Abstract
THE LINEAR ARRANGEMENT OF STARs. —Although the arrangement of stars in curves has often been noted and studied, little attention has been paid to what is apparently a more striking and prevalent feature, viz, straight lines and parallel arrangement of pairs, lines, and bands of stars, and of irresolvable wisps. Our knowledge of the structure of the sidereal universe is therefore extended in the required direction by some results obtained by Mr. T. W. Backhouse from observations which he has made during the last nine years in Sunderland. The area of the sky selected for scrutiny is that portion of the Milky Way included between 15, 13, 8 Monocerotis, Orionis,ζTauri, and 5, μ ξ Geminorum; and the configurations in this portion have been examined chiefly with a binocular field-glass of 2˙05 inches aperture. The observations have been divided into sections, referring respectively to lines and parallel arrangements of stars, to those in clusters, to nebulous wisps, to nebuæ, and to miscellaneous lines. In these are given the detailed structure in different parts of the area showing various systems of parallel lines and wisps, together with their position-angles referred to that portion of Gould's galactic equator which runs through the middle of the area in question. The parallel arrangement of the stars, and an arrangement in straight lines, strikingly obvious from the maps which illustrate the tabulated results of the observations. Besides the maps, sixteen figures have been drawn to show the various angles of position of the lines and streams with reference to the central line or axis of the Milky Way. From these figures it is apparent that the angles of position are grouped more numerously in certain directions than in others, the principal directions being nearly parallel to the galactic equator. Also, there is a great deficiency of position-angles at right angles to this equator. A wonderful case of radiation of stars and wisps in a fan-shaped group has been found, 68 Orionis being approximately the centre. One conclusion derived from the investigation is, that the stars and wisps parallel lines are probably in the same region of space; and therefore that the majority of the stars in extensive tracts of the area examined are really near one another.
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Our Astronomical Column. Nature 44, 478–479 (1891). https://doi.org/10.1038/044478a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/044478a0