Evening star., 1951-01-15
Radio Waves Detected
From Beyond Milky Way
Sources Determined
With Greet Precision
By Thomas R. Henry

The first radio messages" from out
side the Milky Way galaxy now have
been received.
They apparently have come almost
5000, ,000. .000, 600, 600. 600 miles across star
less space from the great spiral nebula
in the direction of the constellation Of
Andromeda in the northern heavens. an
object Of about the same. size and d1men-
sions as the 30-billion star Milky Way
galaxy itself. Of which the solar system
is an infinitesimal part.
During the last few years numerous
beams OF radio waves have been detected
coming from various sources in the Milky
Way galaxy. Their sources can be deter
mined with considerable precision. They
appear to emanate from no visible OBJ
jects, such as detachable stars. The loca-
tions are so exact, however. that these
sources can be used in navigation and
a whole map of radio stars" has been
constructed.
All the sources, however, have been
clearly within the Milky Way galaxy
Over CULTS Of emptiness across which
light can move only in millions of years
lie the other galaxies-very likely bill
can be detected only with the most pow
erful telescopes. so attenuated does their
light become in the long journeys.
But radio waves just detected, accord
ing to a report in the British journal.
Nature, by Drs. r. Hanbury Brown and
C. Hazard Of the University of Man
chester, apparently can come only from
the great nebula in Andromeda. This is
the nearest of the major outer "uni-
verses" and the first to be recognized
about Is years ago.
The signals necessarily are very weak
and they probably have been missed
heretofore because Of the nearness Of
their source to two other recognized
sources in the constellation Cygnus. Ex-
tremely accurate measurements, however.
show this to be impossible, 1t Is con-
tended.
The radiation detected is about what
1t has been calculated would be trans
mitted from the approximate center Of
the Milky Way galaxy at distance of
100000 light years.
1t indicates temperature for the CEN
ter of the Andromeda galaxy of approx
mately that calculated for the center Of
the Milky Way galaxy.
plant virus which multiplies about
three octilhon-fold in the bodies of in
sects in about five years has just been
reported by DR.. L. M. Black of the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
He reveals a hitherto unsuspected
phenomenon chain of death between
the plant and animal kingdoms. Hitherto
al bau haa
sidered quite distinct.
The virus in question is the clover
leaf organism, which affects most clovers
but to which the alfalfa plant is i'm
mune DR.. Black used an insect. the
leaf hopper, which attacks both alfalfa
and clover.
Leaf hoppers which had fed on clover
were isolated and placed through 81 gen.
erations. a period of about five years, on
alfalfa where no disease traces appeared.
Then they were put back on clover. and
the Infection started in short time.
1t was apparent that the virus had
been able to survive in the body of the
leaf hopper without causing any notable
effects, that it had been transmitted
from generation to generation. The leaf
hopper is prolific insect. Simple cal
culation showed that there had been at
least billion. billion billion times in
crease in the original virus substance.
Viruses live and multiply inside cells
and generally have been supposed to be
very specific in their requirements. This
finding, reported in Nature, organ of
the British Association for the Advance
ment of Science, may require consider
able revision of this concept.