Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-13
Recently Discovered Family
of Neighbors of Sun intro
duced by Or. SeareS.
RESULTS FROM STUDY
OF GALACTIC POSITION
Universe on Way to Extinction,
Sir James Jeans Declares in
Annual Statement.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.

- newly discovered family OF cOsn1ic
neighbors of the sun-the local system
is introduced by DR.. Frederick II.
Seares, assistant director of the Mount
Wilson Observatory, in the annual re-
port Of the Smithsonian Institution,
issued today.
This Is an aggregation Of several mil
lions of stars, with the sun and the
planets about 1900. OOO. 900, 100000 miles
from its center, with a radius O. about
100. 0o0. 900, 600, 100000 miles. This sys-
tenn, he says, seems to center in a group
Of very hot, massive stars with q large
amount Of helium in their makeup,
which can be observed extending for
approximately 5000, 600, OOo, 900, 900 miles
in the direction of the Milky Way.
These form, Mr.. Seares believes, the
nucleus of a group which includes most
Of the stars visible from the earth or
those down to one-sixth the brightness
which can be observed with the naked
eye. This seems to be one of the cos
mic units. In it the sun and the
planets are immersed In close relation
ship. The unit itself is immersed in a
much larger unit, the Milky Way gall
axy. with several billion stars, which
includes about everything that can be
seen In the heavens. The galaxy itself
them more than 5000, 900 900 00O, 000,-
600 miles distant, which are the major
units Of creation as now known to
astronomers.
Galaxic Position Studied.
Discovery of the new cosnic unit.
Mr.. Seares reports, resulted from ef-
forts to determine the actual position
Of the sun IN the galaxy itself with re-
lation to the center. This galaxy gen.
orally has been pictured as Of approx
mately the shape of q lens, with an ac-
emulation of stars In all directions
about the center and progressive
thinning out toward the edges. The
sun has been assumed TO be near the
center of this lens because of the COM
parative thickness of the stars about it.
It was found, however, that the APP
proximate galactic center shifted mark
eddy when only stars up to the sixth
magnitude, or one-sixth naked eye Wis
Utility, were counted and when the vast
multitude Of fainter stars which left an
impression on Photographic plates were
included. Thus was deduced the ex-
istence of q system within system.
AS q result, SeaTeS says, the direc-
ton of the center of the great galactic
system turns out TO be Just the oppo-
site of that to be expected were the To-
cal system not present" He estimates
that about three-fourthg of all the stars
in the SUMS immediate neighborhood
In space belong to the local system, in
GLIDING some down to one-sixteenth
naked eye visibility.
With allowances made for the local
system, he reports, the earth and sun
seem to be roughly about 800 ,000, 00O,-
000, 000,00 miles from the center OF
the Milky Way galaxy, or the center
of all creation from an earthly views
point. Star systems of similar magnty
tude in distant space take the forn3
of all spiral with a great accumula.A
ton of stars in the center and a thinS
ming out along the arms. There Is
considerable reason to believe, Seares
holds, that this is also the shape of
the Milky Way system, although this
form cannot be observed from the earth
because of great clouds of opaque ma
terial The whole system, he believes,
may be considered as of about 100000
light years across with the sun and
planets approximately half way be-
tween the center and the edge.
Sir James Jeans Reports.
In the arms Of spiral nebulae are
"knots" of stars The local system, he
believes, may be just such close
packed aggregation. In other words We
are part OF q knot in the tail of crea-
ton. "Or," he says, lit may be more
or less independent organization Of stars
entangled within the larger system. In-
stances of the close juxtaposition of two
spirals, for example, are not unknown.
The only safe conclusion at present Is
that a local system of unexpected rich
ness and size exists"
The universe Is on its way to ex-
tinction with no possibility of q re-
verse process, Sir James Jeans, secretary
Of the British Royal Society, says in the
annual report.
All the material substance in the
stars, he says by the latest inteEpre-
tations of the laws of thermodynamics
must eventually dissolve into radiation,
while conditions become more and more
impossible for a return of radiation
into matter.
He denies the contention previously
advanced by Prof. Robert A. Milliken
that the mysterious cosmic rays bonn
harding the earth from space result
from the recreation of matter. He IN
sists that the wave length Of the most
penetrating Of these rays is almost ex-
actly what would be predicted for the
complete humiliation Of atoms.
Rate Of Decline Figured.
The mass of the sun is declining, in
the form of light, heat and other radia-
ton, at the rate of 250,00O,000 tons g
minute, Jeans calculates, and this proc
ess has been going on for some 70O0,-
600, 100000 years, so that it now is
only small fraction of its original
size. The earth also is losing by radia-
ton into space, the famous astronomer
calculates, about an ounce a minute
from the disintegration of Its radio
active elements. such as uranium. This
is more than compensated for, however.
by falls of meteorS and cosmic dust.
The cause of the enormous radiation
proceeding from the sun and previous
stars. Jeans says, cannot be determined
by any similar event happening on
earth. because there are no comparable
conditions Of heat and pressure.
Although ultimate end of all things
is clear to the physical astronomer, he
says, there Is complete ignorance as to
how the universe began, although there
might be naturalistic Interpretation
of the pouring Of an immense amount
Of radiation Of the wave length of cos
mic waves and lower into empty space.
But the newer theories, he declares, con-
slider space, time and mass inseparahly
connected In the structure nf the likti~