The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-08-02
A RIDE UPON A COMET.

The simultaneous presence of the
planets Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupi-
ter, and Mars-a string of brilliants
hanging adown the western heavens
rendered. the April evening skies par
ticularly attractive this year. At a
single glance the observer could see
nearly the whole planetary OF tho sun,
the earth's brother and sister worlds in
shining array. 1t requires no astrono-
mical instruments to perceive that these
planets shift their places from week to
week; that some are slow-paced and
some are swift-footed; that some shine
with dazzling whiteness and others
with leaden or ruddy hue, and that
they all differ in appearance from the
fixed stars.
This brilliant procession of worlds is
a spectacle of intense interest to every
one who stops to consider how closely
in origin and destiny, as well as in
physical resemblances, they are linked
with the globe upon whose surface we
pass our lives.
But the observer must in imagination
place himself outside the solar system
in order to get a comprehensive view of
its relations to the universe around it.
If man could ride upon comet as it
approaches the system from outer
space, he would obtain true concep-
ton of our situation in the universe.
Suppose our rider meets his comet q
hundred thousand million miles from
thesun. Even then he has not traversed
one two hundredth part of the Interval
separating the sun from the nearest
fixed star, but he has left all the planets
70 hah ind 4 Alnk
cent height and distance what pros
pect expands around him! Here he is,
out in open space, which spreads away
beyond the reach of imagination in
every direction. There is no sunlight
here, for at this distance the sun has
dwindled to star, and wrinkles ameng
its fellows. There is no air here, and
the vast dome of the universe is like
jet, with countless millions of stars
glittering on every side like diamonds
in the black depths. Yet it is not even
starlight, for there is no medium to
diffuse their radiations.
And that little point of piercing light
yonder; that insignificant star, is the
sun, which was wont to shed such an
incomprehensible blaze of light; to turn
night into day; whose rising was like a
new creation of light and lite upon the
earth Ay, there is no doubt of it.
Thus at one stride into space the star
quencing sun is diminished to spark.
And where are the planets, where the
earth Hidden in the rays of that
star. The height from which Lucifer
descended when
s. From morn
To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,
h s1mme Esd gay; ana Wit NJ the setting sun
~ opp0 ia - ~ ~ Yn A aa L s'a aL
r ~" ~ tho sn & eli tr e1 ~ n0no Sne
oo;s,s ~ 49, -. a.t.an.; ~ V,o Ia IJ
;tsno ~ te., 40 = 'I h aoon "nu oe ~
~ ,,,1t;t,Jo ~" 81 -, Do .I;HIs "o az
tho oion, of % suns =; "1 4hn SP"nAie ~
TEa noma,'I | not 1. 70 1 - a no
and mroJuaIiS a. star i;La 90, 800" ;non" "eo,
in anparent Size and brilliancv Aftes
n time II becomes clear To the comet.
riderthat ont of the ahvss of ;mmens;tv
he il annroach;n0 one IF the nonnlatad
nlaces ~ the nnfvarse r. we Gnnnoso
him endowed with a most niarc;n q
yision-and in the clear ether ever
ordinary vision would nossess extraor.
binary nower-he NAV see in diffaren,
directions, other comets ionrnavino
southwards and nerhans meteors Il
swarms and sinolv ioinipr the oeneraI
procession toward the Solar centre
Already the loneliness Of space is GONE
and his comet and the SIM are No l6noe,
the only material bodies within distaSc1
measurable to human ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The sun continues 10 increase in s;zs
and splendor as he approaches If. anf
if he had any means Of measuring his
velocity the passenger would perceive