The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1875-09-03

are supposed 10 Oe e8CdNdIlOuS III bu0
luminous matter which surrounds it,
exposing the voluminous nucleus OF
which he is composed" What supports
this immense flame fifty thousand miles
in thickness for countless ages, without
diminution, even science fails to reveal;
but nature in her boundless resources
supplies from unknown and inexhaust-
less reservoirs, which are continually
replenished by her powers of reprodue-
ton. Around this great center whirl
with unceasing regularity some thirty
or forty bodies of various magnitudes,
which constitute our solar system. The
first and nearest the sun, Mercury,
whose diameter is about three thousand
miles, being about one-sixteenth the
size of this earth, and situate from the
sun some thirty-six millions Of miles.
This planet performs his periodical rev.
olution around the sun in about eighty
seven of our days; his proximity to the
sun making it difficult to obtain the in
elinatiOn of his axis or his revolution
around his own axis. He was denomi-
mated by the aneients as the ''swift-
winged messenger in all their astro-
logical calculations.
Mercury is surrounded by an atmos-
phere and is composed of land and water.
So also are Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Sat-
urn, and perhaps others. That they are
all surrounded by atmosphere is proven
by certain facts, namely: when viewed
by the telescope, clouds have been seen
flying around them; also the refraction
of light is proof of their atmosphere,
the occultation of star behind either
of them being gradual. Were there no
atmosphere, the exit of star passing
behind would be as sudden as it is in
the case of our moon, which body sci
enee has proven to be without one.
Neither is there any water in any con-
siderable quantities on the moons sur
face, unless in a congealed state. The
fading of light into darkness, which
produces our beautiful twilight, and
which is caused by the refraction of the
rays of light through our atmosphere, is
not seen there, but on the other planets
it is plainly visible, when seen through
the telescope.
The next planet in the system is
Venus, whose orbit is outside of Mer-
curry, and within that of our earth. This
is known from certain phenomena pc
euliar to that planet and Mercury /;
namely, when viewed by the telescope she
has all the phases of the moon. Her en-
lightened side never appears directly
opposite to US, except when 50 near to
the sun as to be lost in the rays of that
luminary; also, her enlightened side is
always turned toward the sun, and
never is she seen above the horizon
more than a few hours later than the
sun, when she is the evening star, or 8
few hours earlier, when she is the morn
ing star. She is never seen at midnight,
and is easily known by her brilliancy and
exquisite beauty. These are conclusive
evidences that her orbit, as well as that
of Mercury, is nearer to the sun than
that of our planet, the earth; and that
astronomers have measured accurately
her orbit and her velocity we need no
better evidence than the calculations
made as to her late transit across the
SUMS disc, which was calculated one
hundred years ago, and so accurately
that there was not discovered in the OBJ.
servations at the various stations any
deviation in time whatever. Venus is
not quite as large as this earth, and /:
distant from the sun about sixty-fiVe
million miles, and appears to our vision
the brightest of the stars. She also re-
wolves upon her own axis.
This earth upon which we live comes
next in the system. 1t is little more
than ninety millions of miles from the
, sun, and performs revolution around
him in something more than three
hundred and sixty-five days, which
period is the length of one year; yea
of any planet being the period in which
it makes a revolution around the sun
and day, the time in which it revolve
uPOh It's OMh dAAos HOuA col bl 10 al
tended with one moon, commonly callet
a secondary planet. This moon revolve
round the earth in something less thai
twenty-eight days, and once upon it
own axis in about twenty-nine and
half days. Consequently, day AM
night in the moon is equal to what W
1 call lunar month, or 293 days of ou
time. The moon always presents to u
the same side, so that if it were inhab
tied, the inhabitants on the opposite sid
would never see our earth. Our eartl
is travelling in her annual orbit at tn
rate of sixty-eight thousand miles pc
hour, whilst the moon which attend
her whirls through immensity, keepin
pace at the same time with the earth Il
her annual course, at the rate of NOR
than two thousand miles per hour, an
is about one-third the size of the earth
. Having started at the center, we hav
casually glanced at our system, in a Gil
Gle of nearly two hundred millions {
, :, miles in diameter, and our task is hard
= = ly begun. Now, turning our backs t
: the sun, we gaze along the same plan
through the boundless regions of infinl
: tude.