244 ASTRONOMYANDTHEBIBLE
is severalhundred degreesbelowzero. Otherssug-
gestthatthelightisduetotheheatoffinesolidparti-
cles, and thatthereforethere is sensible warmth, or
evengreatheat,inthenebulae.
"Thistitanicmassofpearlylight—whenceitsori-
gin? Ifitis a 'cold light,' a luminositynotdueto
heat,asinthecaseofthefirefly,thenthemysteryis
beyondany solutionin thepresentpowerof science.
Ifduetoheat,thenthequantityofheatmustbeas
greatasthatofmillionsofwhite-hotsuns."
—Profes-
sorLarkin,ofMountLoweObservatory.
Anotherwriteronastronomy hassomethinginter-
estingto sayregardingtheappearance oftheOrion
nebula
:*'Wearelookingatsomegaseousmaterialofablu-
ish [somesay greenish] hue. Thelightwithwhich
itglowsisnoreflectedsunlight. Thenebulaisindeed
indebtedtonoforeignsource forthatweird—Ihad
almostsaidghostlike—radiance whichitgives forth.
Thelightcomes fromthenebulaitself. Buthow,it
maywellbeasked,shouldapurelygaseoussubstance
be abletoradiate forthlight? It iseasy forusto
comprehendhowstarsorsunsorcomparativelysolid
bodiescan,invirtueoftheirtremendoustemperature,
glowwith heatlikered-hotorwhite-hot iron. Itis
truethatflameisgasinan incandescentstate;butin
flame,avehementchemicalunionofoxygenwithsome
othersubstanceisinprogress,andthisisthesource
oftheheatandthelightthatflamegives forth. We
cannotregardthegreatnebulainOrionasoriginating
inanythingresemblingflame."—SirRobertBaU.