The Osceola times., 1877-01-27
A LOS: WORLD.

Des roy he
Eartf A.
The statement by professor Schimtt.
Of Athens universit 4, concerning osn-
Aagration in the C Anstellstion of cygius
(the swami, and 'subsequent statemen. by
professor Proctor in regard to the grsiual
consumption Of the sun, led to COVER
sation with professor Newcomb, If the
national bservstory at Washington,
wherein tn ere wss disclosed an atrono-
mical prospect interesting and dir.
is IT true, professor" asked his
guest, "hat cygnus has lost tar by
fire p
"AI that is known is that lastNovem-
Der "A new star, of the third magnitude,
suddenly appeared in the constellation Of
swan, and in week or two sterwards
sudde My disappeared from he naked
eye"
LOCATING THE CoNFLAGRTIoN.
Whereabouts in the const tllation did
this occurY
Near Rho Cygni, righstl. sscension,
declina.ion plus torty'two egrees, twelve
minutes"
Professor Proctor has lately called
attention. in a rather Startling manner,
to the unsafe conditions othe sun"
Well" said the yong professor,
smiling grimly, "the sunlas gone on a
good many thousand yes without do
ing the earth any psrticlar damage, and
is likely TO 90 on so foreveTal thousand
years longer"
WHAT THE sPECTHCoPE PROVES.
"Vyhat best mediu have we for OBJ
serving solar physics
The most 'impornt medium of this
research is, of necesy, the spectroscopc
THE immense distare at which the sun
is situated rendersery feature invisible
with the telesco,, unless it extends
hundreds of nib both in breadth and
height"
"Are spectrcope observations con-
sidered infallibE
"It can harry be denied that the
seemingly maelous performances of
The spectroscob especially its power of
detecting chercal elements present in
the heavenly dies, have given rise to
very exaggersd ideas of what It is real
ly capable of Fecting. The enthusiasm
with which is sometimes regarded can
give US no d.nite information respect
ING the opposition or nature of any
solid or ibid body under any cir
cumstanceswhatever. Its revelations
are eptirel confined TO bodies in the
gaseous STE. When we say that iron
and magpium are found in the sun
We mean lly that the vapors Of those
,odies around around the sun. Even
nere the pblem is not always a simple
/nc it W, once supposed to be. The
/spectra dhe same gas or vapor at var
I ious temiratures and pressures differ SO
widely tat hardly any resemblance be-
tween tm can be recognized"
COMPOSITION OF THE SUN.
$50 nat astronomers are not now 80
certaipf the composition of the sun as
u wasupposed they were?"
w are still far from being able TO
say wat the sun is and what is the ma
ture If the operations We see going on at
its surface on so astonishing a scale"
But what are the results of the most
intelligent observations"
All telescope observers, from Calico
down, have seen that the visible surface
of the sun is shining sphere, into the
-intetior of which it is impossible for
sight to penetrate. And modern research
has been able TO tell sstonishingly little
more about the constitution of this sur
face than that it is shining sphere. Al
first the spectroscope was supposed &c
show that it was certainly not gaseous
because it gave a continued spectrum
but this inference was greatly weakened
by the discovery of Frankland that case
might give continuous spectrum wher
subjected TO pressure. For aught th'
Telescope or spectroscope can tell us j
may be nearly continuous solid crus
surrounding the seething interior whicl
IS constantly bursting threus il ma,
be of the nature of an immt' get o
broken ice floating in a hot liY- ma,
be mass of clouds foati2aui06 ~
mosphsre; it may be gas
minous under the immen
higher portic- tsor it may b
nfhs