Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-07
COSM|C NUCLEUS
Of SKIES SOUGHT
BY ASTRONOMERS
Dr.. ShapIey Explains Nature
of Search Being Conducted
by Scientists.
GALAXlES OF GALAXIES
REV0LVE IN HEAVENS
Solar System But Dwarf Member
of Galaxy, Including About
10000, 100000 Stars.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

which the Milky Way system, of which
the earth and the sun are a part, is
only a single galaxy
The nature of this search was ex-
planned by DR.. Harlow Shapley, direc-
tor of the Harvard Observatory, in a
lecture at Central High School audi
torium last night. Much progress al
ready has been made under DR.. Shap-
ley's direction In penetrating toward
this cosmic center. The work is being
carried on at two obServatories, one in
Cambridge for observation of the north
ern heavens and one in South Africa
for study of the much richer astronom-
ical material of the southern heavens.
The sun and the solar system. DR..
Shapley explained. is a dwarf member
of galaxy which includes about 80
100000 stars at great distances
apart, of which the nearest Alpha
Centauri in the Southern Hemisphere,
about $4,000, 900, 100000 miles away, so
that it takes light from this next door
neighbor approximately four years to
reach the earth.
The earth is in the inside of a lens
like distribution of these 10000, 900, 900
stars and the outlook from the earth
toward the Milky Way is toward the
rims of the disk
Formerly the earth was believed to
be approximately in the center of this
galaxy but within the past few years
evidence has accumulated that it act
ually is about 200 light years away from
the actual center where the telescopes
have revealed vast conglomeration of
stars and star clusters. which apparently
act as a central nucleus for the Milky
Way galactic system just as the sun is
a central nucleus for the eight planets
which revolve around it.
Whirl at High Speeds.
Around this galactic nucleus, DR..
Shapley said, the majority of the 30
100000 900 stars and star systems are
whirling at high speeds, varying ac-
cording to their distance from the CEN
ter. 1t requires approximately 100000
900 years to make one complete turn.
constituting single galactic day, COM
pared to the 24-hour day of the earth.
The Harvard astronomers now are try
ing to find the actual speed of the
heavenly bodies in this galactic revo-
luton.
This vast galactic system. DR.. Shap-
ley pointed out, really Is only the start
ing point of the exploration of the
heavens. At incredible distances beyond
1t are other galactic systems, the exist
ence of which was hardly dreamed of
few years ago. These are sometimes
discernible to the naked eye in the
form of luminous, tiny clouds among
the stars. which were formerly consid-
cred as nebulae creating stars. About
five years ago, however. it was possible
to detect in these luminous patches
stars with alternating periods of bright
ness and dimness. by which it was pos
Sible to measure the distance 1t turned
out to be approximately million light
years for the nearest
The discovery of the cephid variables
in the nebulae by an astronomer of the
Carnegie Institution of Washington
practically was conclusive proof that
each of these luminous patches was
not part of the Milky Way galactic
system. but system in itself. None yet
found, however, have approached the
size of the Milky Way galaxy.
Astronomers Set to Work.
Once the determination was made that
the great nebulae were island uni
verses the Harvard astronomers set to
work to discover more of them and map
their approximate locations in relation
to each other and to the galaxy of
which the earth is part. Between
Arcturus and Regulus in the Northern
heavens the galaxies have been found
particularly massed, leading to the
theory that they may be companions
of the Milky Way galaxy in a single
galaxy of galaXies.
Thus far the Harvard astronomers
have discovered ATS such galaxies.
One girl worker in the Cambridge labo-
ratory has discovered about 1000. Near
lev, I.oF kka
work started
DR.. Shapley and his associates have
found one system of galaXieS which is
approximately 100000 light years
across, compared to about 100000 light
years for the Milky Way system. This
is the Coma Virgo cloud, named for the
stars which lie in the path OF Its light
! rays coming to the earth, about midway
between Arcturus and Regulus. The
center of this GALAXY is about II ,000,00
light years from the earth.
Even with this, DR.. Shapley said, the
astronomers search for the center of
all things has only started, for there
still are apparently endless stretches of
space beyond which there is no reason
| to suppose voidS exist. Dim and distant
beyond the Coma Virgo cloud, the sky
photographs have revealed three or four
other star clouds.
Thus far As galaxies of galaxies have
been located Dr. Shapley pointed out how
ever, that there is accommodating evi.
dence for the belief that the galaxies
of galaxies themselves may be only
units in a still lighter cosmic system
Apparently, he said, none of the great
| galaxies are entirely independent of
each other. despite the distances be-
tween them, but are attached across
space by some slight gravitational at
tached to the other planets and the
sun to stars in its system.
Battery of Six Telescopes.
The distant star clouds are discovered
| by star photography Those being made
at the South African station of the
Harvard Observatory have proved es-
pecially valuable and soon the univer-
| sity will have battery of six tele-
scopes in this section. The photo
graphs are forwarded to Cambridge
where the actual work of discovery and
coordination is carried on in the as
Economical laboratory
The actual center of the Mily Way
galaxy, DR.. Shapley said, cannot be
seen from the earth since it is screened
by one of the mysterious clouds of
heavens. These clouds of darkness. he
said, probably are made up in part of
such material as constitutes the tails
of comets, which, escape into space,
meteors, and possibly dead planets and
dead suns.