The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-05-18
Today's Science
Copyright. 1891
BY DAVID DIETZ-

NUR galaxy of stars, which astronomers have as
~ Sumed for half century to have the shape of
a great f1attened wheel or disk, may actually be
sphere. This startling conclusion put forward in
London England, by DR. Harlow Shapley, director OF
the Harvard college observatory.
DR.. Shapley delivered the annual Darwin lecture
before the Royal Society. The invitation to give this
lecture is signal honor IN the world OF science
Speaking upon the subject of Some Structural Fea
lures of the MetagaaXy" DR.. Shapley discussed new
conclusions concerning both our own galaxy or Milky
Way and the millions of other galaxes, the So-caled
spiral nebulae, which exist in space at immense dis
tanceS from galaxy.
These conclusions were reached a result of the
eighteenth magnitude survey" now in progress at
the two stations of the Harvard observatory the Oak
Ridge station Cambridge, Mass, and the south
ern station in South Africa.
The problem of the shape of our own galaxy is an
extremely difficult since solar system is
situated in the midst of it. 1t is problem similar
to that of estimating the size and shape of woods
when you are in the midst of it.
lust as you might attempt to estimate the Struc-
u ture of the woods by noting the density of the
trees in various directions so astronomers attempt
estimate the structure of the galaxy by measuring
the density of stars in various parts of the sky.
The distribution of the majority of stars indi-
Gates that our system is a highly fatened discoid
DR.. Shapey said and it has generally been assumed
that this distribution holds for all the stars.
There is however. increasing evidence that for
some types of stars our galaxy may be nearly
spherical, he continued.
According to the older measurements it was as
Sumed that galaxy about 100000 light years
in diameter and about 10000 light years thick. "a
light year is six trilon mileS)
New measurements made in the course of studies
of variable the Harvard observatory indicate
that the thickness of galaxy not less than u.s.
900 light years, DR.. Shapley said.
This makes our galaxy very nearly spherical in
shape.
= MAT certain types of stars IN the great Anoro-
media spiral also show approximately spherical
distribution indicated by recent Harvard measures
on the extent of this nearby spiral galaxy, DR.. Shap
ley said.
The greatest portion of the stars in this system
fall into an elongated attened spiral FORM with the
long diameter about four times the short diameter,
he continued. But measures along this minor axis
made with an instrument sensitive to very fine diff
ferences in light, he revealed, result in value
five times that heretofore assigned from the photo
graphs with the large rehectors.
DR.. Shapley also said that the length is shown
by the Short-focus patrol photographs TO be
nearly double that derived from visual examination
of the reflector photographs.
These studies of the Andromeda nebula might be
summarized as indicating that the Andromeda re-
sembleS own galaxy both in size and in diStri-
button of the stars forming it. most of them being
within fattened diSc-shape. but enough outside OF
it to give the nebula as whole spheroidal form.