The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1886-07-03
OUR DusrAEcE FROM THE SUN.
Difference IA the calculations Of
Various Astronomers.
Edinburgh Reylew.l

hCh1hst
The grand views of magnitudes
which arise in connection with the
considerable Of The physical condition
of the sun are, as matter of course,
all dependent upon the measures TINT
have been made of its distance. B..
cause the solar sphere has the apparent
size of foo: ball held l08 feet away,
it must therefore he about 860,000
miles across If il he 10S times 800.0O
or 93.000,000 miles away; that is in a
familiar form, the rationale Of the
process by which tie idea of its nagni-
tude hassbeen acquired. Miss Cler;e
relates very fully and cIarmingly the
history Of the labors which have been
devoted by scientific men 20 attain
exact accuracy in this fundamental
particular. So much the greater pains
have been taken in the matter because
the distance of the sun is unavoidably
the unit of the measure which has To
be employed in making all further
Investigations AS to the profoundly of
space. The semi-diametcr of the
Gal III = cpbCiG 10 utLCocdlil1 AilG luuARd-
mental unit In astronomical surveys :;
aud any error 10 its determination
is multiplied in an infinity of WAYS in
all further consideration nf the planet
ary and stellar distances. But the
measure which has to be accomplished
in coming to the solution OF this prob
lem in the most direct way is about
the same thing us taking the apparent
size of lalf-penny when held 1000
feet from the eye. This is the amount
which is known as the horizontal
parallax of the sun; that is, the differ.
ence of the position which the sun
holds in the vast field of space among
the stars according rs it i viewed from
one or the other extremity OF the half
diameter Of the earth. The transits
Of Venus have been employed rs
Indirect means of getting at this
measure through the intervening siages
OF mathematical calculations, since the
first introduction of the method By
Horrocks in 1851. During the last
two ,ransits of Venus those, namely.
which occurred in 1874 and 1882 the
most strenuous efforts were male by
the astronomers of all civilized nations
to get rs exact measure rs was possi-
BILE. In 1874 eighty distinct stations,
scattered over the most suitable pnr
tions of the earth, We're established at
an expenditure 0f nearly Il quarter of
million of money. But the result is
that this method, SD long cherished as
the iayorite oT astronomers, is now
found 10 have failed them. 1t is uni.
vers4lly admitted by all that the sun
is considerably Y nearer To the earth than
it was conceived to be n few years
since. But, SO far as the transit
observations nre concerned. Mr.. Stone
gives 02.365. 900 miles as the corrected
distance derived from the observations
of 1914. NJ. Fave gives 93.750,0O0
miles; Professor Young 02SS5, ,0A0,
and Doctor Ball 93.000.000. Doctors.
tkerefort, disagree in this matter very
materially: From the transit oh.
scrvntinns of sS2 the prabablc error
WAS held by Professor !louz nm, the
late Director of the Brussels Ol,serva
tory, who devoted great labor and care
To the reduction and comparison nf the
calculations, To am ant 10 100000
either WAY. or tn u total uncertainty of
100000 miles. BY common con
sent of;he best authorities the possible
error in .he measure of the suns dis
tnee by this mrthod of observing i
held H. br not less certainly than /,
$4,000 miles