Abstract
MIRA VARIABLES AND THE MILLIKAN RAYS.—Mr. Axel Corlin, of the Lund Observatory, suggested some time ago that the variation in intensity in the Millikan rays according to the R.A. of the meridian might be due to the rays coming, either wholly or partly, from Mira variables when near maximum. He found a theoretical curve from the maxima of known stars of this type, the date chosen being Sept. 12, 1926. This curve fell below the observed intensity of the rays in the region R.A. 16h to 23h. In reply to some objections raised, he returns to the subject in Astr. Nach., No. 5566, using a larger list of Mira variables and including all that were within a quarter period of light maximum on the chosen day. He has thus secured a closer agreement with observation. He considers that the observed variation of intensity with sidereal time shows that the rays come from definite centres in the heavens; these centres may be either Mira stars or unknown cosmical clouds
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Our Astronomical Column. Nature 122, 71 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/122071a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/122071a0