Evening star., 1949-08-29
Star Varying Greatly
In Radiation Reported
Intensity Increases Up to II Times
In Less than 5 Minutes
By Thomas r. Henry

An extraordinary star. apparently the
suns second closest neighbor in space, has
just been reported.
Located little way south Of the celestial
equator, its distance Is calculated at be-
tween $4,000, ,000,000000 and 120,000,000,.
100000 miles from the solar system. The
closest celestial object is approximately
30.000000,0 100000 miles away, the distance
which would be covered in five years by
ray Of light moving through space at 1860
miles second. This is the star Alpha Gen.
tauri, visible only south Of the equator. It is
double star, and the largest of its COM
ponents is quite similar to the sun.
The newly reported object also is a double
star, and Of a type never before observed.
Both Of the stars which travel in orbits
around each other together cannot weigh
more than one-ninth as much as the sun.
That is, they are somewhere between the
largest planets and the smallest stars in
mass. Such objects hitherto have been pos
tulated from extremely precise observations
Of orbital motions in double and triple stars.
Their actual existence has been subject to
some doubt. Those for whose existence there
has been evidence in the past have been
companions Of larger stars. at least, the size
Of the sun.
Variations Unprecedented.
The most extraordinary feature of this
physical Journal issued at the Mount Will
son observatory of the Carnegie Institu-
ton Of Washington by DR.. William j. Luy-
tens Of the University of Minnesota, Is the
rapid and sensational changes in its radi-
alton. This has been found to increase as
much as twelve fold in less than three
minutes.
It is a variable star, far exceeding In
the speed and magnitude of it's variations
anything hitherto known in the heavens.
DR.. Luytens compares it with supernova.
the result of titanic star explosion such
as takes place in the Milky Way galaxy
every few centuries. Its ordinary radiation,
the astronomer calculates, is about equiv
alent to an energy of 200 million trillion
horse power per second. During the three
minute interval this increases as much as
40,000000,0 900 horsepower second. In 20
minutes OF observation the energy emitted
was equivalent to what would be put out
by supernova in about an hour.
The actual energy emitted must be very
much greater. 1t was possible to measure
only the red and infra-red light, which Is
small part of the total spectrum of any
luminous object.
Loses 10000 Tons A Second.
According to the Einstein formula energy
and matter are equivalent and interchange
able. That Is. an object emitting radiation
OF any sort Is using up it's own matter. The
sun, for example, is losing millions OF tons
OF mass every day in the light and heat
which it radiates into space. 1t is so mas
sive body, however, that the loss is too
small ever to be detected with any device
known to astronomers within a human
lifetime.
DR.. Luytens calculates that the newly
found object must be losing weight at the
rate OF about 10000 tons second during
its frequent fare-ups. It is not known
whether both stars or only one are affected.
Because OF the small weight of either of
them, the loss Is appreciable. The loss in
second however. is only as great as that
OF the sun in hundredth of a second.
Measurements at the Stewart Observa-
tory at Tucson, Ariz., show that the new
star is extremely red. Other observations
at the University of Chicago's Mcdonald
Observatory reported by DR.. Luytens show
that it is far advanced on the road of stellar
evolution.
1t requires from 20 to Is years for the
strange pair to revolve around each other.