Astronomical observations made at Mount Wilson Observatory in California were placed before the American Association for the Advancement of Science as new evidence corroborating the Einstein theory of relativity and the conception that the universe is finite.
Dr. Walter S. Adams, director of the Mount Wilson Observatory, stated that observations disclosed three nebulae, apparently traveling through space at tremendous speeds, which are several times the highest velocity ever observed in the heavens. The three bodies move away from the earth at speeds calculated to be 3,100; 4,600 and 4,900 miles a second.
These discoveries are further evidence of the validity of the Einstein theory, according to Dr. Clyde Fisher, curator of astronomy at the American Museum of Natural History. The high velocities observed in the three nebulae may not be their actual speed, but rather illusions caused by distortions in the light waves which have traveled through enormous distances in space. The distortions are due to the curvature of space as held by Dr. Einstein, it was said.
The new discoveries, in further corroboration of the Einstein theory, may lead to proof that cosmic space, long held to be illimitable, has definite limits, and that light, instead of traveling indefinitely on and on, may be hedged in by a closed universe, Dr. Fisher stated.
One of the deductions from the general theory of relativity is that space-time universe is finite, but unbounded and that very distant objects should show a spurious velocity of recession.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
