The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-06-26
THE SUN.
Seme Facts and Specularions About Ou
Great Central LuminarY.

may Do assisted Dy the Following TACT
I The mean distance of the moon from
! the earth is 237, 600 miles, at which dis
tance is its orbit all round. Now, SO
; vast is the size of the sun that it is
twice as great as the moons orbit. In
! other words, if we conceive the earth
placed in the center of the sun, with
/ the moon revolving round it, that orbit
! would still be at depth within the sun
: of more than 1877, 900 miles from the
surface.
, The distance of the sun from the
earth is calculated to be 81 900, 900 of
miles, and across this space light trav-
els in eight and half minutes, or at
the rate of 1876, 900 miles in second of
time. At the same rate of speed it is
calculated that light from the remotest
and faintest stars in our stellar system
does not reach the earth in less than
$500 years The rays of light which
left some of them in tins. era of Moses
and the patriarchs are only now becom-
ing visible. Although 81, 100000 of
miles distant, the sun, by the use of
powerful telescopes, can be brought to
an apparent distance of hundred an
eighty thousand miles. Nearer the
present appliances of science cannot
bring it. But who can tell what yet may
be done in the telescope art? Future
astronomers may be able to bring the
apparent distance very much less than
a hundred and eighty thousand miles.
| Even at that distance, however, things
can be distinguished by various instru-
ments of modern invention, which will
surprise those who do not keep in mind
the prodigious dimensions and lumin-
GUS character of the object looked at.
To us the sun appears large brilliant
ball, sailing grandly across the heavens.
| To the inhabitants of the sun-if there
were such-the earth would look little
bigger than pea-a thing barely no
ticeabIe.
Although the sun is twelve hundred
thousand times greater than the earth,
| its weight is not in the same proportion.
! It is only three hundred thousand times
| heavier than the earth so that, bulk
! for bulk, it is only one quarter as dense.
| This want of density, however, is COM
pensated for by its vast size, so that its
mass is sufficient to attract the various
planets, and keep them whirliDg round
it at their respective distances. The
comparatively large bulk furnishes the |
advantage of radiating from a spacious |
surface the qualities of light and heat |
all circumstances as regards ends to |
be served being of the finest possible |
adjustment. The sun and its attendant !
planets, with their sub-planets or moons,
constitute together a machine of such |
marvellous perfection and regularity |
that, after numberless ages, the process |
of movement, according to set laws, has
undergone no appreciable arrangement.
Our wonder at this stupendous accu-
-, I-1 ~, Aho ln1r hot of |
all. the sun, with its planetary system,
is mere unit in creation. Scientifcal-
ly speaking, the sun is star. It is just
one of the many stars in the armament.
Every one of the myriads of stars visi-
BILE to the eye is sun rotating in it's
own assigned portion of space, with, in all
probability, planetary bodies wheeling
around it. Even that does not complete
the wonder. Translated to the most
distant of these suns, we should still
see suns at immeasurable distances and
so on we might go, travelling through an
eternity of suns and attendant worlds
the Journey endless, on and on forever.
Can any one think of this prolific mag
nifcence without lifting up his heart in
awe and admiration of the Almighty
creator and sustainer? Let US, how
ever, come down to particulars about
the sun in her own system.
The common notion is, that it is a
pure, shining body, always presenting
to us the same sur ace. Investigations
do not sustain the belief as to uniformi-
ty of appearance. 1t is ascertalned to
turn its axis like our own earth, with
this difference, that instead of four .,
and d-tWenty- hours its complete rotation
requires about five-and-twenty days. Ac-
quainted with this fact, we are led to
some of the more remarka-
BILE phenomena of the sun. These con-
sist of certain dark spots of different
and very irregular outlines,
which are discovered on its surface.
The spots seemingly shift their relative
position. The shi ting is only appa-
rent, being partly due to the rotation,
which exhibits the surface at different
points of view. The nature of these
spots has been a matter of much specu-
lation, and even now the question re-
garding them is not quite set led. As
suming that the sun is substantially
dark body, surrounded with a shining
surface, a region of light-and- -heat-giv S
ing vapor radiating earthward and sun t
ward, called the ohOtOsphere, it was t
thought by DIR. Wilson, of Glasgow, in @
1869, that the dark spots were cavities ]
or openings in this luminous surface f
through which the body of the sun was
visible. Recent inquiries tend to con-
firm this opinion. Usually, as is OBJ |
served, the dark spots are environed by S
bright streaks of wild. fantastic appear
ance, spoken of as f0cuIOe, the Latin S
for torches. There is, however, great /
difficulty in coming to any distinct idea
g 10 60 4 W of q | =
shifting by rotation, they
sometimes assume the most extraordi- S
nary changes in a single day, or from
hour to hour. Their size is tremend- t
Gus. A width of $4,000 miles across is
not uncommon-a size more than suffi- G
cient to swallow up body several times '
the size of the habitable globe. s
That the sun has not a perfectly
smooth surface is now thoroughly known 6
by observations made during solar S
eclipses. When the body of the moon 1
covers the disc of the luminary it is q
seen that there are huge protuberances e
Of a red color projecting like mountain i
masses beyond the edges of the photo
sphere. It is only when the dazzling G
light of the photosphere is hid that
these become visible. On such occa- l
sions photograph is taken by suita /
BILE apparatus, and picture is secured S
Of the projections, along with the lumi-
nous corona or glory surrounding the f
darkened body. Besides what seem to
be comparatively permanent projections t
from the suns disc, there are observed i
10 be streams of flame shooting wildly q
out to height of thousands of miles. S
These flames, which are red in appear /
ance, are believed to consist of incan- I
descent gases, bursting from the body of G
The sun like the torrents of fiery vapor t
from a volcano. The height reached q
oy the flames is reckoned to be at times q
It least Y, 900 miles above the photos
ohere. Flames so lofty and magnif Q
cent in dimensions fill one with aston h
shment. We call them flames for the
want of any other terms to express f
heir appearance. Properly speaking, L
5hey are demonstrations of hot gas in q
which there is no actual burning. Fire G
can take place only where there is
oxygen or some other gas 10 support e
and in this case there is no i
evidence of there being any gas but 6