Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-11-21
The Planets.

The Planets.
PROF. rRoCToR's INTERESTING LECTURE on
THE POETRY OF ASTRONOMY" IN WHICH
TIE RESULTS OF INVESTIGATIONS EY EMI-
NEWT ASTRONOMERS ARE GIVEN.
From the Philadelphia Times.I
Prof. Richard A. Proctor, the eminent
English astronomer, lectured to very
large house ut the Academy of music last
night. "Thc Poetry of Astronomy, or
the Beauty and Glory of the Universe, -"
WAS the subject. The lecture was such
that required demonstration by means Of
Il magic lantern. The sun, moon and the
principal other planets were displayed on
canvass arranged on the stage. Prof.
Proctor Is not eloquent, but he has II
pleasant conversational style about him
that interests his audiences immensely
While he talked last night everybody sat
still and listened He does not adhere to
the familiar theory that the planets are
inhabited. 1t was Il very poetical view
and pleasant To think of, but he could not
believe it. He gave his reasons for not
believing so. These planets are still, so
far as all observation has been able to
demonstrate, in heated state and not in
form for halitation The speaker did
not have time to 90 into details, he could
only give results. In his pleasant style
Of delivery he interested and instructed
everybody who heard him. Speaking of
the subject in question, he said it was
gratifying to observe the swift growth of
popular interest in this most sublime
topic The stars were rapidly ceasing to
be regarded as objects of beauty simply,
On "A no =. l.
when intelligent people will be ashamed
TO gaze in indifferent admiration upon the
armament, and acknowledge their ignor-
ance i'll a field which the vast strides of
modern science, aided by the wonderfully
exact Instruments now in use have made
accessible to all. The science of astrono-
my has been largely delivered from the
realms of speculation to the uncum-
promising domain Of mathematical exact
hess, and while the scope Of research and
development is boundlcss as eternity,
enough has been ascertainod to make the
total acquisition impossible by any one
mind. Hence the science has been
snbdiviIed into theoretical astronomy,
physical astronomy, spectrnscopir as
tronnmy, mathematical and observational
astronomy. Obscrvational astronomy he
has made specially. He dwelt particu-
larly On the recent discoveries Of Prof
Secci Of Italy; Prof. Draper, Of New
York and Prof Langley of Pittsburgh,
and explained what is called rice grains
"n the suns surface are luminous bodies
of gases. or metals in molten condition,
which give out heat and light. He also de
clarod that Prof Draper, i'll fixing the ex-
istcnce of oxygen in the sun, had made
the most important discovery in modern
astronomy, because 1t indicates the pres
ence of nOn-mctallc substances in the
great orb Of light, and shows that it is
composed III part Of the substances that
make up the earth. From this he thco-
rizcd that the earth had become what it
was hy co"ling for millions of years. He
thought that Jupiter and Saturn were
yet loo Young MS coolers 10 be Inhabit-
able, and that Sltun's rings would
gradually resolve into moons. Mars is
the only planet cf or system that is old
enough to he inhabited, and he exhibited
photographs indicating continents and
oceans ON the surface Of that orb. OF our
own moon. Prof Proctor exhibited
number of fine photographs, and in his
remarks di-fipaicd the old notions of
anu E'slsN Ilt' lltltl lllul lIlt
dark places were simply indcntatiuns,
and therefore less luminous than others
He gave Il wonderfully explicit desrrip-
ton of the vastness of the universe, and
i'll brief manner explained the course Of
comets and of other solar ay:tcns than
ours.
Prof. Proctor's cherished object is to
establish Il more intimate relation be-
tween poetry and science and to illustrate
the boundless fertility of this compare
lively untried field for poetical imagery,
Il wedding which must prove mutually
beneficial to both science and art. With
ont dwelling upon the details of the most
recent discoveries. he introduced soiIe of
the more important upon the screen,
upon which were enlarged and illuminat-
ed some Of the finest photographs that
have ever heer procured of the surface of
the sun and the different members Of the
family. One picture was upon scale
which made visible pcculiaritics upon the
suns surface only about 30 miles III diam |
ctcr. This gives strength To- the theory |
that the black spots visible upon his sur
face are but holes through the aiIrrnund- |
ing envelope. through which only the |
parent mas; can lac sayn. Illustrations |
were also shown in explanation of the |
spectr"scapc AMI The incthnd., Icy which |
the composition uf remote planets may be |
!etermln, \ :'rii":' "f pictures, VlvIdly |
pnriruylu" the Immvn~iiy Of the solar |
5yStcm, and IN tIrn its utter insi%nlli- |
:,nr' when hrnuEht into comparison with |
the inincneiiy # the stellar universe,
most cilrctuallv Ilnulf slyI the iniinitrsi- |
nal part ulau pllys in the grand system I
which he involuntarily enters in slunher,
nd from which he is rs ncxurahly dis |
missed la fulfil a destiny Uuf1thomGhlc, |