Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1878-05-29
Some Astronomical Wonders.

If the dignity Of a science is to be
measured by the inability Of the hu.
man mind TO comprehend its teach.
lngs, astronomy is certainly she no.
blest OF all. We very much doubt
II any man really has a clear idea
OF all that is implied when the dis.
tanccs OF the planets from the sun
are stated; and it is hardly less
difficult TO understand all that has
been discovered in relation to the
sun itself. How much can We com
prchcnd about a place where tho
diameter of the earth would be a
convenient measure with which to
ascertain tho height of tlamcsi
iiavc we any Just conception of the
intensity of heat sufficient to vapor.
izc iron' 1t is, however, when we,
in imagination, leave the solar sys.
ten. and start Oil II Journey to tho
stars, that we begin TO un.
dcrStand how insignificant our earth
really is. 1t might serve TO meas.
urc the distance of the stars. but
tor The distance of the very nearest
star known to us, Alpha Ccntauri,
we must make another mcasurc-i.
c. the distance of the earth from tho
sun. Alpha Ccntauri is more than
200, 900 times the distance, and if
the reader wishes to test his powers
of comprehension let him ATTEMPT
to grasp the import of this state.
ment. lilo may be aided by com.
pairing it to things familiar to us.
Fifty miles an hour is very fast
time for an express train, but at
this q journey to that star would
take over forty millions of years.
The velocity of light is over 100, 900
miles a second; and it requires over
three years for the light of the near.
est star to reach us.
The brightest star visible to us is
Sirius, which is at five times az
great distance from us as Alpha
Centauri. 1t has been calculated
that this star gives out three hun.
dred times as much light as the sun.
Now, we have no means of know
ing the size Of Sirius; but if the
light OF that star is equal in intcIi.
sity to that of the sun, its diameter
must be nearly IS times, and its
mass over 1900 times as great. 1t
Is possible its light is moro intense
than this, but even if twice az
bright az the sun, it must he II
times as great in diameter. Even
this diameter, over ten millions OF
miles, is beyond anything of which
we have an actual idea: An express
train, mt 90 miles an hour, would re.
quire more than seventy years to
complete the circuit of such
sphere.
The next star to Sirius in bright.
ness, as seen from the earth, Cano-
pus, q star which cannot be seen
further north than the most south.
erly portions of the United States.
The star is between one half and
thrcc-quaaters as bright as Sirius,
and as it shows displacement from
the annual motion of the earth, wo
are forced to the conclusion that it
must be larger than Sirius-perhaps
many times as large. The distance
OF only about 10 stars has been es-
timatcd, and of the others visible,
we can not even guess at their dis
tances or sizes. All We can safely
say is that they must be bodies of
enormous size in comparison with
the planets. Doubtless many OF
them are far larger than the sun.
Even the stars, seen only through
the most powerful telescopes, must
be large as compared with the earth
They may appear faint from being
, really small, but it would seem more
reasonable to suppose that they are
! as a rule, comparable to our sun
|, and that they are faint merely
from the effect of distancc.-Mcrcdn
, tile journal.