The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1920. “THE GIANT STAR SPOTTER."

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3546, 6 August 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1920. “THE GIANT STAR SPOTTER."

With which is incorporated “The Tajhape Post and Waimarino liews,"

If the American people are not big. they are not anything. Taking the Word big in its most comprehensive‘ and limitless sense it ‘does not convey any idea of the limit of American big‘ ness, even supposing there is such 3. thing. At least that is the View ‘taken by the collective American, and . he loses no opportunity of inlpressinS" his erratic assumption upon the rest of mankind. it the majority of Americans speak truthfully they have the biggest and most wonderful of ever)" thing on earth known to science, and‘ there is nothing in the heavens upon‘ which any other peoples can open to’ them the floodgates of knowledge.‘ They are not concerned with trivial matters in connection with the why ‘and wherefore of the universe and all there is in it. They have not pro‘ducedaKepler, or found in ‘-their coun-‘ try a compeer of Sir Isaac Newton yet, and they have not troiibled to put 5 forward a scientist to solve the dis-5 'crepancies in the laws of gravitation which Newton discovered", they left ‘that to a Hebrew :s'c’i'ent7ist, named Einstein, whose’ discoveries in their ‘perfection came to the World in the second year of the .-great war, while ‘Americans were busily piling up dollars out of munitionamaking for the ‘Allies. Presumably, Americans were ‘cute enough to discover that they were lagging in the production of big men with big intellects, and to fill the void they hit upon building a big telescope that would render all previously used appear like mere toys ‘Now, with a flourish -of trun'.-pets, and in elegant language, this new telescope is introduced to the world as -“The Giant Star Spotter_” W!aa.t ‘there may be lacking of a sensational ,nature in the ‘instrument itself is ‘surely compensated for in the appella ‘tion given to it. The name rather Aperplexes than illurninates. for it is ‘problemalical ‘whether it was a “‘Spotter.” of giant stars that was ‘most needed, or whether it was such ‘a. triumph in optical science as would ‘assist in an ‘rmmeasureably better ‘understanding of the movements, and ‘laws governing them, of those solar ‘systems furthest removed from our ‘own, as well as of that in which the ‘earth itself revolves. It seems doulgtw ful whether Americans are of opinion ‘that 01'dinuI‘y puny intellects in other countries are capable of grasping the ‘immensity of purpose for which the “‘Giant Star Spotter” was constructed, ‘for they sworn to throw down the ‘gauntlet to the All-Seeing, Creator. ‘They are not only going to fathom the ‘nl_v.~:tel'ies of this solar :<_vstexn, but ‘they are going to find out the limits of the universe. One hardly knows ‘whether to feel solemn and awestruck. tor to lau_s_:h at the joke. The next. ‘best thing: in doing big things is to ‘have big ideas, and in this connection. ‘it’ no other, scientists have much to -‘learn from America. From its place ‘in California, perched six thousand ;feet above sea ‘level. the "Giant Star ‘Spotter” will, it is claimed, enable

Em-esent‘ day astronomers to see One ithou:=and'million new stars which 110 ihuinztne eye has eier yet rested upon. ;The nonienclature -of what we ignorlzuitly term heavenly bodies will he so ,<‘Xi'ell(le‘.tl that the naming and I'Gi€<>l‘(l- - of hitlierto unl:n'own worlds and lsuns will, if it is to he nccciiiplisiied iin one generation, require the services lot all aSi'I‘0IlO11l(-’3l‘_S and an ai*m.'~' 01' jclerhs during their lifoiinie. and tlieii ii. is doubtful xvlietlwr the work will he more than just about fringed. it is not quite intelligible to ‘ordinal’? minds how the Americans kllOWol’l]Oi'e are tliousands of millions more stars to discover, and, if‘there are, wheitlier there will not remain thousands of millions of otliers which ‘their “Giant Sta!‘ SDotten"’ is powerless to bringi into their vision, necessitating a slrilli more powerful “Giant Star Spotter"{ than that they now have. They are evidently of opinion that it is yet 3. long way to ‘the boundary fence, but what. concerns and perplexes most is what they will discover on the other side if they do actualy find out the

limits of the universe. Vvhether there is another side, and if not, vvhat? Human mentality collapses under the strain the new American postulntiou has put upon it. Possibly, we are astray in the assumption that the Americans think of discovering the space limit of the universe, «but then, what other limits do they refer ma? If itiis not magnitude is it power, force they are going to limit? If‘ they can discover any limit to the universe, which they cannot, can they discover the source? The credibility of D€olJle of the present day is indeed l abnormal, but for Americans to throwi 01115 3- Challenge to the Great Author of the UlliV9l‘Se by stating they hope to} dl'SooVel' file limits of His creation is] altflgether too absurd. Marconi startled the Scientific world with hisi narratives about strange messages; which may have originated in the planet Mars; scientists have filled the? people of the World with a. mighty drend lest the Earth should be thrown out of its Orbit and rent in fragments by an accidental discovery of how to use the incaluculahle power that is stored in atoms of matter. and now! the ‘Americans have tonped thes-ell scientific wonders in building 3. “Giant t Star Spotter” by which they hope to‘ lfind out the limits of the Universe; 1 by which they hope to Oircllmscribe if-he £:l'alld aggregate of creation; of a universe outside which the Creator ialone can be excluded, for He alone lean comprehend it all_ We humans have not and cannot have in the pre‘sent state of development any conception of limits to the universe. and while -the Americans are doubtlessly ‘endeavouring to add to the sum total ,of scientific knowledge, it is misleading to many people, particularly to [children to suggest that there are ‘limits to the universe humans can now have any conception of. We have not commented upon the subject seriously, neither do we !believe the Americans seriously hope to find that the universe has any limits understandable to man. I