END OF THE WORLD

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3942, 14 May 1929, Page 4

END OF THE WORLD

WHEN THE SUN EXPLODES. FINISH OF MILLIONS OF YEARS Einstein’s latest theory that the universe is finite is not regarded as the last word in science by the leading Swedish astronomei, 1 iofessor Lundmafik. In a recent interview in u Stockholm ncwsp&pcij Dr Lundmavk added that during his work of registering and cataloguing about 30,000 nebulosao, or every thirtieth of all known ones, he had come to the conclusion that there was an endless succession of Milky Ways, or huge stellar systems', although the astronomic telescopes could not catch them. In fact, the power of the telescope almost seemed to have reached its maximum limit, as well as the human ability of grasping this infinite series of celestial systems. As regards our own planet, the earth, its career is rather humiliating, the Professor humorously remarked, first having been looked upon as the centre of everything, then being reduced to a satellite oi the sun, which in its turn was later on discovered to he a tiny part of the Milky Way system, and now the Milky Way is found to be only a section of a group, the mdmbcrs of which, according to certain laws, maintain a fixed distance between each other. The question of how the earth will perish, Professor Landmark answered by saying that when such a thing happens it will be due to an explosion in the gas ball, which is called the sun, an explosion which will last only 24 hours, and put an end to an existence of more than 1000 million of years. Parallels to such phenomenon arc frequently ,secn when new stars flash up and disappear. 'The sun will probably then, within a few million of years, again contract, and then once more perhaps give rise to a new culture.