The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-11-27


Anc is so comparatively slight, that if
TIE aeon's orbit about the sun be repre-
ee,ta by circle three feetin diameter,
tl Variance from true circle caused
blythe EARTH would be hardly percepti.
be
n considering the vastness of time, as
revealed by astronomy, Prof Proctor be
gan with the earth's geological history.
Gsolcgists tell us, basing their Conclu"
sions ON what seem to be very tTustwor-
thy data, that it has required the earth
at least one hundred million years to go
through its period of strata formation
that is, through the period during which
the crust of rock that forms its outer en-
velope WAS being developed During all
that time the sun shone upon the earth
giving it light and heat. But geologsts
= go back to time beyond that, even, and
tell us that before the earth reached the
period when the formation of strata was
begun it had been for three hundred
and fifty million years cooling down from
atempera ure Of 600 degs. centgrade to
q temperature of 200 degs In all prob.
ability, the lecturer said, this estimate is.
rather under than over the truth. Back
Of this again was a period in the earlhs
existence when il was mere mass of
nebuIous matter, and how long it remain
ed in that state we have no means of de-
termiuing. Probably, Prof Proctor said,
we may take fva hundred million years
as alb M the age Of our earth, counting
from the time 1t began to assume the
form Of a,panet
The larger a planet is, assuming its
density to De the same, the longer, pro
pOrtinnally, will be the time it takes to
pass through these stages, Jupiter, for
instance, would require, taking IIs known
denhi y into account, over two thousand
million years to go through the cooling
process that the earth passed through
in about one seventh Of that time. l.
follows that, in their deve lopment, but
not in years, the larger planets are youn
ger than the earth, aud le in turn j.
younger, in the same sense, than those
planets that rank below her sIz-, such as
Mercury, Mars, and the moon. Accord
ling To these cal dl,nlatiOns the earth, about
twebty 4 Je hundred million years hence
will Sb- IN the GOndi ion in which the
moon il n0W-that is cOudtiOn of
planetary derrepltude, if not, in fact, OF
plane2y death
The lrrturer then briefly explained |
the mus N-bnlar theory of LdpaCe. |
Observation shows that all the planets
ATE moving about The sun in one direc
tiOr; t.at the moons Of all the planes
are moving around their primary in the
SAM nire 'tlOn, and that the planets
them1eives ara turning about their axs
that one direction. There is seem.
ingIy an exception to this rule IN he case
OF the mOuns Of Uranus. which seems tp
60 on In the opDnsi e direction; bu5 this
apparent discrepancy has been explain
ed IN manner which proves that there
Is really no excep ion to thus universal
rule - mn ion IN the solar system. Ifa
man placed on an eminence should 90
serVe thar asnumber of otj acts were mo
VII .''d MN all in one directrno
And thHG 20 No VI 'ho eh'a'V'
thes- Obj e Eere moving around Iar-tI
ones IN me same direction, he wCu'd oe
led irpsistably tD lhe ConGin-loh thal
thes- ur i-cts were carried ny some 1nln
cOnst 4utIy moving ia that direction, ana
Containlng here aud there tddles when
parfakp If the same kind OF motion.
Thisi- wnat Laplace conCe we'd had hap
pened IN the beginning of the solar sy5
tenn. The matter now forming The sun
and planets was then, according to this
theory, in nebulous state, and this neb'
ulou- mater, starting in the shan" of
huge d TX, hegsn 10 whir' .nou, irs cen.
tire A. rhe mo- i,or.as.d and the |
IN mas '..,iracted, ring of matter was
.nrOwn off a. tne Ourer edge, and this
ring Ia process of lime broke up into
fragments After a time THESE fragments
were aggregated into one body. and so
the Oure IN ,st planet Was formed BY
similar pr ,cess eacn of the inner planets
was frrmpd, until finally the VAST mass
at the centre had gar arhrrrd into the great
ball of the sun, controlling the whole |
system similarly the planets in their
partially formed s,ae threw off rings |
which. "nndensing became satellites
may nave happened that one of the
great ri0g- thrown IF bV the main mass
of whulng matter broke ~ into fTdg
menta that were 81 widely separated
and rhap4 20 comparatively small in
qnanritv, tnat they never formed into
one body, and 80 the little planetoidr
that III telescopes of Peters and Wat
son and other observers are continually
picking no, wete formed, being the frsg !
ments that wonld have cnmposeh plan
ct had the process of growth in their
case NOT failed
There ia nothing in this theory of La
place, tpe lee nrer said. that contrary
to what We see 10 tbe solar pysts IN. Bnt
LApldce knew nothing Of the great mum
Der uf mereOr ayarens with which We
have rioce herome scqnain'ed Tue |
cart guhtr1 in ahuu 10 600 rons OF me
teurc mater Nv. nv year, AID % she may |
be ~ q ~ b. gruNius; hut this pruCtss I !
growth, IN COMPARISON with the esrth's |
bulk, ~ very Il ". Millions Of years |
agO. lnwtver, said Prtf Proctor, it II
probable That the nu Der Of meteor
systems was very much greater than |
now, and the earlh, being in the NJ In |
Ions stale, extended over great SPACE,
perhaps 6Iirg the whole orbit of the |
moon, and 30 sosweeping up vas' qnanti les |
OF these metenTs. At that time, the lee |
tnrer said, we are compelled to believe. |
the development Of the planets from