The Osceola times., 1875-07-31
w hat is the Sun 4?
BY Prof. NJ. Rudolph.

on animal ana NcEelaDIe lie must
have made it AN object of greatest
interest in all ages. Adam, doubt,
less looked wonderingly and with
awe upon it from the bowers oi
Eden, and like all his children
must have regarded it as the most
mysterious aud stupendous of the
creations OF God. The Par
sees or fire worshipers of Persia,
worship it as God himself. We, ol
the present day, are more favored
than the old Patriarchs, and the
school-boy of this age is better ac-
quainted with this wondrous body
than were the hoary sages Of an.
tlquty. But there are some yet
needing instruction. We will en-
deavor so TO write that they can
understand.
What, then, is the sun? Modern
science declares it TO be a vast globe
of matter, either melted by intense
heat or white hot. This fiery globe
is surrounded by an ocean Of gas
and tins gas is on fire. This ocean
OF fire, enveloplng the heated solid
body or liquid mass of the sun IS
estimated to be about fifty thous-
and miles deep. The diameter of
the sun itself is about eight hun.
dred and tiity-sIx thousand miles.
We shall have more accurate meas
urements of the distances and di-
amctcrs Of some of the heavenly
bodies when the observers of the
recent transit OF Venus across the
sun have completed their calcula-
lions. 1t Is difficult to conceive OF
a body so large as the sun. 1T will
he p us somewhat If we suppose
our globe to be placed at the cen
ter OF the sun and our moon then
placed at the same distance from
the earth she now is-two hundred
and iorty thousand miles--and the
moon would not only have room
enough to rcyulvc around the
earth, inside the sun, rs she now
does, but about one, hundred and
eighty, Ave thousand miles over
that is, So much room to spare.
Now, add to this great white-hot
globe, an ocean OF gas on fire, fifty
thousand miles deep on every side,
and that gives you diameter OF
almost one million miles. We had
Il most striking proof of the eXis-
teuce OF this ocear of gas on fire
AT the last total eclipse of the sun,
seen in this country August !, 1868.
At that time, when the sun was
totally Obscured, there appeared
five or six immense tongues of
flame from the great ocean Of gas
on fire, and these tongues OF flame
shot out in different directions out
side the dark body Of the moon
and were estimated to be fifty,
thousand miles in length. Think
ofa tongue Of fire fifty thousand
miles long! Wha. mighty ocean
of raging flame must it be from
which such immense torkcd tongues
can be shot forth We need no
longer wonder, then, at the great
light and heat of the sun. But the
great question arises, how does the
sun keep up this great heat through
SO many thousand years ? Is it
being burnt up? and if 50, will it
not be, at some day, entirely con-
sumed, and nothing left Of 1t but
Its own ashes, and We then be left
in darkness and freezing cold ?
THESE are indeed grave questions,
but happily tor us they need cause
US no anxiety. For six thousand
years, at least, the sun has shonc on
us with the same splendor, and we
may safely conclude it will do the
same for many thousand and per
haps millions OF years more. But
how is this mighty storehouse OF
light and heat kept supplied with
tor fuel The answer is
this: The sun is at least seven
hundred and forty times larger
than all the worlds belonging to
our family of worlds-that is the
solar system. Now, by his great
mass Of matter, he has superior at
tractiyc power that he draws every
member of this family of worlds
with sufficient force to keep them
all in proper place. But the small
er bodies that are moving by mil
lions and millions through space,
he attracts with such great power
that instead of moving around the
sun, as do the larger worlds, they
are drawn to the sun, and dash
upon its surface with great force.
This sudden collision would OF
itself produce great heat, just as
when Il flint strikes steel, the blow
breaks oil a small'partlcle Of the
metal ana so heats it that it takes
fire and appears rs n spark, and
will ignite tinder or powder. Now
there are known to be many mil.
lions OF smaller bodies moving