Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-10-03
CELESTIAL PHENOMENA

The table given below may be of service
to such as like to keep track OF the planets,
and be able to distinguish one from an
other, those visible to the naked eye Nep-
tune is seen by the telescope only, still 1t
seems worth while to calculate his posi-
ton and TO know that If we could point a
large glass toward the place the calcuia-
ton located the planet, we should see his
disc All theyear he has has lain in the
region south OF the pleiades, 50 slowly
does he move on his lonely way.
On the 10th Uranus will be on the oppo-
site side of the sun from the earth. On
the 9Th, at 6.p. m, Mercury and Venus viii
be in conjunction. the former moving to-
ward the sun, three degrees south Of
Venus. The latter is moving eastward,
but 10th are too far south to
be seen we'll Saturn may be
viewed in the morning, in Leo
FACTS ABOUT THE Sun.
II the typographer makes no mistakes
in setting mp the figures herein given the
reader may trust them as expressing ap-
proximately the amount of heat given out
by the sun Whether or not he can trust
his intellect in its effort TO interpret the
meaning of such enormous numbers is left
for him to determine
Try first TO ascertain how much heat the
earth receives from the sun The earth,
looked st from the sun, would appear SIS a
circle. having a diameter little less than
5000 miles and area OF nearly 80, 900. 0oo
square miles On this circle the heat you
are TO try to measure is poured. II YES
sci containing water is exposed to the per-
pendicular rays of the sun the amount OF
heat poured into the vessel in one min
Ute can be measured. By COM
pairing the superficial area of the water
thus exposed with the area Of the earth
circle, it can be known how much heat is
received upon the earth in one minute.
The perpendicular rays of the sun would
raise the temperature Of 100 cubic cent?
meters of water nearly three degrees of
the centigrade thermometer in one minute
This result seems very Insignificant Bat
now compare the amount OF heat poured
upon one face of cubic eentimeter "a cen
timeter being about four-tenths OF an
inch with that poured upon square
mile, and you find that one square mile of
the earth's surface receives from the sun
tons Of water from the freezing TO the boil
ing point Compare now the heat received
by the square mile with the amount re-
ceived by our earth circle, which contains
nearly O,0O0, 900 square miles, and you find
that heat enough is poured from the sun
upon the earth every minute TO
raise $1,000, coo, 00o0 tons of water
from the freezing to the boiling
point. But you are not done with this
problem yet As the earth moves around
the sun you may conceive Of it as marking
out for itself path $500 miles wide. As
much heat is poured continuously upon
every part OF this path as upon that part
in which the earth at any instant happens
to be; hence you must think of row Of
earth circles, filing up the 600, 900. 0o0
miles of it's orbit, and each receiving as
much heat as our own receives. This will
multiply the 5000, OOO, 900 above by IS. GEO.
This is not all There is just as much heat
produced out on all sides Of the sun as in
the direction of the earth's path. Hence
If the sun were surrounded by a hollow
sphere, whose diameter is equal to that of
the ca, this orbit-every part OF its inner
surface-with it's inconceiyable area of
107, 500, coo, 0O0, 900 900 sqnare miles, would
be heated with a heat such as prevails in
our tropical regions
Again, the coal fields of Pennsylvania,
which, at the present rate of consumption,
will continue to warm the homes and run
the factories and workshops of this
country for thousand years TO come
would, if thrown in the sun fast enough
to keep up its present amount Of hsat, be
consumed in thousaudth part OF q
second.
Once more, scrape together the snow
and ice around our north and south poles,
and fashion the icy mass into cylindrical
tower fifteen miles in diameter. Borrow
the snow and ice from the other planets,
and add to this tower until you have
made of the mass icebridge from earth to
moon, fifteen miles in diameter and 240,-
600 miles long. Suppose now that the
screen, which during the building of this
tower-bridge has shut out the suns rays.
be suddenly removed, the converged heat
of the sun would in one second melt, boil
and convert into Yapor this column Of ice
and snow.
In conclusion think that this enormous
amount of heat reaches us after journey
through space of s., 800, Geo miles Try to
think what must the temperature at the
suns surface. Remember that much Of
the surface heat is absorbed by the suns
own atmosphere Try to realize that of
the great amount of heat that traverses
this great distance, our earth receives less
than one two-billionth part Is all the
rest wasted,
THE Sun.
Central time)