Evening star., 1939-11-21
Of Storsv Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

By Thomas r. Henry.
Finding of a titanic crown of the
universe, set with flashing stars like
diamonds, has just been reported to the
National Academy of Sciences by Dr.
Harlow shapley, professor of astronomy
at Harvard University.
This crown around the 10000, 900 ,0O0-
star milky way galaxy, which includes
all the visible heavens, is described by
DR.. Shapley as spherical in shape and
extending to distances as great as 24O,-
900 900 900, 100000 miles from the center
OF the system 1t is compared to the
corona of pearl-hued luminescense
around the sun which is visible at times
OF total eclipse. The suns crown, how
ever, consists of an extremely tenuous
atmosphere of gasses reaching far into
space while the crown of the stellar
system consists of actual stars, some of
them thousands of times brighter than
the sun itself, scattered in the vast bor-
derland of the galaxy.
The discovery, based on 10 years pa
tient study Of Photographic plates ex-
posed IN the Southern Hemisphere
through open windows of creation, great
ly increases the estimated dimensions
OF the milky way galaxy. The most
distant and highly dispersed objects,
Dr. Shapley says in his report to the
National Academy, still are close enough
TO be within the gravitational attrac-
ton OF the galaxy as a whole. They
nave not been sufficiently dispersed to
come into the pull of the clouds of Ma
geilan-smaller aggregations of stars
similar in structure to the milky way
galaxy and having a somewhat similar
relation to it as the moon to the earth
Hence, however distant, they must be
considered as actual parts of the galaxy.
observations of other star systems.
DR.. Shapley says, confirm the observa-
tions that Grown of stars" is a COM
mon phenomenon of galaxies. It is al
ways spheroidal in shape, whatever the
form OF the underlying structure. Such
crown Is now known to exist around
the great Andromeda nebulae, the first
OF the outer star systems comparable
TO the milky way galaxy in size to be
discovered. The two clouds of Magel-
IAN also nave such coronas, envelopes
In which are found scattered giant stars,
star clusters and stars which vary in
their brightness from month to month.
+* X
More than 10000 fish specimens have
oeen added to the collections of the
United States National Museum by DR.,
Leonard P. Schultz curator of fishes
VINO TOOK part In the Navy survey ex-
petition to the Phoenix Islands last
summer. There are several species new
10 science. He also brought back manv
lizards, birds, crustaceans, insects and
corals.
The expedition was without adventure
except for one encounter with an octo-
pus. While collecting in three or four
1eet OF water with the assistance of one
OF the men from the ship, DR.. Schultz
saw the six-foot creature slither out
from under rock and swim SLOWLY
towards him, evidently attracted by his
black and white tennis shoes
MY helper moved suddenly and If
darted back" he said. After a patient
wait its curiosity got the best of it and
1t came out again. 1t came closer and
closer and just as it seemed about to
wrap its tentacles around the object of
its curiosity, my shoes, I clapped the
big net over it and succeeded in captur-
ing it. When I looked up my helper
was far away up the beach"
The expedition left San Diego last
spring. DR.. Schultz took every oppor-
tunlty to collect specimens, with spe-
cial success on SWANS, Canton, Ender-
bury, Tutiila, Rose and Hull Islands
Among the interesting mollusks brought
back were several specimens of the
tridacno, the .clam-like creature that
IN the East Indian seas, reaches a
length of three feet and weighs about
600 pounds. Those collected by Dr.
Schultz were smaller, averaging about
foot in length.
X
The winter migration Of familiar song
birds OF North America to the tropics
| during the winter entails an enormous
loss OF life, according to observations of
Dr. Alexander Wetmore, assistant secre-
tary of the Smithsonian Institution,
DR.. Wetmore describes his unusual ex-
perience of standing on the coast of
Venezuela and watching these birds ar
rive across the Caribbean, exhausted
and emaciated from their long journey
They included sand pipers, yellowlegs
bobolinks, barn swallows and warblers
Says DR.. Wetmore: There was
brought home to me more definitely
than ever before the great loss of life
which this journey entails The vast.
age OF modern battlefields, although
terrible beyond words. is nothing in
comparison. Here on this open shore
small feathered migrants often made a
iandfal in a state of evident exhaustion
In the early morning I found little
groups of them feeding Istlessly on the
short herbage of the open flats where
| they hoped slowly about in search OF
| food. Some obviously had barely made
| landfall after an exhausting sea jour-
ney, and in some of those that I han
| died the flight muscles that move the
wings were reduced To thin hands