The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-02-07
THE FIXED STARS.
The Distinction Between Them and the
Planets, or Wanderers.

The Distinction Between Them and the
Planets, or Wanderers.
The fixed stars were at first SO called
to distinguish them from the planets, or
wanderers. For while the latter orbs
are continually changing their positions
with reference TO the other heavenly
bodies, the fixed stars seem to the I'M
aided eyes to keep the same relative
positions in the celestial sphere genera
ton after generation. But by the aid
of the telescope it has been learned that
this unchangeability is not real; that
these stars really move, some of them
with great rapidly; but their distance
from us is so great that the rate OF
change is imperceptible during any
brief period of time. 1t may not be
perceived in single century or two,
but in the duration of thousands OF
years it becomes visible. That these
fixed stars are all suns of other systems
is no longer doubted by astronomers
We can not see the planets that revolve
around them, because at their great
distance reflected light would not be
visible to us, but we believe such planets
to be there, for reasoning from our
knowledge of the works of the Creator,
he would not create these magnificent
sources of light and heat without putting
them to some use. The distances of these
suns from our system and from each
other are SO great that they may be said
to be actually beyond the measurement
not merely of all human means of COM
putting distances, but even of finite
comprehension. The distance of few
of them from us have been measured,
but the most are so far away that by nc
known means can we even approximate
their immense distances. The nearest
fixed star to our system is Alpha Cen
tauri, one of the stars in the constella-
ton of the Centaur, and is II $50, 000,-
100000 miles distant from us, or $780,
600 times as far as from the earth to the
sun. If our sun were moved so far
away it would give us less than one
third as much light as now comes to us
from the star. So we may believe that
Alpha Centauri to be sun with a sur
face three times as great as that of our
..orb of day. and volume over five
times as great. Many of the fixed stars
are probably many thousand times as
large as our sun. We may write in fig
ures the distances that can reduce such
mighty orbs to mere twinkling points Of
light; we may speak of them as so many
billions of billions of miles, but they
convey no real idea to us. Our
minds cannot conceive of such i'm
mensity; it belongs to the unthinkable
knowledge of the infinite. If we needed
further evidence than that given by rea-
soning on the revelations of the tele-
scope to prove to us that the fixed stars
are suns resembling our sun in general
constitution and condition, we have
found it in spectrocscopic analysis,
which shows us that the light from them
is essentially similar to that which ema-
mates from our sun, being formed by
| the consumption of similar gases, Oxy-
gen, hydrogen, etc.-Chscago Inter
| Ocean.
Edward Pickens and Miss Jennie
Allen, of Georgia, elored the other
| night and applied to Rev. Silas Jasper
to marry them As they had no license,
| and as the bride was clearly under age,
the preachers ingenuity served him to
make his liability for violating marriage
flaws difficult of proof. They went to a
point where the counties OF Gilmer,
Gordon and Murray join, and, with the
contracting parties standing in different
counties and the preacher astraddle of
the corner stone, the ceremony was per-
formed. The question now is, which
county has Jurisdiction in the casep-
| Chicago NesOs.
Last year Massachusetts enjoyed
almost total Immunity from small
| pOx, but nine cases with one death
L.