The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-05-17
Today's Science

THE discovery of great clouds of galaxies clouds
containing tens of thousands of galaxies, each
of which is in itself a collection of billions of
stars. announced by Dr. Harlow Shapley director of
the Harvard college observatory.
DR.. Shapley made his announcement in London
England. where he had been invited by the Royal
Society, Englands most famous scientific society," to
deliver the annual Darwin lecture one of the high
st honors in the world of science.
DR.. Shapley spoke upon Some Structural Fea-
lures of the Metagalaxy.' 1t based upon studies
of the distant spiral nebulae which have been car
red by DR. Shapey and his associates at the Har-
ward observatory and at the South African station
of the observatory.
Our own system of stars the milky way is known
to astronomers a galaxy. At immense distances
from our own galaxy are objects which look in the
telescope like the pinwheels shot off on Fourth of
July. Originally called spiral nebulae, they are
known now to be galaXies of stars not unlike our
milky way.
1t has been known now for several years chiefly
through the work of Drs. Shapley and Hubble that
these gaaxies often found groups of from
half dozen or so to several hundred.
To these groups DR.. Shapey I've the of
supergalaxies. He uses the term "metagalaxy" to
designate the entire visible universe.
A STUDY of the distribution of galaxies has led
to indication of very extensive concentration
in certain regions of the sky. Dr. Shapley told his
listeners. These clouds of galaxies very much
larger than the supergalaXies he said.
Whereas the largest of the supergalaxies contains
a few hundred individual gaaxieS these newly dis
SupergalaXy of the largest size known will have
diameter of about half a megaparsec
A megaparSec is a unit of measure which aStron-
OmerS have found necessary in dealing with the uni
at large Within our galaxy the familiar yard
stick is the light year the distance light travels in
year. 1t is six trlion miles
1t takes 3260000 light years to make one mega
parSec If you want the figure in miles it is twenty
quintillion miles.
The newly discovered clouds of galaxies have d-
ameters Of as much as fifty megaparsecs, DR.. Shap-
ley said.
There are wide irregularities in the way in which
the galaxies are scattered in space.
The Harvard survey of distant nebuac has COW
cred the distribution of gaaxies in space to dis
lance of about hundred million light years
THIS survey of space has brought to light many
thousands Of previously unknown galaxieS Dr.
Shapley said. Studies made at the South African
station have revealed to date 100000 new galaxes
he said.
Observations made at the Oak Ridge station
which is located few miles from the Harvard OBJ
servatory IN Cambridge Mass, have revealed new
galaxies although not nearly so many About 5000
new ones have been found there
In order to determine the way in which these
galaxies are scattered in space the Harvard OBJ
servers have made determinations to date of the
brightness Of about 10000 of the newly discovered
galaxies.
The Harvard survey, one of the most extensive
ever undertaken by an observatory, is known tech
nicaly as the Eighteenth Magnitude Survey because
II includes all objects down TO the faintneSS of an
eighteenth magnitude star.