The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-05
A CELESTIAL COLLISION

A CELESTIAL COLLISION
 Nearly all the great dailieS have been editorializing about the sudden brightening of the star Beta Ceti, which can be seen in the late evening sky to the southwest. The star, always visible as pin point of light, has increased its magnitude some ten or fifteen times and by astronomers is believed to be burning itself up. A dark planet or satalite incredibly speeding on its way somewhere is supposed to have collided with it. There is speculation as to what such a collision would do to the earth if it should happen. The authorities say our little globe would be burnt to a cinder. If some stray celestial traveller were to hit the sun our sphere might only be scorched, but the water might be all dried up by the bursting heat. In any event the mite called man wouldn t be at all. His spiritual possibilities would promptly have to develop, and whether we were all ready or not for that test the going would be all dried up by the bursting heat. fort to us lies in the thought that when we go like that we are leaving nothing behind and there is nothing to stay for or to regret. An event in the heavens such as is now going on naturally calls forth free-hand spec ulations, however, as well as scientific ones. The New York World has taken try in the matter as follows:
 When the star Beta Ceti broke into
 the newspaper front pages Tuesday, The
 World summoned its celestial epert to
 do some fancy figuring. He has just
 completed the job, pale and trembling.
 Professor Russell of Princeton said
 Beta Ceti is eighty light years away.
 Accordingly, The Worlds genius retired
 for day and when he emerged last
 night he announced that:
 If Beta Cet was set afire by collision
 with another star, as reported, the sound
 of the crash will not be heard on the
 earth for sixty million years. That's
 longer than it takes to compute an In-
 come tax.
 By that time we will all be half as
 old again as that prehistoric skull which
 Professor Wolf came across in Pata-
 gonia the other day. King Tutank-
 hamen is only 5000 odd years old-a
 baby compared to what we will be when
 the impact of that tremendous crash
 reaches our ears.
 If train left at once for Beta Ceti,
 speeding along at mile a minute, it
 would keep going for nine hundred mill
 lion years before it would arrive, which
 
 way train to go from Park Place to the
 Bronx.
 To find the number of miles that
 train would travel the reader can figure
 out how many minutes there are in nine
 hundred million years. The Worlds
 demon figurer fainted at that point.
 But apart from figures mad such, and to get little closer to the kernel of the ques- ton as affecting us, what would be the state of affairs on this earth if we knew as definitely as possible that the same kind of astronomical bullet, the same kind of celes- tial combustible, that hit Beta Ceti was go- ing to hit us in exactly one weeks time? |? That on next Sunday morning everything would be nothing? Our imagination has been considerably on the stretch concerning this faraway star, but it seems to balk at this last picture. Members of all families look ing at each for the last time, all money making stopped-all probably stilled in a great straining of faces toward the un- known.-We can't picture it. It is much easier to play with figures about Beta Ceti ROBBERIES FROM THE 'INSIDE''
 Train No. 32 of the New York Central has been robbed twice within the past ten days, and in very unusual way. It is 3 solid mail train carrying packages contain ing there is no telling how many millions Nearly all are destined for foreign countries The train is one of the fastest, making only two stops between Chicago and New York Armed guards surround it at these stations and about ten or more accompany it all the way through, notwithstanding that all doors are locked with impregnable devices Yet packages and pouches of great value were twice stolen from it. Last Sunday some time after this train had pulled into the Grand Central station, ending it's thun. along the tracks of the Park avenue tunne carrying a package and dragging a mai pouch behind him. After the watchman hac yelled at him a time or two the man dropped the heavy pouch and went up ladder lead ing to the street above. He got away with at least one very valuable package which was addressed to foreign country anG registered.
 It is supposed that in spite of all the guards and other precautionary measures the robber had boarded the train at Albany when the flyer stopped there. A dozer clerks also got on at Albany Inspector: are working on the theory that this robbery as well as the similar one shortly before