The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1867-07-26
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES.
THE SUN.

"l3ut how shall attempt to convey "a
you uny conception Of the scule on which
tho great work Of warming and lighting
is carried on in the sun? Its not by large
words that II can bc done. All word paint
ing must break down, aud It is only bring
ing before you tho consideration Of grea
facts in the simplest language, that there Is
ony chance Of doing Il. In the very outset
hero Is the greatest fact Of all-the enor'
nous waste, or what appears to US to he
waste-thc excessive, exorbitant prodigalitY
of diffusion Of the suns light and heat. No
doubt 1t Is great thing to light and warm
the whole surface Of our globe. Then look
q, such globes as Jupiter, and Saturn, and
the Others. This, as you will soon see, II
something astounding; but then look what
a triAing space they occupy In the whole
sphere of diffusion around tho sun. Con-
ceive that little globe Of the earh, such rs
we have described It in comparison with
six feet sphere, removed $4,000 Of its own
diamctens, that is to say, 2lO yards from the
centre Of such sphere (for that would be
the relative sizo its orbit y why, 1t would
bc an invisible pointi and would require a
strong telescope to be seen at all rs thing
having size and shape. It occupies only
the 75,OOOth part Of the circumfsrenee o.
the circle which Il Describes about the sun
So that u, 900 Of such eurti,s q, that dis
tanee, and In that circle. placed side b,
side, would all be equally well waffned ant
lightcl-and, then, tina. Is only in one plane
But there is the whole sphere Of space
above and below, tlnoccupied, nj any single
point of which, n an earth wec placed Al
tho aarno distance, II would >rcceiye the
same ar,o,'nl oflight and heat. 1ake all
the planets together. great and s'nsii the
light and heat they receive isonly ono 227,
600 ,OO0tli part Of The whole Quantity thrown
ou, by tho sun. All the rest escapes into
free space, an,l is lost among the starss OF
does there some other work that We knaw
nothing about. OftLe small fraction. thus
utilized in our system. tho earth takes for
it's share only one 10Th part, or less than
one 1900 millionth part Of tho whole sup
ply" .',.. ~
'"...., srELLAR MOTION.
"Sirius, rs the most conspicuous Of the
stars, has been watched by all astronomers
with the utmost assiduity as the principal
of the great landmarks of their science tho
chief of their list Of fundamental stars;
those to which every observer Of necessity
resorts to test the stability of his instr'i-
ments; the rates of his clocks: and every
condition which gives precision TO his OBJ
seryations. 1t has long been known, like
most anil probably all the other stnrs, not %
be absolutely fixed in tho heavens, bot sub
iect 10 what wc have above described as n
proper motion or slow progressive move
lrient porpr 10 itself MS an individual small
cr indeed than those already specified in It's
apparent amount, but by no lneans incon'
siderable, being sufficient to displace 1t by
about two minutes in angle or one fifteenth
part of tho opparen. tlianetcr Oh tho moon
pr, , century; corresponding at tho distance
of the star to no less sn amount OF actual
linear travel than 100000 miles per diem.
This movement, in tho absence Of all gp
parent reason to the contrnry, was Of course
presumed 10 bo ,inilSrin md rcctilineal; bur
as Instruments improved, AZ observations
became moro exact, and their calculation,
moro scrupulous and refined, this became
at first doubtful, and nj length dcmonstrably
incorrect Not to dwell on the steps Of tho
proof;it becsme apparent that the visible
path of. tho star, mapped down from year to
yess and from century to century. In NOT .
a straight line, but is Affected by small and
regularly recurring und,Aasion. alternately
carrying il to small distance above and
below the medal line, the performance OF
one complete unJulation occupying about
40 IA years, and the excursions TO and fro
on either side OF tie medal line being about
one sixtictl, part Of the linear distance pass.
cd over in tho same interval. ."-Fanrilidr
Lectures on Scientific Sugeets.