Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-01-25
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0ss< Audience.
Another coed audience braved the
weather last night 10 hear Professor
proctcr's second lecture at the Seventh
Street Christian, church. His subject
was "The SAN" and he addressed
himself to Il with the ardor Of one who
felt that he had . theme grand enough
10 enlist ali his powers, comprehensive
and difficult enough TO demand the
closest and most consecutive treatment,
and yet rich and sublime enough to re-
ward every step Of the investigation.
he began with the usual statements
~ 10 the d;sfoncs Of nc sun, and gave
some Of the familiar illustrations by
which we may seek TO realize that dis
tancc. Then he touched upon the great
size and mass and consequent strength
Of this giant ruler Of the solar system,
holding each Of the planets in its APP
pointed path by that cver-mysterious
power which all matter has to at
tract all other matter. Next he
told rapidly but succinctly Of the light
and heat Of this "almoner OF the
Almighty. He stated that each square
inch Of the suns surface gives rs much
light As zoo electric lights, and as there
are so many square inches on the sun
al, 200 times as many as on the carth)
its brightness would equal that of so
many times so many electric lights. so
for lis heat, equal, according to Herschel,
to that produced by burning treice
hAousond millions Of millions of
tens Of best coal per second.
Whence comes this heatY IL, as
Croll calculates, ii has been giving out
heat to the earth, as it is now doing,
for at least ten millions Of years, from
what source has il drawn this SEEM
ingly boundlcss supplys The answer
that science gives is that this heat has
come from the continued contraction Of
its volume. But Hclmholtz has shown
that this contraction must haveg gone be-
yond the present size Of the sun as we
see it hence we must believe. and the
lecturer insisted much on this point,
that the real globe Of the sun is far
within the surfac,--the varying, hnctu-
ating. irrcgularly-moving surface--shat
is visible TO us.
Some fine lantern slides were shown
illustrating these points. Several of
them were direct photographs, taken
simultaneously Tor in the ive-hundredth
Of a second), and hence free from the
disturbing effect Of the air that mars
ordinary observation.
Soon the lecturer glided into the great
question the much-mooted and still
disputed question that is the very key
10 nearly sll our knowledge Of the suns
physical condition-namely, "What
are the sun spotsy" There are many
theories as to these most mysterious
chasms in the suns surface; and Pro-
lessor Proctor's seems to be something
like this The spots originate in erup-
tons from the interior of the sun
eruptions of which our volcanoes
NAV give an extremely faint idea /;
then when the eruption gradually ceases
the cloud matter. columns of which we
see eRd-On, as il were, PUSHES in, "pell-
nell" as Lccchi says, to I'LL up the
huge chasn. This view, Mr.. Proctor
seems to think, will account for all the
varied phenomena which spot Ordi-
narily maniiests. from its regular be-
ginning 10 its irregular breaking up and
disappearance.
He discussed also at some length the |
red flames " that show themselves in
eclipses, ard which astronomers have
recently learned to sec even III fall sun
light, rising up thousands of miles all !
around the border of the sun. lie holds
the view that gaseous matter could not
be so projected in straight columns
through the suns atmosphere but that
what we see are - trails or - tracks"
Of solid mcteoric matter thrown out
from the sun, with such velocity that it
can never return to the sun again, but
goes off TO swell the numbers of me-
teors that fill the interstellar spaces.
AS our sun is. so are all the millions on
millions Of stars that fill infinite space
each Of these may be likewise project
ing meteoric matter into the spaces
around, and from this source come the
meteors that nightly CLEAN athwart our
sky. We are not sure that this view
Of Professor Proctor's is altogether Or
thodox, but there can be no question of
the interest and forcefulness Of his pre-
sentation Of it.
Along with this came wcll-illus-
trated and most engrossing discussion
Of the - Corona" which the Professor
said could not possibly be Of the ma
ture of an atmosphere; and also of
the wonderful Zodiacal light, which
he believed to be equal in ex-
tent to the whole solar syS-
TEN. Then, in conclusion, he suggested
that il every star that CLEANS on high is
such in grandeur and power Is this our
sun, how mean and contemplate seems
man And yet all this may but show
that in the Makers eyes "mere matter
is cheap" while single mind and heart
may in Ills scales outweigh them all.
The lecture commanded the undivided
attention Of the audience and won the
most unreseryed commentator Of all.