Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-02-11
STAR-DEpTH WONDERS.


It would be difficult to select theme
better fitted to rivet the attention of an
Intelligent audience than the question
of the infnity of space in which re-
volve the system of worlds whose faint
CLEANS come to us from the illimitable
distance-worlds so remote that human
intelligence fails to grasp even faint
idea of their remoteness. The astron-
omers tell us how many millions of
miles these bodies are removed from
our globe, but the intellect fails to
comprehend the full meaning of these
calculations. But the vastness and in
fnity Of the heavenly system must ever
give it an absorbing interest in the
minds of thinking men, and the obser-
vations of the laws that guide the mo-
ton on the star system must ever exer-
else most elevating influence on the
human mind by impressing on it the
grandeur and infinite power of the Gre
ator.
The lecturer first considered the
question of the seeming calm Of the
star-depths compared with the real
vastness of the movements taking place
In them. He opened by recalling to
the minds Of the audience the gradual
change of the earth's rotation due to
the influence of the tidal wave; but SO
slight is the effect of this disturbing
cause that 1000 years must elapse be-
fore loss equal to the three minutes
of terrestrial time will result. Millions
of years must, therefore, elapse before
any perceptible change takes place
from this cause. The stellar sphere is
carried through space from east to
west. Other motions are perceptible,
but they are only apparent. They are
due to the earth's gyrating like a
gigantic top, which causes an apparent
motion in the heavens. The quietude
of the stars is only apparent; for,
though they are relatively fxe I, they
rush in a tumult through space, and
though the heavens seems at rest they
are the scene of most stupendous activ-
ity. Among the multitude OF stars
visible, the distance of some
nine or ten only is approximately
known, and, indeed, the distance of
one only can be said to be satisfactory
ly determined, although the problem
is of the deepest interest. The change
of one star has been noticed, and in
order to show the delicacy of the OBJ
servation and it's difficulty, the lecturer
remarked that this star was removed
from our earth 100000 times further
than the sun. In order to indicate the
change of position, it would be neces-
sary to imagine the. minute hand of a
watch marking the two hundre !th part
of a second, and the deviation of the
line drawn to the star to mark it's
change of position would be less. Nor
is there any way of measuring the discs
of the stars, as the best telescopes fail
lights in space. Their distance is
measured by light. The star in the
Centaur is 210, 900 times further off
than the sun; it shines three times as
brightly, and is five times the suns
volume. But there is another star in
the space known as the king of stars
It is four times as bright as the star in
Centaur, and five times as far away.
These facts would seem to point to
the existence of higher order of stars
than our planets. 1t was conjectured
that these bodies might have size and
light, but not mass, and were therefore
unable to exercise control in the system
or influence other bodies. But spectre
scopic analysis allow us to ascertain in
most precise manner that these stars
are, like our sun, glowing masses of
matter shining through surrounding
envelope OF vapors The value of the
spectroscopic analysis is due to It's ex-
IRENE delicacY, and the strictly scien-
tifc and unvarying results which it
gives in recording the presence of GER
tain elements in the planets. liz order
to make this clear to the audience
spectrums of the sun and the variable