THE HEAVENLY TWINS

Evening Star, Issue 18030, 26 July 1922, Page 6

THE HEAVENLY TWINS

DR PLASKETT'S DISCOVERY.

Press Association—By Telegraph-—Copyright. Australian and NiZ. Press Association.

SYDNEY, July 2-5 (Received July 26, at 12.5 p.in.)

la connection with Dr Plaskett’s discovery of twin suns, Dr R. K. Young, on astronomer iti the observatory of which Dr Plaskett is director, and \yho is now in Sydney, states that Dr Plaskett and his staff have ■ for a number of years been making a special study of what is known as the “ Earlier Stars ” —namely, those stars whoso life history preceded that of our sun. The observatory has been able not only to determine a great many of the oi'hits 'of these heavenly twins; but to ascertain data in regard to their revolutions, the distance of the stars apart, the shape of the orbits, and the angles at which they are inclined earthward, Dr I’lar.kett’s latest discovery is of deep interest.

Comparing new stars with our sun. Dr Young stated 1 that the latter is about an average star in mass, but it is far below an average star an brlahtness. .It belongs to a class of stars called “Dwarfs” —not dwarfs in mass, but dwarfs in brightness It is on the downward scale of life, andis burning out. It has already reached its peak in brightness, and will probably grow fainter and fainter. He added the roassurisv; information that St would last for many millions of years, even if it had reached the sonith of its refulgence. There were distant suns which would outshine our sun by 10.000 to 1 if they were placed at the same distance from the earth as it is.