Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-02-14
DISTANCES in SPACE.
An Express Train Journey to the
Planets and Fixed Stars.

An Express 1Idlu journey 10 Cu6
Planets and Fixed Stars.
illustrate the Immensely Of the Uni
verse-Time and Distances Be-
y0nd Human Comprehension.
There is well-known saying that
truth is stranger than fiction. The
correctness of this proverb can not
well be gainsaid. The most careless
observation of the wonders of nature
as seen in this world of ours, the most
hasty reading of the history of men.
should be enough to place the matter
beyond all doubt or question. The
world itself, its oceans and rivers, its
mountains and forests, its plains and
deserts, its wonderful human and ami
NAL life-these facts are more mar
velous than any thing the fancy OF
man ever has conceived or ever will
conceive. But when we leave this
earth. and, turning our eyes to the
heavens, learn something. however
trifling, of the glories which are there
displayed. then are we impressed with
the feeling that, compared with truth,
fiction. however strange, is poor. dull
and uninteresting. If the pages of
natural history. In every line, tell of
wonders far SURPRISING any set forth
in the most dazzling romance, what
shall be said of the annals of astron-
omy?
Any one gazing at the sky on clear,
moonless night will see what will
seem to him large number of little
points of light SO tiny that many of
them could be held in the palm of the
hand; each apparently fast fixed in it's
place. and all seemingly within very
little distance. say. within gun-shot,
or few minutes walk. What he
does see are huge, fiery globes, so
vast that compared with them our
great earth is but a plaything; rush
ing along at a speed to which that of
the express train. or even of the
cannon ball, is as nothing; at distances
so vast that the mind of man can not
at all conceive them. Instead of small
size, absolute rest and triHing dis
lance. he contemplates stupendous
size, fearfully rapid motion. and dis
lance uncomfortable. Among all these
wonders of size, speed and distance, I
shall confine my attention to the
last, and shall say few words about
the distances of the heavenly bodies.
The moon is distant from us about
24O, 900 miles; of the other bodies of
the system. the smallest distances are
about as follows: Venus. 26. 900, 600;
Mars. $4,000. 600; Mercury. Sc. 600, 600;
the sun. 81. 600. 900; the asteroids, no.
GOO. 600; Jupiter. 1874. 900. 600; Saturn.
$50. 0OO. 600; Uranus, LOGO, 600, 900, and
Neptune, $780, 600. 900 miles.
The distance here approximately ex-
pressed in millions of miles, no doubt
seem great enough; yet the mere state
ment of them can give no true idea of
their real magnitude. Indeed, no
human intellect can in any way form
a just conception of them. Still,
something better can be done than
merely to talk about SO many miles,
whether in thousands or in millions.
The distances must be not merely
stated. but illustrated.
Doubtless our world is enormous.
Compared with the largest of its Great
ures. and even with the space within
which the greater part of such Great
ures move about, its size is indeed
past comprehending. But so wonder
full are the means of travel now ut our
disposal. that almost any part of the
earth, even the most distant, can be
reached in a very short time. In less
than day the modern traveller can be
carried hundreds of miles. In q week,
he can 60 from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. or from America to Europe.
A little more than a month will take
him to the ends of the earth. Thus it
will easily be seen that no single jour
ney upon our earth, however long,
can occupy more than small part
OF the average human life The
time required for q few journeys more
or less to China, Australia or the Cape
of Good Hope, would hardly be noticed
in comparison with an ordinary life
time.
Let US now contrast these distances
with some few of the distances in
space. choosing as our mode of COM
parison and illustration the time it
would take to travel each given dis
lance at fixed rate of speed. We
win suppose certain railways to be
built; one around the world in per.
feet circle. others to various points in
the solar system. And We win further
suppose that the trains on these rail-
ways could be kept going at the rate
OF sixty miles an hour for any required
length Of time; that their passengers
could do without food or could be sup
plied with an abundance Of it: that tho