Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1884-05-21

SELLING OUT
an ignorant person that the sun does not
rise and it aeUer sets is to waste your ant
munition. Simple things, when the reasons
thereof are unknown, are bewildering
even to the intelligent The first time
one hears that when q tree falls on an un-
inhabited and unvisited islsra in the
ocean, 1t makes no noise, or that shest
of white paper is black in the dark is
confusing, because il requires certain
knowledge of the physiology Of hearing
and sight to comprehend what is plain to
the intelligent investigator. So when We
speak of the movement of the heavenly
bodies, which is an entirely different mat
ter from their ordinary rising and setting,
we confuse unleariied persons; and 1
propose to Illustrate relative motion go
that even my unlearned readers may cotni
prehend the subject. II an observer stands
at the western gate OF Court Square and
looks at carriage which is being driven
from Aldrich's corner to the postoffice, he
will perceive that it passes successfully in
front OF the stores which stand on that
side of the square. That is positive mo-
ton in the object. Now let him place the
carriage where the fountain stands; then
starting from the southwest corner of the
square, let him walk toward OddFellows'
Hall. Ii he will keep his eye on the car
riage he will perceive that it moves ap-
parentiy over the sarne store fronts as
it did before. This is relative motions in the
object, and illustrates the motions, or at
least many OF the motion of the heavenly
bodies, whose relative changes Of position
with each other and With the fixed stars is
owing to the motion of the earth carrying
the observer. We see the sun every day pass
across the sky, just as we saw the carriage
at the fountain pass across the store fronts,
but the carriage did not move; neither
does the sun move. We will illustrate
this more fully as we 60 on. Let us get
up another plan on diminished scale.
Let us suppose the block of buildings
around Court Square to represent the
firmanent and the Square to be the space
in which our solar system resides; and
let us divide these blocks into twelve
divisions, three on each side of the Square,
and call them divisions by the names of
the considerations which lie in the path of
the sun, which is called the zodiac, Aries,
Taurus, Gemini, etc, etc. Next place be
sun in the center at the fountain; then
let small bali, representing the
earth, travel around the fountain,
Or sun. On March 2lst, let us
start the earth from point between the
sun and the eastern gate from an observer
on the ball, the sun would appear over
against and in a line with Thayet's store,
which we will call the constellation OF
Pisces. As the earth moves around in its
circle, going toward North Court street,
the sun will apparently move down Main
street, passing Mays, Leidy's, ETC., who
will represent the consultations conting-
uous to Pisces. When the earth gets
around by the Odd Fellows Hall, the sun
will apear in line with Gaston's and the
Tennessee Gu ohouse, and SO on until at
the expiration of twelve months the earth
will have passed around its circle, and on
the same period the sun will appear
to have passed across each of the twelve
divisions which represent the zodiac.
Now, as we go around the circle on the
earth our faithful little moon accompanies
US, revolving around us, making her cir
cult in about twenty eight days, conse-
quently from our point OF observation we
see the moon pass over these consultations
once every month. While it requires the
sun thirty days to pass across one OF them,
the moon passes over it in less than two
days. During this time the earth, in ad-
dition to its revolving around the sun, is
also revolving on its axis, as a grindstone
revolves on its spindle or shaft, turning
entirely around every twenty-four hours.
So an observer on the earth is about half
his time, or twelve hours, ON the side of
the ball toward the fountain, or sun, and
the other half On the side turned from
the sun, or toward the nearest block OF
houses around the square, which repre-
sent the consultations. In order to dis
abuse his mind OF the idea that "the sun do
move" the reader must fix the idea above
expressed in his mind, and always remem-
Der when he sees the sun going down in
the west, it is not the sun that moves, but
the plane of the earth on which we stand
is slowly fitting toward the east in the
revolution of our planet. So as our fitting
goes on, in about the course of twelve
hours, we will come to the sun again that
will be what we call his rising. To COM
plete our little illustration: Between the
ball representing the earth and the ball at
the fountain representing the sun, at a
distance of about one-third and two-thirds
between them, Mercury and Venus will
re 7olve, and outside OF the path Of the
earth, at various distances (giver relative
ly in No. 3 # these articles) will revolve
the exterior planets Mara, Jupiter, Saturn,
etc. These bodies move in their orbits
with different rates of speed from three to
thirty miles per second, and consequently
are continually passing and repassine each
other. Venus, a few nights ago, passed
Saturn, handsolnely under way, and in a
few days she will turn back and pass him
again. Mars passes Jupiter about six
times during one of the latter's trips
around the circle, but Jupiter has his re-
venge by overhaujing Neptune about thir-
teen times while that dark horse is getting
around to the starting post. There is too
great handicappiBg, however, to make the
race interesting. IS n race, for the fastest
mover is invariably ON the inside track.
We will inquire into this business after
while. If l thought my readers were
sufficiently interested on the subject,
conld describe how any schoolboy OF
fifteen years may construct chart on a
sheet of drawing-paper, by which. with
the assistance Of lath or school ruler, he
may tell at any time during the current
year, where in the skies to look for the
various planets, and in which particular
constellation they then happen to be. 1t
would te necessary, however, in order to
use the chart intelligently and practically,
that Re should be able to reccg-
nize the isadiug consultations by
sight. This is not difficult to do.
Very little application to the subject, un-
der proper instruction, will enable anyone
to point out and call by name the various
groups of stars as they appear on a clear,
moonlight night. Knowing these, when
he sees it announced in the newspapers
that comet has appeared in the constel-
lation of Perseus, ard that it is moving to-
ward Andromeda. he knows pretty well
where to seek for it. After little study
in and out of doors, if his attention is
called TO scientific notice of the star Al
pha Lyre or Beta Scorpions, he will not
regard the notice as a cenumdrum, but
only of reasonable inquiry. would haveII
him believe that astronomy, while one OF
the highest of the sciences, is still, within
reasonable limits, open TO the cursory in
vestigator, and thst the further he goes
into it the more interesting it will be-
come. J. B. C.