The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-12-22
LICK OBSERVER
FINDSTHREE
NEWBORN STARS
American and National
League Owners "Talk-
ing Things Over
"Island Universe" Theory
Is Strengthened by
the Discovery

Berkeley, Calf, Dec. 22.-Three
newborn stars, which blazed up as a
result Of collisions or other disasters
| in two other far-distant spiral
nebulae, and then within a few
months dimmed their fires until they
could no longer be detected by the
most powerful telescopes-have been
discovered by Heber d. Curtis Of the
Lick observatory Of the University
Of California. He believes that it is
| perhaps twenty million years since
these catatstrophes occurred, but so
vastly distant are the two spiral
nebuias that only now has the light
sent forth completed its journey
through space.
The special Importance of the dis
covery is the evidence given in sup
port Of the belief that each Of the
spiral nebulae outside OF the milky
way is in itself an enormous universe
Of stars, comparable in vastness TO
the milky way, in which We dwell
That the milky way itself Is q vast
spiral nebulae Is an opinion which is
finding increased support among
astronomers. .t
Not In Our Universe. go.
Especially significant Is the fact
that the three stars just discovered
are in spiral nebulae, and not in our
own universe. Astronomer Curtis
discovery doubles the number of new
stars discovered in spiral nebulae,
since only three had previously been
recorded, although twenty-six new
stars have been recorded In our own
galaxy.
No human eye has seen the three
stars-they were found by DIR. Curtis
on stellar photographs. Recently he
examined a photograph taken March
20, 1915, with the great Crosley re-
fiecting telescope at the Lick obser-
vatory. The subject Of this photo
graph was the nebulae known as N.
@. G. 4527. On the plate he found the
image of q star which did not show
on a photograph OF the same region
taken two months earlier. Examina-
ton of a photograph taken a month
later showed that this new star had
grown fainter; on a photograph
taken six weeks later 1t was barely
perceptible, and then it faded from
the telescopes Photographic eye.
Both the other stars were found In
the same way by photographs OF
spiral nebulae N, @. G. 1921. The first
of these, Nova A., was first photo
graphed with the Grossley telescope
at the Lick observatory on March IL,
1901, and twice in the following
month, but It was not detected until
this year, and by that time had long
faded from possibility Of observing
or photographing. The second new
star in this same spiral nebulae, Nova
B., was photographed on March 2,
1914, but not detected until this year.
Several Photographic taken since
April, 1915. reveal no trace Of 1t.
Strengthen "lsland" Theory.
The greatest value Of the discover
ies is the opportunity they have af-
forded Astronomer Curtis to
strengthen the island universe"
theory Of the spiral nebulae. This
theory Is that each Of the spiral
nebulae is in itself q collection of
suns at an almost unthinkable dis
lance from our own universe.
The new stars just found showed
an average brightness Of about the
fifteenth magnitude. A star Of the
fifteenth magnitude in our own
galaxy would be twenty thousand
light years away-that is to say, 1t
would take twenty thousand years
for the light to come from such a
star although light travels at the rate
Of one hundred and eighty-six thou
sand miles q second. DIR. Curtis
thinks these new stars may possibly
have been the thirtieth magnitude
before their outburst, and so as far
as twenty million light years distant.
He points out that the six new stars
discovered in spiral nebulae are on
the average ten magnitudes fainter,
and therefore a hundred times as far
away as the average OF the twenty
six new stars which have been
recorded In the milky way.