104 



case and an abundance of hydrogen in the second. The 

 analysis of double stars furnished an indefinite spectrum 

 differing from all the abovementioned types. 



Miss Mory must be considered one of the most suc- 

 cessful students of double stars. She it was who disco- 

 vered the periodical separation of lines, thereby supplying 

 a means to determine the time occupied in the revolution 

 not only of the visible star but of its invisible satellite. 



Carefully measuring the parting of the dark lines in 

 the spectrum, astronomers can estimate the movement of 

 the satellite. It was calculated in this way that the rapid- 

 ity of movement in the case of one satellite in the Great 

 Bear was equal to a hundred miles a second. The 

 greatest recorded division of spectral lines corresponded 

 to a velocity of 122 kilometres per second. 



When I expressed my opinion that in double stars 

 we see ordinary planet worlds in amorous ecstasy, I 

 certainly did not intend to refer to this category those 

 socalled double stars really compounded of three or four 

 separate orbs. 



Pointcaret says that a homogeneous fluid globe rotating 

 assumes a pear like shape and breaks into two parts in 

 the proportion of 1 to 4. He was led to this conclusion 

 by study of double cloud-masses, composed as he thinks 

 of collected gases. But simple observation of these cloud- 

 spots which have passed into our planetary systems 

 easily disproved this idea, for in all instances these clouds 

 were cosmic but not gaseous. 



A characteristic feature double stars is the bulge of 

 their orbit. While the eccentric of our planetary orbits 

 does not exceed 0,04, the average orbit of a double star 

 presents an eccentric of 0,45. It was this circumstance 

 which led Pointcaret to ascribe a pear-shape to revolving 

 fluids, but if we are to believe in the theory which 

 traces the formation of the earth to the revolution of 

 fluid matter, we must find out why the planets are not 

 rolled into the shape of pears, and why they have not 

 broken into double stars! There seems no explanation. 



