210 FROM NEBULA TO NEBULA 



Criticism of the Theory of the Third Body 



Given a universal affinity of cosmic bodies for each 

 other, their collision should seemingly be the rule rather 

 than the exception. Indeed, to account for their remain- 

 ing aloof from each other instead of long ago accumu- 

 lating in a single heap at the center of things has been 

 one of the chief concerns of Newton and Newtonians. 

 One way which astronomers have adopted to escape this 

 logical difficulty is by the invention of the idea of so-called 

 "proper motions " for stars, on the implied assumption 

 that in the capriciousness, randomness and diversity of 

 such motions lies the desired life-saving principle. In 

 other words, they seek in lawlessness the foil to law. To 

 clinch the matter, they postulate such arbitrary "inher- 

 ent" motions as being likewise irreducible and self -per- 

 petuating. A second way of escape which they have 

 adopted is by assuming that bodies thus mutually at- 

 tracted cannot fall to each other, but must arbitrarily ro- 

 tate around their common center of gravity. 



Now, we cannot allow Professor Biekerton to blow 

 hot and cold at once ; he must in duty bound stick to the 

 precepts he ostensibly professes, or frankly disavow 

 them. That he believes in the reality of proper motions 

 .as arbitrary entities he explicitly states, and I think we 

 have no reason to infer aught else than that he regards 

 these conventionally as both inherent and random. In 

 other words, his postulated collisions are not to be con- 

 strued as arising from the mating stars seeking each 

 other out by virtue of their gravitational affinity, but 

 purely and simply by blind chance. With this important 

 consideration ever in mind, let us weigh the probabilities 

 of such a collision coming to pass in our immediate zone 

 of the heavens of which alone do we know enough to 

 speak with reasonable confidence. 



The star nearest to our sun is Alpha Centauri, and it 

 is 26,000,000 million miles distant ; the next nearest is al- 

 most twice as far away. Now, by premiss, both Alpha 

 and the sun, in the absence of the ascertained facts, might 

 be moving haphazardly in any direction whatsoever, to- 



