The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-01-13

Ii Monde de Ia Science has the following
interesting Considerations Oh the Stars" by
Prof. }. Ninot 1T is known that the stars
are true suns, that some Of them are larger
than our own sun, and that around these
enormous CenteI5 of heat and light IevOlye
planets on which life certainly exists. Our
sun is distant from us 3S. .O00 leagues, but
these stars are distant at least 100000 times
as iNi Il distance that in fact is incommen-
surable and unimaeinable for us. Viewed
with the uuaided CN the stars and the planets
look alike: that is, appear to have the same
diameter. But, viewed through the telescope,
while the planets are seen TO possess clearly
apprec;able diameters, the stars are still mere
luminous points. The most pnwcrful tele-
scope, lat Of Melbourne, which magnities
5000 times, gives us an image Of one of our
planets possessing an apparent diameter OF
several degrees. Jupiter, for instance, which.
seen with the naked eye, appears as 4 star OF
til" first magnitude, with a diameter Ct IS > at
the most, will i'll this telescope nave its diam
etcr multiplied 5000 times, ana will be seen
as il It occupied in the leai Nus an angle OF
100 :. Meanwhile. :: star alongside of JuLi-
ter. wl;cl t" til" eye is as bright as that
planet, Will still be a simple dimensionless
point. Nevertheless that star is Thousands Of
times more vuiulLiuoU> than the plaLp!.
"Divide the distance n"twCpn us and a
planet by 5000, aud Won hay" for a result a
distance relatively very small; but divide by
5000 the enormous nUmbcl OF leagues which
represents the distance Of L star, and there
still remains IA number Of leagues Luo great to
permit of the stars being seen by us in a per
crptible form. In considering Jupiter, or any
Of the planets. We are TILED with wonder at
the thought That this iitllc luminous point
might hide not only all the visible stars. but a
numbe. 5000 fold greater, for of stars visible
to our eyes there are only about 1000. All
the stars OF these many CunStc'iatlouS. as the
Great Bear. CaSsiopeia, Orion, Andromeda,
all the stars of the zodiac, even all the stars
which are visible only ION the earth'S south
rrn hemisphere, might he set in one plane.
side ny SIDE, with no one overlapping another,
even without the sligntest contact between
star alt star, and vet they would occupy So
small IA space that, were 1t to ha multiplied
o,Ovo told. that space would be entirely COW
eled 10y the disk Of Jupiter, albeit that disk to
us seems an inappreciable point"
Jay GouldS millions now crowd close tn
those of Vanderbilt. He is a man of finer
texture than the Old Commod"re's son. He
doesn't run to fine horses, costly stables ami
blo"'led steeds. At night. when he discusses
his operators from tie telegraph Offices in hi,
W house in Fifth Ayruur and enters NJ. il,
a litle book Tie elcgIaphic reports or the
various railroads which he owns. hr does moi
=" TO- 'ilo 10 raroiiSr, TO a banquet to >tealt
up WITH champagne. ur to a theatre. He ~
hres 10 the rcceS>e> ot a Nrarrflll Iihraa,.
aud. with ms NuunC SONS thnuI him, reads
the lain classics, the world forgetting. but
not by The world f"'g"t-hN 4 lsrsr, laginril>
The next morning lr has The TELEGRAPH aail;.
lightning service, ami he is srnd:n. AL ,}r.,
trlc shock through Wall street A. Sno, as Tie
bulls and bears come into that field for has
tule.