Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-12-02
THE SUN.


ments used in taking observations, ana es-
pecially the accurate photographs OF thar
iuminary for stereoscpic inspection when
modern art supplies, have secured to hV
ing astronomers important advantages
over their predecessors. Notwithstanding
this, however, and despite the large amount
Of information we possess, there IS stiH
great degree of doubt, uncertainty, ana
ignorance, respecting the character ana
constitution of the grand orb " hich Is the
light, centre and soul of our planetary sys:
tem-'the glorious King eff Day"
The latest observations show the sun
distance from the earth to be 81 ,32S,6po
miles. This is 35+ times the distance OF
tho moon. The diameter Of the sun Is
S5O,lOO miles. To obtain better idea OF
this vast mass, it may be stated that II the
earth could be placed at the suns centre,
and the moon nearly ta0tce its present dis
lance from the earth, il. would yet perform
its monthly revolution within the suns
surface.
The bulk of the sun is 100000 times
as great as that of the earth. The sun IS
600 times as large as all the planets which
it warns and lights, put together; Its
weight is 740 times greater than that OF
the combined planets. So much does the
matter employed in lighting up our system
exceed the quantity thus warmed ana lllu-
minated.
The apparent figure of the sun is that OF
perfect sphere. This Is an anomaly WIN
the heavenly bodies, the revolution around
their axes having the effect OF making the
equatorial greater than the polar dlameters.
! lie sun, though also revolving body, pre-
SCENTS no appreciate difference, Its disc be-
ing perfect circle. Attempts are made
to prove, however, that this regularity OF
| outline is only apparent, not real.
The solid body OF the sun is supposed to
be enveloped with luminous atmospheric
matter, called the protosphere. This pro-
tosphcre is subject TO great fluctuations,
! like the waves ut the sea- III storm. It's
appearance frequently changes, aud there
! is reason TO believe that 1t Is swept by
| great currents, such as are found Ill the
oceans of the earth. The protOsphero is
! interspersed with masses OF greater bright
! ness than the rest, called .tdcuIte; and also
| contains those darker portions called the
suns spots" A Ia: &c space is taken up
! in the British Almanac in describing the
! nature and movements OF these tacuI-E and
spots. The taculG are supposed to be bIl-
lows or mountains, So to speak, Of the pro-
tospheric substance. The spots are either
| deprcssions, or masses of sem-luminous
matter. The protosphere is seemingly i'll
! Il state of violent agitation, as if lashed by
! cycional tempests, and boiling and blazing
with furions fires. "LnmuouS prominen-
ces," or projections" composed of thin
matter, are seen to shoot up like masses of
cloudy flame. forty thousand miles high.
The bOly of the sun was supposed, by
| Sir William Herschel, to be an inhabitabie
globe; the light and heat being all given
out by the attached protOsphere. This idea
| is now discarded ; the nucleus or body it
self being considered also incandescent.
Ofthe fervor of the sun, some very in
teresting illustrations are given. The most
vivid flames disappear, and the most in
tensely ignited solids appear as black spots
on the disc of the sun, when held Jetween
it and the eye. Oh the quantity Of heat
emitted by it, Sir John W. llerschel gives
the following illustration :Supposinga cyl
inder flee, 45 miles in diameter, to be con-
tinually darted into the sun with the vel1c-
ity of light (here taken to he 49,, U0g miles
asecond,) the heat now radnted from tie in
s IN would be sufficient for its liquefaction
To assist in comprehending theiluStration
itself, we remark that the velocity oflight
is sufficient to make the circuit ofthe earth
before person could wink; that is to say,
the out-howing heat of the sun, if collected
and directed, would melt cylinder Of ice
forty-ive miles thick, and long enough to
girdle the earth, before man could snap
his eyel
The calculation is also stated in other
forms. Phe degree Of heat, or tie 'poten-
tal temperature" is it is called, which
prevails al the suns surface, is found by
estimation based on experiment, to be II :
$4,000 degrees, computed by the scale of
Fahrenheit's thermometer. This is a tenn
pGrature almost iuconceivablc. The oxy-
hydrogen flame produces one of the high
est heats known in chemistry. In it iron
burns with the utmost readiness and in
decd, all the metals are speedily consumed,
like tow i'll the flame of a lamp. But the
htemperaturc Of the oxy-hydrogen flame is
only 1850 degrees of Fahrenheit. The
temperature of tho sun is, therefore near
ly nine hundred times hotter than the oxy-
hydrogen flame, or about ten thousand
times hotter than iron az o. aohite heat !
What feeds the everlasting fires which
make the sun thus glow with fervor at
once incomprehensiDe and undiminished2
Who shall understand and interpret the
blazing miracle that daily wheels around
us, unnoticed by our familiar eyes, and
I nconsidered by those who ask, Where is
the proof of Coda
The sun has been considered the most
hitting emblem Of its Creator, the Sun of
righteousness" OF all the forms of pa
| ran ihnlatru thnt ,rrn,,ld ooo,,. A. l.