The Bossier banner., 1884-07-03

Shlnln9 planet clrclIng around the sun
much nearer than the first. 1t is Nep-
tune Then Saturn with its rings slowly
emerges to view; next gigantic Jupiter
rolls into sight; then that of tiny
worlds, the asteroids; and then ruddy |
Mars; after which our earth, with its I
attendant moon, turns its round, spotted |
face to his view. Venus and Mercury
and the teeming millions of meteors
that crowd the neighborhood of the sun
appear in turn, and finally the voyager
from outer space beholds the whole
solar system glowing with light and
beauty before him.
As the microscopic, by means of his
powerful lenses, which, in effect, enable
him to bring the object he is studying
exceedingly close TO his eye, sees dull
speck enlarge into wonder-world of
minute creation, so our man upon a
comet, merely by approaching close to
the solar system, has seen twinkling
star enlarge into 9. blazing sun, and out
of its rays emerge crowd of worlds,
basking in its heat and light, and pre-
senting q spectacle that might make an
angel exclaim with astonishment and
delight. From the cold and darkness
and lonesomeness of space the wander
ing comet has borne him into the glare
and bustle of solar system. He cannot
| doubt that if his celestial courser had
carried him into the neighborhood of
some other star he would have beheld
scene equally or perhaps even more
| wonderful.
| And now the comet enters the solar
system and rushes headlOng in among
| the planets toward its center of attrac-
ton, the sun. Agreat change gradually
takes place in its appearance. Perhaps
the comets rider could tell just how
and why it occurs, but astronomers
upon the earth have never yet been able
satisfactorily to explain it, At any rate
| it begins to assume fiery aspect.
From a faint cloudy object it becomes
a blazing meteor, throwing out behind
| it glowing train that stretches like a
conhagration across the sky, and adds
millions upon millions of miles to its
length as it approaches the sun. Now,
| indeed,
The comet he is on his way,
And singing as he flies;
The reeling planets shrink before
The specter of the skies.
1t must make the blood of the man
upon the comet tingle when he per-
ceives the terror and astonishment that
his fiery courser inspires among the
worlds he passes swiftly in his flight.
What if there should be collision?
But luckily for him all gates are wide
open, and he has clear road, this John
Gilpin of the skies.
AS he darts across the orbits of the
planets, supposing the direction of the
comets motion not to be greatly in
clined to the general plane of the sys-
tenn, he is able to study the aspect of
the various worlds. Terrestrial astron-
omers can never have such views as he
gets of those outposts of the solar sys-
tenn, Uranus and Neptune. He obtains,
perhaps, an insight into the nature and
constitution of the splendid rings that
encircle Saturn, to possess which Cali
leo or Herschel would almost have bar
tered life itself. He perceives in Jupiter,
, far more clearly than we are able te
do with our greatest telescopes, The
marvellous phenomena of giani
planet which is just being born out o.
, the chaotic elements of an extinguishec
! sun. He has close view of some O.
! the throng of minute planets that cir
culate between Jupiter and Mars
planets which are SO small, some o
them, that their equators might serve
as a race track for Weston and Rowel
. and the other go-as-you-please pedes
! trians.
i What wonderful sights may he no
| behold upon Mars, a world that ha
advanced in its planetary development
many ages beyond the earth, and Il
| whose inhabitants some astronomer
= have not hesitated TO ascribe achieve
r ments that would be as impossible tt
; the descendants of Adam as tn,
= bridging of the Atlantic Ocean.
He can obtain most striking view
g of this living earth and its dead com
2 rade, the moon-the one whirlin.
q swiftly upon its axis and enjoying tn
: rapid succession of day and night; it
t waters sparkling in the sunshine; it
: green prairies and forests glowing witt
d beauty; cities dotting its surface;
/ cloud-peopled atmosphere surroundin!
/. it, vegetation covering the slopes of it
!, mountains; and its oceans, as well a
r it's continents, filled with a profusion o
G life from its luxuriant equator to it
snow,capped poles; the other hanging
e almost motionless upon its axis,
| worn-out world, without air, withou
$ water, without vegetation, without life
E only a desert expanse of barren rocks
:. it's naked mountains; its silent vol
! canoes; its untenanted plains; and it
: old empty sea bottoms presenting
9 scene of utter .desolatien, turned to tn
: untempered glare of the sun withou
i the shadow of cloud or a tree to hid
3 it. And these two worlds, presentin;
so complete contrast, he behold
J chained together by the resistless powe
of gravitation, their distance apar
) being, as astronomical measures go
but the merest step.
If he passes close to Venus, he ma,
: be able to penetrate the mask of cloud
, which has ever hidden the face of tn
Planet of Love from terrestrial sta
i gazers, and possibly he will discove
that the planets beauty, like that 0
: the amorous goddess whose name j
) bears, is only skin deep. We canno
guess what discoveries he might max
upon Mercury, the inmost planet of all
which braves the sun st close quarters
& Il L.