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The Astrology of Space - Matrix Software

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Astrology</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Space</strong><br />

Dark Nebulae<br />

If there are no stars in or near the nebulosity, the<br />

nebula will obscure or block all light beyond or behind<br />

itself. <strong>The</strong> result are dark patches or "holes" in the<br />

sky. <strong>The</strong> most celebrated dark nebula is the Coal<br />

Sack in the Southern Cross.<br />

Until the 20th century, astronomers assumed that the<br />

immense distance between stars was empty, in effect<br />

a perfect vacuum. Numerous dark patches were<br />

thought to be some sort <strong>of</strong> "holes in space" where<br />

there were no stars. A few <strong>of</strong> these dark areas are<br />

visible to the naked eye, in particular the "Coal Sack"<br />

near the Southern Cross and the "Great Rift" in the<br />

Milky Way. <strong>The</strong> Great Rift splits the luminous<br />

background from Cygnus to Sagittarius through a<br />

succession <strong>of</strong> large overlapping dark clouds in the<br />

equatorial plane <strong>of</strong> the galaxy. It has been discovered<br />

that these "holes in the stars" are in fact obscuring<br />

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