GLANT TELEGRAMS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 September 1921, Page 3

GLANT TELEGRAMS

WONDERS IT HAS REVEALEDLONDON. Jilly 2(1. A new i-iuinnniis KtOin. teleseo]»e. has la-e'ii installe-el al a height til 0.700 ft. at Alniini Wilson. California, state's Professor (i. K. Hale. Director of Mount Wilson ohse-rvatory and profe'Ssor of Chicago 1 Diversity. “T’lio iustruinent re-si-mbli-.* a great naval gnn. mounted in a revolving tin ret or dolin' of 100 ft. eliann-ter. The._rlass required for it-s mirror \* Klin, thick nm! U tons. Tim l inoviii;x parts woijili 1W t«*ns and arn dj'jvcn by a powerful clork nnvhanisin when following tin* srnn or stars. 'I liirty five* olo<tric motors controlled by push Buttons. serve to direct it towards an v part of the sky. or retard its motion when carried by the driving clock, focus the imago, turn the dome, and elevate or lower the platform on whieh the observer stands. FAINTEST STARS SEF.X.

“The great gain ill jsiwer wlie'll tinnew lOOin. instrument is used against (lie- Coin tcli'scope- previously installe-el is very :i|)]iarent. Tln*or»*ti -ally ‘I should be 2.8 times as powerful, ami ill practice almost til*- whole- gain is ae-tu-allv realised. As compared with I InROin.. it is estimated that- the lOOin. e-an reach several hundred million eef stars too faint to Is- photographed with tlic smaller aperture.

“Important results have already bruit obtained The minute detail of the nebulae (the gaint and cloud-like mat t'er sit uated far outside the solar system) are much better shown with the larger instrument Alintite details of the moon’s surface not previously photographed have been recorded. Distances between double stars have been ascertained despite their immense distance Thus the double star in the constellation of Capella. shown as single in the most powerful telescopes hitherto is now broken up into two ltodies which move in an oubit in a |s-riod of 101 days.

“The distance of one of the remote stars in Orion, lletelgeuse. has hern measured and found to l>e 100 light years (i.e.. the light from it moving at 18(5,000 miles a second would take that time to reach the earth). Ihe diameter of the star has been found to be dl;!.000.000 mih's or more than twice the distance between the sun and the earth.

‘ These are some ut the wonders it lias revealed and they indicate that U should enable us to push our investigations of stars and nebulae well hi void the boundaries of present knowledge.