The Detroit times., 1911-01-06
AMERICAN WOMAN
FOUND THREE NEW
SUNS IN 1910
Mrs. Fleming, Who Does Her Work
At Home, Has Found Ten Dazzling
Brothers of Our Sun in
Past Decade.
Other Women of United States Also
Make Important Sky
Discoveries.
BY w. c. SHEPHERD.

in space, hundreds OF years ago, a
new sun was born. We don [ know
how mass OF matter greater than
our sun was set ahame. Its rays
flashed out into space at rate OF
almost 100000 miles minute. Year
after year they sped, while men on
this earth were born and lived and
died.
AT last, one day last June, these
rays completed their journey TO the
earth. They were very faint and
weak, for they had travelled fast and
far. But no one on earth saw them
come. No learned scientist welcomed
them then.
In October of last year, there was
gathering OF the worlds greatest
astronomers in the United States. On
the morning of the 18th of October
they were the guests of Prof. Edward
s. Pickering, head of the Harvard OBJ
servatory, and they came, wise, large
ly bewhiskered, and carrying, many
of them, just a little bit OF the polite
scorn which European scientists are
inclined TO hold for the scientific
methods OF the new world.
Across the street from the obserya'
tory Mrs. Wilhelmina Fleming arose
from the breakfast table, cleared the
table, swept the dining room, washed
the dishes, and when the grocery man
came, ordered the days supply OF food
from him. She wrote her usual daily
letter to her 20-year-old son. In
Utah mining town, and then she went
across the street to the observatory
where. day after day, for 20 years,
she had studied the Photographic
plates of the heavens.
She was at her desk with smiling
morning face when Prof Pickering
and the great scientists passed
through the room, a mighty train Of
wisdom. Prof. Pickering stopped and
said in pleasantly: You haven't
found new sun for many days. Can't
you find us one?"
I'm see what | can do replied
Mrs. Fleming. Here are some boxes
of plates from Peru that | haven't
opened There may be new sun in
them"
The scientists were absent from
the room about 20 minutes. In the
meantime, following her daily routine,
Mrs. Fleming began TO scan the new
plates, reading the ribbon-like marks,
each enc of which means star or a
sun, with an expert eye.
Suddenly in the mass OF lines on
plate, her marvelously developed sight
caught a new queer-looking line. She
FASTENED to find other camera plates
which had been taken on previous
evenings. There IL was on them
the story of the new sun, told by the
weak faint rays that had travelled
millions OF miles. But the plates
taken before June did not show the
presence of rays. That meant that
the sun. as new suns go. was almost
brand new to this earth.
When the scientists returned TO the
room, Prof Pickering, following out
his Joke, said smilingly. We'll, did
the boxes contain new sum-
They did" said Mrs. Fleming.
AS the scientists gathered about the
woman, she showed them her discov-
cry on the plates.
And that night, when darkness had
fallen, the eye OF the great Harvard
telescope asturned TO the heavens
where the new sun had been born,
and the leading astronomers of the
world marveled as they saw the
stranger which had been found by a
woman.
OF the IL new suns discovered dur
ing the past % years, Mrs. Fleming
found ten. During the year 1910 she
found two, one on Oct. and one on
Oct. 13. A third new sun was dis
covered by another woman at the
Harvard observatory, Miss L. j. Can
non. The date of her discovery was
Nov. IL.
I'm to within the last few days OF
the year, ii looked as If American
women held supreme honors for the
year in topher-Columbusing the
skies. but on the evening OF Dec. 80,
DR.. Espin of England found a new sun.
He cabled the discovery to the Har-
ward observatory. The women there
there are IS Of them-hurried to the
camera plates, and within half an
hour they were able to tell !Dr. Espln,
by cable, more about the new sun he
had discovered than he could ever
| find out himself.
I'VE would have found IL ourselves
in time" said Mrs. Fleming
| Miss S. Leavitt, OF Harvard, has
| also found one new sun In her life
time, and in previous year Miss
Cannon discovered another. Thus, or
II new suns found in the last quarter
century, these three American women
1 have found -.
Male scientists have found four.
How does 1t seem to discover a
new SUM-" asked Mrs. Willimina
| Fleming
Thrilling! Thrilling" she exclaim-
ed. 1T is worth years of work.
| began IL when Prof. Pickering first
established the ~ stencil PhotosTafal'-
| Ing the heavens on every clear night.
over a quarter of century ago. All
OF my discoveries have been made
| from photographs that have been TAX
en- through glass prisms.
These prisms separate the rays OF
| light and show what different mater
ials are burning in each sun II "A
sun is new one. there Will be a
great consumption OF oxygen. The
photograph will appear as picture
of a section of the rainbow. read
\ the bars of colors. just as IL were
j locking at very small photograph OF
a small piece of many-hued ribbon.
II takes years of training to tell tie
- al 49,. 81 80.