The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1906-12-20

thought Of, for the human mind is in
capable Of grasDing the existence Of q
limit to space. oven in it's most alb
Stract f9rn, ut the question of the In
finit- Of worlds and their distribution
in TIA :nfnity Of space lies more close
Iy within the ScoDe of human intellect,
for vr llvG MANY material facts and
calcr,ntlnns to go upon in discovering
the rrohable answer to this most fas-
cin&ting question.
Only as tar back as the seventeenth
century astronomers placed the mum
Der of stars in the universe as a little
Over 1000, but this was absurd, al the
real number visible to the naked eye Is
about 1000. and perhaps treble that
number can be seen by persons with
exceptionally good eyesight. When the
heavens, however, are examined
through a telescope the number of visi-
BILE stars Is enormously increased. In
fact, 1t has been calculated that the
most powerful reveals as many as
100, 900! Yet what is that vast
number compared with infinity? It
cannot even be nkened to a grain Of
CoUu vi O4O 6Co0AO1CP oAO = "a wv
think the matter out carefully we shall
see that the number Of visible stars
cannot really be infinite, for If they
were the heavens would be a complete
blaze Of light. This, of course, we
know is far from being the case, and
indeed there cannot be any doubt that
in certain parts Of the heavens at least
the number of visible stars is already
known, for even with the very stron-
/ gest telescopes there are blank spaces
which are absolutely devoid Of stars
below a certain magnitude or ever the
veriest trace Of nebulous light. !
These spaces are known to astrono-
mers by the name Of local sacks"
They contain no stars fainter than the
twelfth magnitude and. in fact, appear
to mark those parts of the universe
which are comparatively thin. On the
other hand, in other parts Of the heav-
ems we nave not by any mean reached
the limit Of telescope resolvability. It
is curious, though, that these intensely
dark "holes" In the bright empyrean
are mostly to be found In those parts
Of the heavens where most stars
abound, notably in the Milky Way.
These remarkable blank spots have
been a favorite theme of discussion
and argument among all astronomers,
for, whatever the real shape or dis
tribution Of that universe may be, they
point to the almost certain inference
that in a particular direction at least
there is al actual limit to the number
Of stars, and if there is a limit In one
direction we have every right to sup
pose that such Is the case in others,
and that we have only to wait for
telescopes strong enough to resolve
those parts which are still unresolva-
BILE to discover that a point can be
reached when all the stars of the uni
verse are unfolded to our gaze.
If, now, we admit that the number
Of visible stars is limited, the next
question to be asked Is, What Is the
order or shape Of their distribution?
Various astronomers have had various
theories about this matter. Herschel
was inclined to think that the visible
universe was in the shape Of a disk,
though his views in this direction were
considerably modified during the later
| pdEI Ol LIS LIS. OIIutS COASAOC1SU I1d
the universe was in the shape Of q disk
of limited thickness, but infinite length.
a theory which is hard to support, as,
unless the ultimate extinction of light
in space is believed in, that part Of
the heavens which lay toward the
plane Of the disk would necae~
shine with the brightness of - sun.
Proctor, though finding 1t impcssih'" >"
define any particular shape fol - VS.
ible universe, as a whole, was Of "
opinion that the brightest part vr 1t
namely, the Milky Way-was in the
form of a spiral. This latter theory,
however, has many objections to con-
tend with. Other astronomers have
had different theories ON this question,
but all, or nearly all, appear to admit
an ultimate limit to the size of the visi-
BILE universe, or, in other words, believe
that the GALAXY Of worlds which sur.
round us form, in fact, but a n islet In
the vast inf1nity Of space.
1t would appear at first sight that
any attempt to solve the question OF
the existence Of external galaxies and
their distance was absolutely futile, yet
such is not the case. The result OF cal
culation is that the nearest external
universe is so far distant that light
from it travelling at the speed Of 1885,
600 miles a second would take nearly
leo, 100000 years to reach us-Cham'
bers' Journal.
The Sweet Girls Way.
After a girl has worked for sl1
months to get a young man, lying
awake nights to think up new scheme:
Of fascination, it is amazing to witness
the GOODNESS with which she can lOol
up into his eyes after he has finally
proposed and murmur tenderly. "Io'
hypnotist!"-Somerville Journal.
The O. Jimmy
Whv does the burglar call the too
with which he opens windows ant
r. h.