Curiosities of the Sky
Curiosities of the Sky
A Popular Presentation of the Great Riddles and Mysteries of Astronomy
Book Excerpt
aphs, particularly those of the singular region
around the star Rho Ophiuchi. Here are to be seen somber lanes and
patches, apparently forming a connected system which covers an immense
space, and which their discoverer thinks may constitute a ``dark
nebula.'' This seems at first a startling suggestion; but, after all,
why should their not be dark nebulæ as well as visible ones? In truth,
it has troubled some astronomers to explain the luminosity of the
bright nebulæ, since it is not to be supposed that matter in so
diffuse a state can be incandescent through heat, and phosphorescent
light is in itself a mystery. The supposition is also in accord with
what we know of the existence of dark solid bodies in space. Many
bright stars are accompanied by obscure companions, sometimes as
massive as themselves; the planets are non-luminous; the same is true
of meteors before they plunge into the atmosphere and become heated by
friction; and many plausible reasons have been found for believing
that space contains as ma
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