Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-12-23


it never approached the sun within 80. 600 600
miles, vet displayed greater splendor and greater
cometic development than comets which have
all but grazed the solar surface. would be
very dangerous visitor if its course CHANGED
TO be SO directed as to carry 1t straight
toward the sun. And there NAV well be
comets as far exceeding that of 1911 as
this exceeded the comet of 1913. while the
course of any comet may well chance to be so
directed as to carry it straight toward the
very center of the sun instead of passing
graZingly by his orb as did the comet of 1913.
VI course the chance of a very large comet visit
ing the solar system on Just such course is ex-
eeedingly minute. Still the event is altogether
possible. There can scarcely be doubt that if
the event occurred the result would be disas-
trouS for the present Inhabitants of the solar
system. The downfall of millions of millions of
masses. each weighing many tons "a fair suppo-
sIfIon as to the average weight of the meteorc
attendants on so large comet as We are consid-
ering) at the rate of $50 or 360 miles per second
upon the SUMS orb could not fail to be an enOr-
nous. though shOrt-lasting. accession of solar
splendOr and of solar heat change which
could not but prove destructive to every form of
life existing on the earth or any other inhabited
planet.
The chance Of such catastrophe is small 1t
is so small that not one sun in millions might be
expected to suffer in this way during thousands
OF years. For we must remember that our sun
is one Ola very large family of suns. and that
whatever danger he is exposed to threatens pre-
sumabiy each member of that family.) May we
not in this way test at once the reality and the
extent of the danger? If any sun among the
millions. the tens, nay, the hundreds of millions
visible in the telescope should sustain the
direct impact Of very large comet. and should
thereby for short time increase greatly in heat
and lustre, that sun would that time be visible
without telescope aid. Probably even the
fantest star which the most powerful telescope
can just show us would become visible to the
naked eye during such an outburst of light and
heat
Turning to the stars to see what evidence they
have given. we find that there have been ocea-
sionally just such changes among the stars as we
should be led to expect from what the comets
have taught US. We find that on the one hand
some stars have suddenly increased in lustre 80
greatly as to pass from absolute invis:bility to
great brightness lin one or two cases even to a
brightness exceeding that of first magnitude
starr while on the other hand these cases have
been so few when the enormous number of stars
ls taken into account. AS to show that the danger
IN the case OF any given star is exceedingly small
Among all the hundreds of millions of suns
working steadily at their task of ruling and
nourishng the worlds that circle around them
not one in million has during the last three
thousand years met with an accident of the kind
considered. even if we assume that every APP
pearance OF a sO-called new star" is to be re-
garded as in reality a case of solar outburst and
has been in reality brought about by cometic or
meteoric downfall Considering that of two
such cases submitted to spectroscopic investiga-
tion cine s0-called new star seen in Cygnus in
November. 1876 one proved to be no new star
at all, while in the other fhe new star seen in
Corona in May. 1869. } though it was undoubt-
ediy case in which a sun bIazed for a time
with several hundred times its normal splendor
the change may possibly have resulted frOmsome
other cause OF danger to which our sun may not
be exposed we see that, so far probabilities
are concerned. the danger that the solar system
may be ruined by solar outburst of some sort
is exceedingly small. The only kind of danger
TO which, SO far as we can judge. our sun is eX-
posed. that from cOmetc downfall upon this
globe, has not yet been proved to be serious in
Itself: while assuming that such cause might
produce great increase Of solar light and heat
for while, we learn from the stars that the
actual cases of such change among all the stars
from all causes are very few in number. consid-
ering the enormous number of the stars. The
chances are certainly not one in million that
our sun will undergo any change of the kind
considered during the next thousand years even
II the sun be supposed TO be antecedently as much
exposed to such change as those other suns which
appear to have undergone it. But the constancy
OF the solar light and heat during the past five
thousand years. and even Judging from the
geologic recordD during hundreds of thousands
of years. affords in reality strong evidence that
ne Is less exposed than some at any rate among
the suns to dangers of this kind. Indeed it is
worthy of notice that almost all the sO-caled
new stars that is, if our views are correct. al
most all the suns that have undergone change
destructive to life on their dependent worlds
occupy certain definite region of the heavens
lying near the edge Of the Milky Way. Taking
this into account. it may be said i'm fine that the
danger Of our earth's destruction by fire. the ele-
ments dissolving under the fervent heat of the
comet-struck sun, is 80 small that it may to all
intents be valued at ''atmost naked nothing
Il. A. Proctor, an CO,-nhiH Magazine.
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