Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-03-04
The King of Suns.

known as the "Dog Star" During the
winter season it CLOVIS upon our nocturnal
heavens with a luster which is un-
equaled by any other star in the tirma-
ment
At the present time Sirius is a conspic-
uous and interesting object, rising short
ly after sunset and continuing above our
horizon throughout the entire night,
being the brightest and largest, apparent
ly, of all the stars which adorn our sky.
From time immemorial the star Sirius
has been regarded as one of the most
notable orbs in space, not alone on ac-
count of his superior brjlliancy, but also
the many influences which he was sup
posed, at certain periods, to exercise over
earthly objects. In ancient times, when
every man was his own astronomer, the
rising and setting of Sirius was watched
with mingled apprehensions of hope and
fear, as it seemed warning of prosperi-
ty in agriculture, or else lasting and
blighting drought 1t also foretold the
rising of the river Nile, and was censid-
cred an infallible sign of the proper time
TO sow grain. The Egyptians were able
to determine the exact length of our
year by recording the number of its ris-
ings
Each year the Romans were accus-
toned to sacrifice brown dog to Sirius,
which they believed would somewhat
mitigate his evil influence upon their
herds and fields. Hence arose the
familiar name "dog-star," which has
been handed down to our own time
When Sirius rose with the sun it was
supposed that he blended his influence
with the heat of that luminary and pro-
duced remarkably high temperature.
over the earth. Thus, also, originated
that common expression "dog- daYs,"
when Sirius was believed to greatly in
crease the heat of summer at particular
times in the year. This supposed infu-
ence of Sirius, although wholly unbound
ed, is even now advocated by many SUI
perstitiOus persons who attribute to the
so-called " dog-days" multiplicity Of
well-knOwn occurrences.
The star Sirius is situated in the con,
stellation CAMS Major, or the Great.
Dog" consisting of thirty-one stars, and
almost universally known from the
brightness of it's leading orb, but which
otherwise possesses no noteworthy at
fractions. The low position of Sirius
being elevated only a few degrees above
our southern horizon-renders it some
what unfavorable for observation. But
Sirius is a superb orb in our winter even
ing sky, and far surpasses, both in brill
fancy and apparent size, even its, nearest
rivals. 1t reaches the meridian liz our
latitude at nine o'clock on the 18th of
February, and then presents a charming
appearance, being most desirably situated
for careful study in the heavens, during
the winter.
Owing to the superior size of Sirius it
was at one time naturally supposed that
he must be the nearest star to our earth,
but modern observation has proved that
this is not the case The distance to any
star can only be determined by its mo-
ton. In the majority of cases not even
the slightest movement can be detected
But Sirius is one of those few stars,
whose distance has been approximately
ascertained by astronomers. The bright
star Alpha Centauris, in the southern.
heavens, has the most rapid motion
known and is therefore considered the
nearest to our earth. Sirius gives evil
denCe of a proper motion, about five
times as slow, and it's distance from us is.
estimated at 1850 600 times the SUMS,
distance from the earth, which. is about
81, 100000 miles. The mind utterly fails
to comprehend the unreasonable dis
lance which separates our little worldl
from that blazing sun in space: Light,
which travels 1873, 600 miles every second
"a velocity almost inconceivable to us
requires twenty-five years to traverse
the distance between Sirius and our
planet.
The size of Sirius has also been deter
mined. This was accomplished by COM
pairing his light with that received from
Alpha Centauris. The result is, indeed,
startling. 1t is estimated that this, star
has a volume exceeding that of our SUN
over 1000 times, and diameter of four
teen times larger. We may justly con-
slider Sirius as the center of a scheme of
worlds, and imagine them as peopled by
creatures far more advanced in, intelli-
gence than ourselves. But we are at
loss to conceive of that vast scale ON
which the system of Sirius must neces-
sarily be fashioned.
Remarkable changes have taken place
in the color of Sirius since il was first
observed by astronomers. When astron-
omy was in its infancy the light of this
star was fiery red color. 1t subse-
quently faded to a pure white, but at
the present time Sirius shines in our
heavens with pale-green hue which is
easily perceived with the naked eye on
these fine. wintry nights.
One very striking circumstance in con-
nection with the star Sirius Is the amaz-
ing fact tAat it has been found to be re-
ceding from our earth at the rate of
twenty zine and one-half miles per sec