Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1869-06-22
The Immensity Of Space.

From an article in the Montpelier
Watchman and Journal, entitled "Out-
side the Circle" we take the follow
ing which will give full scope to the
imagination. Who. when he reflects
upon the immensity of space, and the
myriad worlds scattered therein, can
say "there is no Godp' or that so
much as blade of grass came by
chance /? We do not remember to
have seen a more vivid picture of the
heavenly bodies than this:
This world is a wide place-so we
think, and SO it is, for all human pur-
poses. We cannot travel round it in
less than some months; yet it whirls
through $4,000 miles of space, while
an ordinary walker PAGES four miles.
And it is mere speck when compared
with the mighty worlds we see ar
ound us. We have all heard of the
suns spot. In March, 1887, some of
an unusually remarkable character
became apparent, and one of them
was found to cover a place of not less
than $3.50, 100000 square miles. The
sun rises and sets, and we treat his
existence and his apparent journey
from east to west very much as mat
ter OF course, but what can be the ex-
tent of that globe upon which such a
space is with difficulty visible. Imag-
inc 354, ,936 worlds like this on which
we live rolled into one, and we have
some conception Of the suns size. Or,
to put the matter differently, if the
earth were to be suddenly increased
SO as to equal the sun in magnitude, It's
bulk would take in the whole orbit OF
the moon and extend 100000 miles
beyond. Yet, when compared with
Others of the heavenly bodies the sun
is small.
10 realize this we must still extend
limits of our imagination. Without
entering luto the details of recent en-
quiries, take the distance between
the sun and the earth to be 95,000,-
600 miles; which light, travelling at
the rate of 1872, 700 miles in a second
OF time, passes over in little less than
eight minutes. Now let US traverse
a small portion of space and step from
earth to Mars-from Mars to Jupiter
from Jupiter to Saturn-from Sat
urn to ranus--from Uranus to Nep-
tune. We are now 3,O00,000,00O
miles away. The world we have
reached Is only 200 times larger than
the earth, out the sun has become
like small star and his light takes
four hours to reach US. Yet even this
is insignificant. Neptune journeys
round the sun in all orbit of more than
lo,OOO.OOOOOO miles, and yet if there
are any residents upon his surface
and why should there not be ?-the
heaven present to them the same ap.
pearance as they do to US. There il
the distance burns the Dog star, there
circles the Great Bear; while the
Southern Gross, Orion, the beautiful
Pleiades and all the other consteIla
tions, are as familiar to the Neptuniar
astronomers as to US. Three thous
and millions Of miles is too small &
distance to effect any apparent diff
ference in the relative positions of the
other heavenly bodies. Let US ther
glance at them.
The nearest of the fixed stars is il
the constellation Centaur; that i;
twenty-one million five hundred anC
eighty thousand millions of miles ava,
and light takes three and one-half
years III passing from it to US. A stal
known as 81 in the Swan is fifty-fvt
millions of miles distant, and its ligh
reaches US in something more thai
nine years. Sirius, the Dog star
whose hriiliancy is known to all of III
is away in space not less than oDt
hundred and thirty billions four hun
dred and thirty-fve millions of miles
and his light comes to US in twenty
one and half years. Then if we q
to the nearest nebuIa we reach a dis
tance of two hundred and sixty thou
sand eight hundred and seventy mil
lions of millions of miles whence ligh
reaches US only in 1872 years.
\ Herschel considered that the mos
powerful instruments at our disposa
have enabled the hunian eye to pierc,
into depth, Of space from which ligh
takes at least 100000 years t.
reach US. But that is not the limi
of creation nor the final bound OF
magnitude. All reason, all evidenc,
initiates against such an idea. LIE
US imagine that we are whirled away
from the earth with velocity whicI
would suffice to take us to the sun il
eight minutes, and that we should nev
er tire in the terrific journey till a
the end of three and a half million
years we found resting place upon ;
world at the extreme boundary oil
present vision. We should still gaz,
into space and see other worlds, anc
other suns blazing from another re
mote distance. circling in their orbit
and obeying the great laws which gov
ern all things. The mind cannot rea
lize this, but mayhap the soul will
Who knows?
Old Dicky s. is very wealth
, but a very illiterate East India mel
, chant. One day Dicky took a pal
of cOmnassas and set about examir