Evening star., 1939-03-28

Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.
Midget stars, white-hot. weighing sew
eral tons cubic inch literally great balls
Of solid gas in the stellar universe, will
be the special objects of investigation
with the worlds second largest telescope,
which will go into operation in May
from the summit Of q desert mountain
in West Texas.
Sponsored jointly by the Universities
of Chicago and Texas, the great reflect
ing instrument with lens 81 inches in
the Mcdonald Observatory on Mount
Locke in the Davis Mountains near
Alpine at an elevation Of $500 feet, is
expected to throw light on some OF the
outstanding unsolved problems Of the
heavens.
1t now is exceeded in size only by the
100-inch telescope Of the Carnegie In
stitution of Washington on Mount
Wilson, Calf This soon will be eclipsed
by the 2oo-inch telescope being set up on
nearby Mount Palomar. The three are
expected to work in different fields. The
larger telescopes are to be devoted largely
to study Of the extra -galactic nebulae,
aggregations Of billions Of stars COM
parable in size to the whole Milky Way
galaxy which lie millions of light years
beyond the limits Of this stellar system
The Texas observatory will work on the
unsolved problems within the Milky Way
galaxy itself, Of which the white dwarfs
are an outstanding example.
Another matter for immediate investi-
cation will be the masses Of flowing gas
some Of them hundreds Of light years in
radius, which clutter the galaxy and
sometimes form impenetrable curtains
hiding the stars beyond.
Although their existence has been
known for the past 20 years, the majority
Of the white dwarfs have been discovered
by DR.. Gerard P. Kuiper Of the Yerkes
Observatory Of the University Of Chi
cago with much smaller Instruments
He will be one Of the first to use the new
instrument.
AS distinct objects these tiny stars
are invisible even with the most power
full telescopes. Their existence can be
deduced from their graWtational pull
on visible stars and something Of their
structure and density from analysis Of
the light received from them. They con-
stitute a state Of matter completely
unknown and unduplicable on earth. A
bit Of the substance OF one Of them as
big as a marble would weigh at least a
ton. Physicists call 1t degenerate
matter" probably composed Of the closely
packed nuclei Of atoms. DR.. Kuiper's
first objective will be to find more OF
them 50 that quantitative comparisons
can be made and some clue gained as to
their distribution in space.
The next important research will be
the photography Of several nebulae Of
glowing hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
the existence Of which has been inferred
from study Of spectra Of celestial space.
Hitherto 1t has been impossible to obtain
direct photographs of them. The whole
universe Of stars, the astronomers now
believe. is enveloped in these titanic
| clouds, which may represent the ultimate
disintegration OF the stars and planets.
| Eventually all may dissolve into just such
| cloud filling all galactic space, with
thicker patches here and there repre-
senting the initial steps toward the Gre
alton of new universe and a new life.
At the beginning Of time all things may
have emerged out Of just such cloud,
more tenuous than the nearest perfect
vacuum ever achieved on earth.
Attention will be devoted particularly
to interstellar hydrogen. This gas Is
probably the most widely distributed
substance in the universe. It is the
simplest and lghtest of the elements,
presumably the mother of crea-
tion," that which was in the beginning
and out of which everything else has
been built up. The atmosphere of the
earth has almost completely lost its sup
ply of this gas. Some Of 1t has been
combined with oxygen to form water, but
most Of it has simply escaped into space.
The hydrogen atom is so light that it
can easily break loose from the gravi-
rational pull Of the earth. The stars and
the gas clouds Of space contain enor-
nous amounts of it.
Some special information concerning
the hydrogen atom can be secured only
from the study of very faint stars, for
which the new telescope is especially
adapted. This information will give a
clearer understanding Of the physical
laws which govern the changes Of mat
ter, the radiation Of the stars and the
dissipation of energy in the universe.
The 82-inch mirror of the new tele-
scope required four years to grind at
the optical shops of the Warner g.
Swasey Co. In Cleveland. AS an indication
of its size and power, photographs will
be taken Of stars which are million
times fainter than the faintest stars
which can be seen with the naked eye
Some Of these are 400, 900 900 light years
from the earth-the distance that light,
moving at approximately 10000 miles a
second, would cover in nearly half
billion years. Eliminating the curvature
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