Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1916-10-21
SECRETS OF SPACE
What Might BE Revealed if Ma
ture Lifted the Veil.
WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE.

Evidence That What We Call the Uri-
verse Is Only Part of Far Grander
and Perhaps Infinite System of Suns
and Worlds and Planets.
Men of science have found reasons
for believing that there may be, far
off in infinite space, other material
systems besides the one visible to us.
We seem to be able with modern tele-
scopes 10 reach the boundaries or
farthest limits Of the stellar system
TO which our sun belongs.
1t is found that with increase of dis
lance the relative number of stars de-
creases until, In most directions at
least, a point is reached beyond which
virtually no more stars can be seen.
Then, too 1t has been found that the
stellar system has a fairly definite
shape-a fact which in itself implies
boundaries. The shape is that of a
vast spiral, with curving arms sur
rounding Il central agglomeration. If
you will imagine floating In the middle
of the room where you sit a roughly
globular swarm OF bright particles
distributed with a fair degree OF uni
form,ty as to distance from one an
other and then outside of the swarm
surrounding it, but separated from 1t
by a space which is nearly but not
quite empty, an irregular spiral ring
OF similar shining particles, you Will
have before you picture OF one of
the latest astronomical conceptions OF
the form Of the visible universe.
The central swarm viii represent the
assemblage of stars Of which our sun
is a modest member. while the envel
oping spiral will represent the i'm
mense system of the Milky way, whose
stars are vastly more numerous than
those composing the globular swarm.
TIE stars of the Milky way are the
most distant members Of the entire
system, which appears to be shut In
all arounl by black space. Viewed
from afar off In the ebOn depths of
that space this universe of ours would
resemble a phosphorescent jellyfsh,
with family sparkling tentacles, afoat
in the sea Of immensely
This beii L SO, the question naturally
arises, May there not be. or must there
not be, an indefinite number of other
such systems scattered through the
limitless e.,panse of spacef That ques
ton would forever remain matter of
pure conjecture If we did not have GER
tain vety suggestive facts which seem
to indicate that 1t ought to be an
swered In the affirmative
The fac 3 Of which | speak are OBJ
Jects Of V sual observation But that
does not ecessarily make them parts
OF the wis. BILE universe" because they
appear 10 lie unconnected with it and
10 lie beyond its boundaries
These objects are known as spiral
nebulae, The photographs that have
been made of them In the past few
years are simply amazing The forms
OF many are surprisingly like that
which has been described above as
characteri2ing the stellar system They
have central agglomerations with en-.
VelopinE sp!rals They have knots OF
Eight which recall the globular clusters
of stars found In the visible universe,
but they are SO distant that no sepa-
rate stars can be detected in them.
They look like masses of more or less
condensed glowing gas. but the spec
troscope shows that the light coming
from them Is not that which is charac.
teristlc of gaseous nebulae. but that
which belongs to true stars The infu-
ence is that these wonderful objects
may actually be other uuiverscs lying
out IN the ocean of space beyond our
shores
This inference Is strengthened by
what we know of the distance OF some
of these objects The utmost diameter