The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-01-24
WONDERS OF THE sun.

What astronomers have learned about
the sun is so wonderful that many find
it difficult to believe in such maryels as
real facts. not less certain than what
we can learn about a flower, a rock, or
an animal. | am going to describe
some of these wonders. | cannot eX-
plain how they have been found out, or
why the astronomer is certain of their
truth; but | can promise not to describe
as certain what is in any degree doubt
full, so that where do not tell you there
is doubt you may rest fully assured of
the truth of what say.
The sun lies about ninety-three mil
lions of miles from the earth. A train
travelling five hundred miles in a day,
which is about the rate at which the
train from New York to San Francisco
travels (neglecting stoppages), would
take about five hundred years in travel
ing this enormous distance. The sum S
light, which travels at the rate of one
hundred and eighty-six thousand miles
in a second, takes nearly nine minutes
IN reaching us from the sun; so that if
the sun suddenly became dark, or any
other great change happened to his orb,
nearly nine minutes would pass before
we became aware of the fact.
ENORMOUS SIZE AND POWER.
1t will easily be guessed that, lying at
this enormous distance, the sun is of
enormous size. You can hide the sun
with a one-inch globe, set eight feet
from the eye, or with a ten-inches globe
set eighty feet from the eye, or with
any globe set one hundred and eight
times its own diameter from the eye.
This shows that the suns diameter is
one one-hundred-eighth part of his dis
tance, or, roughly, about eight hundred
and sixty thousand miles. This is about
one hundred and eight times the dame
ter of the great globe on which we live.
1t is curious chance, by the way,
which causes the same number, one
hundred and eight to appear tWtce.,
in this way. We may thus obtain a
useful help to the memory. For since
the suns distance exceeds his diameter
one hundred and eight times. or in the
same degree that three yards exceeds
one inch, while his diameter exceeds
that of the earth in almost exactly the
same degree, it follows that:
First, if the earth is represented by a
one-inch globe, the sun on the same
scale will be represented by globe
three yards in diameter. And second
ly, II the sun is represented by a one
inch globe, the suns distance on the
same scale will be represented by dis
tance of three yards.
The sun has a surface equal to about
ola fhnnco Ae,sxr hn
surface of the earth. which, as you
know, contains about two hundred mil
lions of square miles. His size exceeds
that of the earth no less than one mil
lion two hundred and sixty thousand
times. But size without strength would
be nothing. The sun has to govern the
family of worlds travelling around him.
This he does by pulling them contin-
ually towards him, though they are not
actually drawn closer to him,-just as
a man is always pulling towards him a
weight which he swings round his head
with string, though the weight al
ways remains at the same distance from
his hand. 1t is the wonderful power
possessed by all matter of drawing
towards it other matter "a power which
we do not at all understand, | must re-
mark), which thus enables the sun to
act as ruler of the family of bodies
called the solar system.
his enormous size might lead you to
think he was even more powerful as
ruler than he really is. He is one mil
lion two hundred and sixty thousand
times larger than the earth; but he only
contains aboutthree hundred and thirty
thousand times as much matter. Still
even this is enormous, and means enor-
nous power. If the earth had such
power. the quantity of matterin pound
would press downwards with as much
force as three hundred and thirty thou
sand pounds weight at present. Aman
who weighs only one hundred pounds
would in that case weigh thirty-three
millions of pounds, or would in fact
be crushed perfectly fat by his own
weight.
1t is this tremendous power residing
In the suns mass which enables him to
guide the planets in their paths so that
they never retreat too far away from
him and SO, receive too little heat, nor
draw too close to him so as to receive
too much.
LIGHT AND HEAT.
But again. neither size nor power