The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-05-30

accompanied by his two moons, which
are the smallest bodies known to belong
TO our system. Roughly speaking, the
distances of the planets 60 on doubling,
but our celestial watchman Will easily
discern that the ratio of distance be-
tween Mars and Jupiter is about twice
TOO great, and, looking more closely, will
ma at least 1874 planets-in comparison
with the Others excessively small-Where
he should expect to find one large one.
These minor planets are called asteroids
(small stars, and also planetoids (small
planetS), and their numbers probably
amount to thousands.
At a distance from the sun almost
double that of the mean distances of the
asteroids, the brilliant light of the giant
Jupiter-a world two and one-half times
larger than all the others combined
will meet his gaze. He moves with the
majesty becoming the rank of the mon
arch OF the planetary thrOng, requiring
nearly twelve years to complete his cir
cling journey round the sun, attended by
his four beautiful moons, whose eclipses
are OF such absorbing interest to astrono-
mers.
More than four hundred million miles
beyond Jupiter's orbit is Saturn's This
planet is one of the marvels of the uni
verse. He not only has eight moons, but
is surrounded by two systems of rings
one Opaque, and the other transparent.
This complex system, totally unlike any
other in the whole range of telescope
vision, the frequent eclipses of the plan
ct by its many moons and broad flat rings,
and OF its moons by the planet and rings,
afford never ending series of phenom-
ena for observation and study with large
and powerful telescopes. This planet
was the limit of the solar system as
known to the ancients,-a world some
500 million miles from the sun. Yet
this distance, so great as to be incompre-
henslble to mOrtals, is only about half
that OF Uranus, the planet which next
meets the eye of the star-gazer. This
planet, discovered by Herschel in 1871,
was, until 1916, supposed to be the from
tier, the no more beyond of our planeta-
ry system. Up to this point all the
moons revolve around their primaries
from west to east, and all the planets and
moons, and the sun also, rotate in the
same direction; but here change is met
with, the planet rotating, probably, and
the moons revolving, certainly, in the
opposite direction.
Much confusion exists in our text books
on astronomy regarding the number of
moons belonging to Uranus. Sir Viii
liam Herschel announced the discovery
OF SIX, and gave the periods of their rev.
Olutlon. Since his time two others have
been found, and yet modern astronomers
claim that there are but four; from which
we must infer that Herschel could have
discovered but two. Our great 26-inch
refractor at Washington, the largest in
the world and infinitely superior to Her
schel's 4-foOt reflector, reveals but four
Ii there are any others, they remain to
be yet discovered.
THIS far away world is situated almost
500, OOO, 900 miles from the sun, and yet
during the month of May will be family
but distinctly visible to the unassisted
eye, about two degrees to the east of Reg
illus, the bright star at the end of the
handle of the sickle, in Leo, called AL
pha Leonis. On the presumption that
Natures laws are the same in all worlds,
his temperature must be three hundred
times colder than we experience on the
earth. Our bird's-eye observer will find
the earth revolving eighty-four times
around the sun while Uranus makes but
one revolution, SO that on this world a
person might die of old age, and yet be
an infant of but year old as time is
reckoned there.
1t was formerly supposed that no plan
ct could exist beyond this, world which,
according to all we know of the laws of
heat and light and solar energy, must be
without an inhabitant.
The world has not yet forgotten that
so late as 1916 planet ,OO0, OOO, 900 miles
beyond Uranus was discovered. This
our observer will see moving so slowly
and in an orbit so vast that our earth will
pass it 16412 times before he completes
his mighty journey. His name is Nep-
tune.
While the discovery of Uranus was
purely accidental, that of Neptune, on
the contrary, was theoretically made by
mathematical analysis worked out by
the labors and hard-earned triumphS of
two thoughtful men, Leverier and Adams
and was one of those sublime achieve
mentS which human genius is only rare
ly able to make.
DE is accompanied by one moon which,
like those of Uranus, revOlve in retro
grade direction. Nothing is known of
the length of his day, but on the suppO-
sltlOn that it is the same as those of Ju-
plter, this planet must have one hundred
and forty -four thousand days is his year,
and 1900 months, a month there being
less than six days.
Astronomers are ignorant also regard
ing the inclination of his equator to the
plane of his orbit, an element upon
which depends the changes and charac-
ter of his seasons. Solar energy on the
planet must be 900 times less than on
our earth, and its inhabitants, if it has
any, must be in a continued state of anx-
iety about the price of coal.
| This brings us the end of our planeta-
ry journey as far as man knows at pres
ent When we consider that matter in
amount is, perhaps, as infinite as space
in extent, the question, is there a planet
beyond Neptune, may, with high proba-
billy, be answered in the affirmative.
| AS the fact that four little planets ex-
lists between Mercury and the sun is now
unquestioned, the number of known
bodies of all kinds revolving round our
sun as center are as follows:
Inter Mercurial planets. ........ a
Major planets. 8