Reborn and become a Great Scientist

Chapter 94 42 Mysterious Planet Aix

What Chen Muwu told Eddington was to calculate the distance between Andromeda and the center of the Milky Way by observing the Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda Nebula.

As long as this distance can be measured and compared with the known radius of the Milky Way, we can know whether Andromeda is a nebula included in the Milky Way, or whether it is a galaxy with the same status as the Milky Way outside the Milky Way.

This method of using Cepheid variables to measure distances was first proposed by American astronomer Harold Shapley.

Using this method, he estimated the radius of the Milky Way in 1918, and was the first to point out that the sun is not located at the center of the Milky Way.

However, Shapley is indeed a loyal supporter of the only theory of the Milky Way. He believes that the universe is the Milky Way, and there are no other galaxies of equal status outside the Milky Way.

Edwin Hubble was inspired by Shapley's method. He began to observe nebulae such as Andromeda at the Mount Wales Observatory, hoping to find Cepheid variable stars and calculate the distance.

Hubble published a large amount of observational data at the end of 1924, confirming that several "nebulae" including Andromeda are actually outside the Milky Way.

This proves that Shapley's theory is wrong, nebulae should not be called nebulae, but they should be called galaxies.

The astronomical problem mentioned by Chen Muwu is to let Eddington measure the distances of these nebulae from the Milky Way first, so that he can map them later.

As for what is this afterimage?
Of course, by discovering the redshift, it is proved that the universe is expanding, and then the static universe model proposed by Einstein is overthrown!

Unexpectedly, after Eddington listened to what Chen Muwu said, he only smiled wryly twice, then stood up, and nodded to Chen Muwu who was on the sofa: "Come on, Chen, come with me."

The two walked out of the office one after the other. Eddington led Chen Muwu to the dome of the Cambridge Observatory, pointed to a refracting telescope on a stand and said, "Chen, this is the largest telescope in our observatory. It was donated in 1833 by the [-]rd Earl of Northumberland, who later became Chancellor of Cambridge University.

"Yes, you heard that right, 1833, exactly 90 years ago.

"This 90-inch telescope was indeed a big guy at that time, but today, [-] years later, it is far behind the times.

"The method you mentioned that Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to calculate the distance, I actually knew it a few years ago. But what's the use of knowing it? When Shapley observed Cepheid variable stars, the aperture of the telescope he used , has already been sixty inches.

"I heard that not long ago, the Mount Wilson Observatory built a new [-]-inch telescope. The United States has a lot of money, so of course there is plenty of money to build the telescope.

"But our Cambridge University has no money. The annual funding of our observatory is basically only enough to maintain this 90-year-old old guy.

"Not to mention the comparison with the above two behemoths, even Lowell, a rich Yankee, spent money to repair the telescope in the observatory in order to find the mysterious planet X hidden in the dark. The Sumberland will be twice as big!"

Eddington gently caressed the old guy on the shelf with his hand, and spoke with a deeply helpless tone.

What he said is very clear, and Chen Muwu also understands it. It seems that with the telescope at the Cambridge Observatory, the brightness of the Cepheid variable star in Andromeda cannot be measured no matter what, which means that the distance cannot be calculated. up.

His idea was now in vain.

Only after Hubble publishes the observational data next year can Chen Muwu point out that the universe does not remain static, but continues to expand, based on his data and the redshifted spectral lines of Vesto Siriver.

Somehow, God couldn't bear to let Eddington break Einstein's dream.

However, Chen Muwu also found another useful information from Eddington's words.

Isn't the planet X he mentioned just Pluto?

Historically, Pluto was only discovered in 1930.

Since the discovery of Neptune, people have been speculating that there should be a planet in the solar system beyond Neptune.

Because I haven't found it after six or 70 years of searching, this planet, which people love and hate but can't find, has been given the same name as the Roentgen ray, called Planet X.

However, for Chen Muwu, this is really "the universe and the earth work together", and the great discoveries in physics are rushed to the door one after another, and he can't decide whether he wants to or not.

One summer night in his childhood, when he was enjoying the cool outdoors with his parents, Chen Muwu inadvertently looked up and saw the summer triangle.

Since then, he has been interested in astronomy, which is partly one of the reasons why he chose physics after the college entrance examination.

Although he later embarked on a path that has nothing to do with astronomy, he was always a member of the astronomical club during his college years. He was also a volunteer guide for four years in the local planetarium during his undergraduate years.

As an astronomy enthusiast, Chen Muwu can remember that the semi-major axis of Pluto’s orbit is 39.482 AU, the eccentricity is 0.2488, the mean anomaly angle is 14.53 degrees, the orbital inclination is 17.16 degrees, the ascending node is 110.299 degrees longitude, and the perihelion is 113.834 degrees. The argument angle is [-] degrees, etc. These data are also normal, right?
But he doesn't want to take the data now and find Pluto in a telescope.

Because now, Chen Muwu is still a rookie who has never made astronomical observations, and China is also a poor country that does not even have a modern observatory.

The observatory on the Zijin Mountain in Beijing will not be completed until more than ten years later.

If he found this planet X all at once without a teacher, it really does not conform to human cognition.

Just like criminals launder money, if Chen Muwu wants to successfully "discover" Planet X, he must completely wash his astronomical skills.

So he put on an expression of longing for the stars and the sea: "Sir, I am also very interested in this planet X. From today on, can I come to your place every few days and borrow this telescope for astronomy?" Observation?"

"How long is a few days? Half a year?"

Apparently, Eddington hadn't forgotten that Chen Muwu let him go, but seeing that he wanted to leave Cavendish and return to the embrace of astronomy, Eddington finally nodded in agreement.

He asked Chen Muwu if he had conducted astronomical observation activities before. Chen Muwu said that he had only read some astronomy books, but had never actually operated a large-scale instrument.

After getting this answer, Eddington asked Chen Muwu to compile a literature reading report on Planet X first, and after he passed the review, he came to the observatory to participate in half a month of equipment use training.

After this series of procedures are completed, the refracting telescope behind him can be used by Chen Muwu every Sunday night, but he must be contacted and confirmed in advance every Friday.

"Okay, thank you sir."

At this point, the last stone in Chen Muwu's heart was also put down.

The apparent magnitude of Pluto is about fourteen, and a telescope capable of observing the brightness of this magnitude must at least have an aperture of at least 250 millimeters, which is about ten inches when converted into abominable imperial units.

The 90-year-old Northumberland telescope is the only astronomical telescope larger than ten inches at the University of Cambridge Observatory.

If Eddington did not nod and agree to let him use this large telescope, but only provided him with a small telescope, then even if Chen Muwu looked at the stars and saw his eyes cracked, he would not be able to find the star hidden in the darkness. Planet X in .

After confirming this series of matters, it was time for dinner, and Eddington invited Chen Muwu to join him in the auditorium of Trinity College for a dinner with complicated etiquette.

Chen Muwu readily accepted the invitation, but the two people beside the astronomical telescope seemed to have forgotten that there was Dirac sitting on the sofa in Eddington's office next to the dome!
(End of this chapter)