The Hazlehurst signal. (Hazlehurst, Miss.) 1883-1885, 1883-12-13
.ha. an atmosphere from 100000 to
1. 200. 900 miles deem receives no pres

that an atmosphere Irvn oVV,OVV 10
]. 200, 900 miles deep receives no pres
sure, or practically no pressure. since
the spectrum shows that the gaseous
pressure at the.llmit Of the chrome
sphere is scarcely perceptiblc. But he
holds that the comctary evidence against
the theory Of n gaseous atmosphere Is
still stronger. Bodies approaching our
earth with fourteen times It's velocity,
encounter such n pressure at n distance
of ninety miles from Its surface-that
II TO say, mt twice the assumed height
of our atmosphere-a to become incan-
descent instantly. But says DIR.
Hastings, There Is the direct evidence
that fur within the limits OF the corona
the density must bc almuet infinitely
less than that of our atmosphere Mt even
sixty mile above the carilis surface.
For the great come, OF the last year
passed Mt distance Of 800, 900 miles of
the sun. and therefore deep within the
assumed coronal atmosphere. This
con,tt travcrscd tho intcrsoi0nal space
for several millions Of miles with vc-
locity 1870 times that Of the earth, not
only without being stopped and prccipi-
tatcd upon the surface of tho sun. but
even without having been checked in
the least"
This ccrtainlyis n formidable. IL not
nm absolutely fatal. objection TO the the
ory adopted by Prof. Young aud many
others. and il is by no means tho only
objection advanced by DIR. Hastings.
Thus he points out that the line l,iH
X in the spectrum does not behave at
all consistently, or in accordance with
the, current hypothesis. Sometimes 1t
is very bright and apparent. AT other
times it is almost wanting. In short,
says DR.. Hastings, "if tho line demon.
stratcs the existence Of an atmosphere,
! il demonstrates also inc0ncciyablc
changes in it," The doctor concluded
his paper with an attempted explana-
ton of solar action basel upon the diff
fusion of light. Prof. Young spoke in
answer to him subsc ,ucntly, and frank
ly said that che had always thought
that the accepted hypothesis was far
from perfect" lie added, however.
that 'the atmosphere Of the sun was
not an atmosphere in the same sense in
which one speaks OF the earth's at.
mosphcrc." ...t t..
This i rather painfully suggestive of
the shifts TO which some thcologians
have been driven in attempting TO ac.
count for the problem of evil. and
which shifts NIL has so forcibly OK
posed in his ESSAYS on religion. II the
suns atmosphere is not what We un-
dcrstand by our atmosphere, then the
scientific use Of that term in cNplana'
tion of solar phenomena Is merely a
shift TO conceal scientific ignorancc.
And. indeed, it is plain enough that
science has not yet d scovercd anyth ng
definite about the sun. all theories to the
contrary Notwithstanding. II is impcs-
sible to dcmonstrat cthe incandcscencc
of the actual solar body or OF its en-
vclopc or envelopes. 1t is imLos-
siblc to explain solar action in accord.
ancc with what is known Of natural
law. The center Of our system is to-
day as profound mystery to us rs 1t
was to the Chaldcans and Akkadians.
and the Asiatic hypothesis OF subtle
cOsmic force called Akasa, OF which the
sun is the storehouse and center. is not
more undcmonstrablc than the hypoth-
cscs which our astronomers and physi-
cists amuse themselves and pcrplcx tho
lay public by putting forward.-N l.
Tribune