The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1879-11-29

NiEht-Tke Moon Not . Subject ef the
Earth-The Starr Distances.
From the New York SUM-
The title of Prof. Richard A. Proc
tors second lecture in Chickering Hall
last night was "rhe immensely OF
space" The lecturer suggested on the
start that very convenient way of fix
ing the relative dimensions of the solar
system is to imagine the earth as ball
an inch in diameter. Then the sun
would be three yards in diameter, and
the distance between the two would be
1924 yards. On such scale all the works
of man ON the earth would be invisible,
and powerful microscope would be re-
quired to show the Himalaya Mountains.
The remotest member of the solar sys-
tenn yet discovered, Neptune, would on
such scale be about five miles from the
sun. If the sun, instead of the earth,
be supposed to be one inch in diameter,
then the earth would be less than the
hundredth of an inch in diameter, and
situated three yards from the sun, and
the entire diameter of the solar system
would be about 100 yards.
Yet from such comparatively little
ball as the earth astronomers have been
able to determine with approximate ac-
curacy the distance of the sun and other
known members of our system. The
lecturer suggested that we may not yet
know all the members of the suns FAM
lily, to which we belong, and that there
may be planets, yet unseen by man,
travelling in orbits far beyond Neptune.
Prof. Newcomb of Washington, the
lecturer said, probably knows more
about this subject of the suns distance
than other man, and he gives as the re-
suit of his calculations of the suns dis
lance about ninety-two and one-third
millions of miles. There is one method
of measuring the SUMS distance that
the lecturer said he gave because it is
peculiarly interesting in this country on
account Of the transit of Venus on Dec.
| 6, 1882, which will be well seen in all
parts of the United States. Venus, in
passing across the suns disk, serves as
a sort of index, and astronomers sta
toned far apart on the earth make OBJ
servations Of its apparent place at given
times, and the reduction of these obser-
vations gives . kind Of triangulation
from which the distance of the dial (that
is, the suns disk may be calculated by
simple mathematical rules. Another
way of getting at the suns distance is
by measuring the time that it takes light
to travel from the sun to the earth.
The lecturer then proceeded TO show
that, while the whole solar system is the
domain of the sun, ruled by him, there
are smaller domains within this great
system which are ruled by the planets.
The earth, for instance, has a domain
within which she rules supreme. The
boundary of this domain is the place
where the attractive power of the earth
texnctly balances that of the sun. This
place is 10000 miles from the earth
SO that the diameter of the earth's do.
main is about 800, 900 miles. From this
results curious fact. It seems thai
the moon, which we have been &C.
customed TO regard as . subject Of the
earth, is really an independent
planet, since it lies entirely outside th<
limits of the earth's domain. So we car
not claim that the moon belongs to us
for she is clearly beyond the jurisdiction
or our globe. This is not the case will
the moons of any other of the planets
The domain of Jupiter is $4,000, 00(
miles in diameter, and his four moon.
all fall far within it. The domain o
Saturn is also 29, 600, 900 miles in diam
eter, and as his eight moons all lie IA
J within that distance, he keeps them wei
! in hand. So all the planets that hav,
moons govern them Independently of tn
sun, except the earth, and her moor
ewes allegiance not to the earth but I.
the sun himself. She is not the inferio
but the peer of the earth.
Prof. Proctor next spoke of the meteo
!. system. He said that he had recent,
been led to adopt the opinion that SOM
of the meteoric stones that fall upon tn
earth had their origin in the earth itself
in the youthful volcanic period of he
existence ages ago. Since then the,
have swung in orbits around the sun
and, as the earth's orbit crosses theirs
it happens that at times some of then
are called by her attraction, and 20 the
cease their wanderings, and fall to res
on the bosom of their mother. On tn
/. night of Nov. 81, the lecturer said, w
may expect to see q brilliant display 0
! meteors radiating from o poin
near the star Gamma, in the RICH
foot of the constellation Andromeda
which is now nearly overhead q
b about 10 O'Clock at night. 1t has bee
: ascertained that meteors follow in flock
Q in the track OF, comets. In 1876 Biela'
> comet was observed to split in two
The two parts each had . head and !
|, tail, and they rushed on side by side
I now one appearing the brighter an
/ now the other, until they disappeared