A NEW THEORY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16612, 30 March 1928, Page 12

A NEW THEORY

IMPACT OF STARS (Per Press Association.) HAWERA, last night. “ If the reported observation that tho star Nova Pictoris now consists of two stars is it piraictically establishes the partial impact theory of Professor A. W. Bickcrton, late Professor of Physics at Canterbury College. If so; it is an honor to New Zealand,” said Mr. P. O’Dea, F.R.A.S., and a member of the council of the New Zealand Astronomical Society, when interviewed to-day regarding tno observations at Johannesburg, as cabled.

“ Professor Bickorton,” continued Mr. _o’l)ea, “ was like all other pioneers—looked on as a faddist—and his views have not received recognition; in fact, iiis election to the Royal Astronomical Society was even turned down. His theory was that two suns dashed past each other, forming a grazing impact and blazing up into great brilliance. This is evidently what happened to Nova Pictoris. In 1926-27 it blazed up into a star of the first magnitude, then slowly receded in brilliance. Many observations were made by Mr. G. M. Townsend at the Hawera observatory, and the spectrum of its light viewed in the spectroscope was a very peculiar phenomenon.”