Abstract
COSMIC DUST CLOUDS.—The question of the absorption of light in space by clouds of cosmic dust is a very difficult one, and different observational results seem to lead to inconsistent conclusions. Prof. Shapley's study of the variable sin the globular clusters indicated that the phases occur appreciably simultaneously in light of all wave-lengths; further, he finds that the clusters contain stars just as blue as any in our neighbourhood. These and similar facts tend strongly against any general absorption of appreciable amount. On the other hand, the occurrence of numerous regions with sharply defined boundaries, where there is a sudden drop in the star-density (the Coal Sacks are a notable example), gives cogent reason to believe in the existence of local dust clouds which absorb nearly all the light from stars behind them.
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Our Astronomical Column. Nature 120, 130 (1927). https://doi.org/10.1038/120130b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/120130b0