92 LIGHT SCIENCE FOR LEISURE HOURS. 



solvable by any but the most powerful telescopes, should 

 cover so large a space on the heavens. On the contrary, 

 I do not believe that a galaxy resembling our own 

 would be resolvable at all, unless it were so near as to 

 appear much larger than the Orion nebula. I believe 

 astronomers have been wholly mistaken in considering 

 any of the nebulae to be such systems as our own. 

 There may be millions of such systems in space, but I 

 am very certain no telescope we could make would 

 suffice to resolve any of them. But what I do consider 

 inconceivable, is, that a nebula extending so widely, and 

 placed (as supposed) beyond our system, should yet 

 appear to cling (as the Orion nebula undoubtedly does) 

 around the fixed stars seen in the same field with it. 

 So strongly marked is this characteristic, that Sir John 

 Herschel (who failed, apparently, to see its meaning) 

 mentions amongst others no less than four stars, one of 

 which is the bright middle star of the belt as ' involved 

 in strong nebulosity,' while the intermediate nebulosity 

 is only just traceable. The probability that this 

 arrangement is accidental is so small as to be almost 

 evanescent. 



However, as I have said, English astronomers, almost 

 without a dissentient voice, accepted the resolution of 

 the nebula as a proof that it represents a distant star- 

 system resembling our own galactic system, but far 

 surpassing it in magnitude. 



The time came, however, when a new instrument, 

 more telling even than the telescope, was to be directed 

 upon the Orion nebula, and with very startling results. 



