The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1886-04-16
THE. ORB OF oAv.
Remarkable Explosions said to Have
Taken Place ON the SUN.


Among the remarkable discoveries
made by means of the spectroscope ono
OF the most striking has been the recog-
milton of tremendous solar disturbance
OF an eruptive or rather of an explosive
nature. In 1873 Prof. Young, of Prince
ton, N. j.. observed solar eruption, in
which what looked like filaments of
glowing hydrogen, (averaging a thou
sand miles or SO in lengthy seemed to
travel upward from the SUMS surface at
the rate of 145 miles per second, till
they reached height of not less than
-2lO, 900 miles. Even then they did not
cease to ascend. but. losing their lustcr
faded out of view. If shreds of HYDRO
gen were really shot out on that occa-
sion we should scarcely find in the event
anything bearing on the matter before
us-the possible election of meteoric
matter. But no one who considers the
phenomenon with attention, or studies
the evidence obtained in regard to it,
can for moment imagine that what
look like elections of glowing hydrogen
can be really of that nature. 1t is OBJ
vious alike from a priori considerations
and posterto,i evidence that the Jet
like streams of hydrogen are in reality
the tracks of elected matter. solid or
liquid. For not only is it impossible
that streams of such a substance as
hydrogen should be elected to heights
of many thousands of miles through an
atmosphere of probably greater and GER
tainly equal density, but the shapes as
sumed by the hydrogen strcaks are in
consistant with the idea that they can
have been themselves elected. For in
stance, the threads of hydrogen
observed by Prof. Young (somc of
which were thousands of miles long)
were irregular in shape. Had they
really been travelling through resist
ing atmosphere, at the enormous rate
OF 145 miles per second, they would cer-
tainly have been pear-shaped, rounded
in front, and tailed behind, like fire-balls
in our own air. But they resemblcd,
rather, the irregular streaks showing
where our air has been rendered lumin-
Gus by the passage of meteoric masses
through it. Prof. Young's observation
proved. in fact, that on that particular
occasion the sun had shot out from his
interior a flight of many thousands of
bodies. The bodies themselves would
not be visible, because the phenomenon
was observed through a tclespectro-
scope, admitting only red light of the
same tint as the red Of glowing hydro
gen. But the light from the heated
hydrogen along. the tracks of these
elected missiles would be clearly visible.
The streak would, of course. seem to
ascend. For they would always be
close up to the missiles producing them,
SO that their forward ends would ad-
vance, while their rear ends would seem
also to advance as the light gradually
faded out along those parts of the track
which were furthest from the advancing
missile. Wlst Prof. Young saw has
been seen since at various observatorics.
The sun, then, has the power of ejecting
matter from his interior-presumably in
volcanic explosions. Moreover, cal
culation which made respecting Prof.
Young's explosion shows that tho mat
ter elected on that occasion passed
away from the sun with suck velocity
that it would never return to him.
Those missiles were thenccforth akin to
meteoric bodies travelling freely through
space.-RichGrd a. Proctor, in Long
mans Magazine.