The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1882-06-29
Is our Space Bounded {

our space is bounded whether we an
our earth and our stars are but porto
OF hmitless region, peopled throughou
with stars, as our Immediate neighbor
hood is, and into which our vision pen
etrates indefinitely; or whether we liv
IN colony by some means cut off AMI
separate from other space and systems
In respect to this | can only put befor
| you probabilities and not surely settle,
facts. One thing, however, is demon
strable. space were Infinite ant
uniformly starred, and If liph
passed unobstructed, through . thi
| space, then the whole nightly SIX,
would blaze like the noonday
sun; wherever one might look th,
heavens would be full of uniform daz
zling light. Since this is not the case. j
is quite sure that one of three hvpothesi.
must be admitted. Either our stella,
universe is not infinite, but we live in /:
cutoff portion of space; or else space i:
not anything like uniformly starred, OF
else, finally light fades out in travelling.
| say one of the three hypothesis must
be. admitted, but I do not mean that
either excludes the others. AS to nv
own opinion, if you care for it, it seems
to me quite certain that the last suppo.
sition of the three must certainly be true.
Light is, and must be, obstructed to
some extent in passing from one star to
another, because we have every reason
to believe that betWeen the stars there
are considerable quantities Of matter
bodies which, when encountered by our
system, are recognized as, comets and
meteors.
& 'sWe know but little, to be sure. as ia
the amount and distribution of this mat.
ter, because the particles never become
visible to us except when they strike our
atmosphere and are seen as SHOOTING
stars. But their number, is very much
largerthan we are apt to think-the es-
innate OF Professor Newton, of Yale.
which believe to be. substantially cor
rect, sets the total at about seven and 4
half millions daily This would put the
particles at distances from each other of
about 2o0 miles, on the average. of
course, no one can say with certainty
that in interstellar space these particles
are as numerous as near the sun. /
think l SO, however, for the followin oreas
sons; On the. one hand, the attraction
OF the sun undoubtedly draws them in
from all sides, and thus tends to CON.
dense them into its Immediate neichbor-
hood. as has been insisted on by Pierce.
Proctor and others;e but then. onxthe
other hand fact which, these gentle
men seem to- have overlooked-the
bodies thus drawn in move taster aud
faster when nearing the sun. and this
tends to separate them; Just as a process
sion OF carriages moving along an unz
even road are crowded together in all
the difficult and uphill parts where
they move slowly, and are spread apart
where they go more rapidly, Thus
there is more or less complete compen-
saton between the two actions, and the,
suns attraction has very little if any eff
feet upon the aunberu Of particles to the
unit of space, but only. aceelerates
their speed. These particles are un-
doubtedly very minute. egThe es-
Inmates OF Newcomb and, Hardness
go to show that the majority Of them are
probably smaller than pin head. Now. ]
a haze consisting merely of "a pins head
once IN 200 mites Is not very Obstructive
to light; but it cuts off something, and
when we take into account the immensity
OF space, for one am ready to admit
that the effect becomes sensible in the
of the more distant stars. The
idea is borne out by well-ascertained
fact, which is this: The number of the
twelfth magnitude stars, while it is
greater than that of the eleventh. is not
80 much greater as we should expect.
according to the hypothesis of reasorla-
bly, uniform distribution of stars in snace
md aperfectly free Transmission of light.
knowing that the average twelfth mag
nltlde star gives about two and four
tenths less light than the average eley-
snth magnitude star (the eleventh bear
ng the same ratio to the brightness of |
,he tenth, and SO on we can compute
low their numbers ought to compare.
When we do this we find decided de-
iciency in the actual as compared with
he computed numbers of the fainter
tars, just such as would follow from = |
eai haziness of space.
OF course if this is so our visual I
knowledge of the stellar universe is linn
ted, as to one looking out upon land
cape through fog. OF the great be-
.ond' we can neither afirm nor DENY. /
While we know no reasons for believing
is constitution different from that Of the /
osmos around us, yet. on the other |.
land, he would be very rash who should
Undertake to assert that there is no dif-
erence, and that the same regimen ex-
ends through all the material uni verse. y,
A very unpleasant account is given Ne
y Brazil liian paper of the proceedings
1 huge water snake called the !. sue
ruyu' which is to be found in some of i
he rivers of Brazil An accident oc-
lrred the other day on the banks Of the
sio Arassuahy, owing to the yoracity. of
ne OF these reptiles. a slave with some
was fishing witha net I'm the
lVer when he was suddenly seized by a
lcIsruyu, and, in spite of his resistance
'as dragged under, the, water in the.
resence of the Mortified spectators. He |
ever appeared again, and no doubt is
ntertained that he was swallowed by the
icuruyu. who made an fef fort with flaissl
lnder coils to carry off at the same time
mother OF the fishing party. 1t is the |
xception for the sacIIrI,vn u attantr