Among the Plane
tary Bodies.

Chicago. Nov. 2O.--Prof. @. W..
Ritchey, of the Yerkes observatory, Is
reported to have made discovery in
astronomy, which will make himself
and the observatory famous The dis
covery, in brief, is the proof Of what Is
known as the nebuar theory, and Prof
Ritchey appears to have reduced TO
matter of certainty what has hereto
fore been merely brilliant hypothesis
II is claimed that he has done this In
obtaining Photographic evidence OF evo-
luton among the planetary bodies.
The Yerkes observatory is part of the
University OF Chicago, though located
at Williams Bay, Lake Geneva, Wis. IL
was endowed by Chas. T. Yerkes of this
city
Prof. Ritchey's observations, II Is
claimed, not only prove the truth or
the celebrated nebular theory of crea-
ton announced by the famous French
man. La Place, and OF the widely en-
tertained belief that the solar system,
and even star clusters have been
formed by millions of years OF SLOW
evolution from great bodies of gaseous
HNdtitl UodlluB III Niit ihNbhANif UpfN
abysses Of space, but also prove that
nebula, with a star for a neclues changes
It's shape and the quantity Of light II
emits, and that these changes are so
rapid as to be observable within the
compass Of few hours.
Astronomers have long believed that
the nebulae were the matrices OF solar
systems and star clusters like our
own, but no observer had been able 10
see the slightest sign of change in the
structure. This has now been done by
Prof Ritchey, who is busily engaged
In preparing for the technical journals
an announcement OF his discovery.
The celestial object upon which Prof
Rltchey has made his observations Is
the mysterious star Nova OF Perseus,
which suddenly appeared last February
In the northern sky Its light rapidly
increased until II became a star of the
first magnitude. Then II gradually
faded away until now Il is only OF the
sixth magnitude. AT present II Is al
together invisible to the unaided vision.
On the night of Sept. 20, Prof. Ritchey
photographed Nova OF Perseus by
means Of the 24-inch reflector at the
observatory. The negative disclosed
the fact that the star was surrounded
by a nehulae. a fact which had not
previously been shown by another OBJ
server. But on the plate made by
Prof. Ritchey after an exposure Of
three hours and fifty minutes there
were two fairly dense wisps of nebu-
osity toward the west with a curve
TO the north. merging into the convo-
utions of the nebulae. This was a
startling fact, but Prof Ritchey wait
ed patiently for a favorable night to
secure another negative. The oppor-
tunity came last Wednesday night,
Nov. 10, when for several hours Prof.
Ritchey exposed his plate to the light
Of the mysterious star. When he looked
at the negative he observed fact In
which he recognized the proof sol long
sought and so ardently wished for by
observe~v everywhere. The spots Of
density in the west field Of the nebulae
had moved.
Never before had this amazing fact
been found. and Prof. Rltchey. who ut
once saw the Unreasonable Importance
OF the discovery he had made, was
grati1ed beyond words.