At present the Crossley reflector is being used for photographing nebulæ,
for which purpose it is very effective. Some nebulæ and clusters, like the
great nebula in _Andromeda_ and the _Pleiades_, are too large for its
plate (3-1/4 × 4-1/4 in.), but the great majority of nebulæ are very much
smaller, having a length of only a few minutes of arc, and a large-scale
photograph is required to show them satisfactorily. It is particularly
important to have the images of the involved stars as small as they can be
made.
Many nebulæ of Herschel's I and II classes are so bright that fairly good
photographs can be obtained with exposures of from one to two hours; but
the results obtained with full-light action are so superior to these, that
longer exposures of three and one half or four hours are always preferred.
In some exceptional cases, exposures of only a few minutes are sufficient.
The amount of detail shown, even in the case of very small nebulæ, is
surprising. It is an interesting fact that these photographs confirm (in
some cases for the first time) many of the visual observations made with
the six-foot reflector of the Earl of Rosse.
Incidentally, in making these photographs, great numbers of new nebulæ
have been discovered. The largest number that I have found on any one
plate is thirty-one. Eight or ten is not an uncommon number, and few
photographs have been obtained which do not reveal the existence of three
or four. A catalogue of these new objects will be published in due time.
Some of the results obtained with the Crossley reflector, relating chiefly
to particular objects of some special interest, have already been
published.[11] The photographs have also permitted some wider conclusions
to be drawn, which are constantly receiving further confirmation as the
work progresses. They may be briefly summarized as follows:
1. Many thousands of unrecorded nebulæ exist in the sky. A conservative
estimate places the number within reach of the Crossley reflector at about
120,000. The number of nebulæ in our catalogues is but a small fraction of
this.
2. These nebulæ exhibit all gradations of apparent size, from the great
nebula in _Andromeda_ down to an object which is hardly distinguishable
from a faint star disk.
3. Most of these nebulæ have a spiral structure.
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