Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-03-26

distance OF star; the earth In her wide
circuit round the sun is in winter on
the opposite side of the sun to what she
was in summer. and consequently the
earth's distance from the sun being
about ninety-one million miles, we see
the stars from two different points Of
view, one hundred and eighty millions
of miles apart. But vast as is this base
line, any change in the position of
star is, with one or two exceptions, al
together inappreciable, and Sirius
stands barely within the limits OF any
approximate estimation. In fact, this
star, viewed from the two extremes of
the earth's orbit, shows displacement
of position equal to about the five
thousandth part of the moons 8 diameter,
so that it is almost impossible for as
tronomers to determine the distance or
dimensions of Sirius by this means.
Bright as the Dog-star appears to the
naked eye, in the telescope it appears as
a mere point of light; and even in the
largest telescopes constructed, though
its light is greatly increased. definite
disc or outline, as is seen in the planets.
is quite undiscernible; for if tho power
of telescope was sufficient to raise a
disc on the star, it would be almost an
impossibility to distinguish it, owing to
its great brilliancy; for as Sir William
Herschel tells US, when Sirius was about
to enter the field of view of his forty
feet reflector, ''the light resembled that
which announces the approach of sun
rise;" and when the star was in the field
Of view sit appeared in all the splendor
of the rising sun, so that it was impos-
sible to behold it without pain to the
eye."
Now, if astronomers could measure
the disc of Sirius, they could from that
determine it's distance and measure it's
dimensions; but as no outline is appreci-
able, they resort to comparing the light
received from this star with that which
we receive from the sun, and by this
means they are able to form some con-
clusion as to its probable size. After
the most careful comparison of the
! light of Sirius, the sun and other stars,
astronomers agree in fixing the volume
of Sirius as exceeding our sun nearly
five thousand times, and his diameter
as exceeding our suns seventeen times,
SO that the diameter of this giant orb is
pEOUdOlJ AO 1cSS Iildu ON0T 1OuEOccA I'LL"
lions of miles,
To the philosophers and scientists of
the last century, it must have appeared
incredible that at any future time scien-
tific discoveries would have enabled us
to tell with certainly the composition of
the stars. Yet during the last fifty
years the science of spectrum analysis
has so far advanced, as to give US unde-
niable proof of the existence of certain
! elements in the sun and also in the
stars, similar to those with which we are
acquainted on earth AS DIR. Higgins
says: 1--WE now need not teach our chill
| dren that little couplet Twinkle,
| twinkle, little star, how 1 wonder what
| you are! because we really know; we
| have in the place of wonder, knowl-
edge" OF this method of ascertaining
the composition of distant body by its
light it is sufficient here to remark that
it is due to the fact that, when ray of
light has by means of the spectroscope
passed through glass prism, it is
spread out into broad band comprising
all the colors of the rainbow. This
band or spectrum is in the case of the
sun and other similar bodies crossed by
number Of fine dark lines, which cor
respond to the various elements present
in their constitution. Now, if certain
gases, such as hydrogen or sodium, be
burnt and their spectra examined, lines
similar to those in the suns spectrum
will be found; and if the two are com
| pared, the presence or absence of such
elements in the sun may be inferred.
By this means of spectrum analysis ii
has been found that the sun contains q
large number of terrestrial elements, In.
cluding hydrogen, iron, sodium, magne-
sium, zinc, ithium, copper, oxygen and
many others; of these, the first four
mentioned have been discovered in
Sirius; and doubtless most of the others
exist also, as the spectrum of this star
resembles that of our sun in all essen.
tial respects. though it can not be OBJ
served under the same favorable con-
| ditiops.
By means of the spectroscope very
wonderful discovery had been made re-
| specting Sirius Astronomers has no
ticed that this star was in rapid motion
through space, as 1t was found that year
by year it was changing its position in
the heavens, traversing in about fifteen
hundred years space equal to the ap-
parent diameter of the moon, alta veloci-
ty OF no less than twenty miles pei
second. OF course, by actual observa-
ton the only motion capable of being
detected would be that which was square
to the line of sight, 50 that although
Sirius appears to Us to move across the
heavens, he may really be travelling in
a slanting direction, either towards ol
from US. No one would ever have ex
pected to be able to tell whether stal
was approaehlng TO o. receding from us
yet oven this seemingly lnsoivabie prob
lem has of late years been accomplished
nv the spectroscope. DR.. Higgins, oul
GREATEST autno,.- .+- ON this subject, hav
ing identified certain lines in the spec
trum of Sirius as those of hydrogen
found on comparison that these werf
displaced in such q manner as TO indi
cate that the star was receding from US
1t has been estimated that this reces
sion combined with the thwart motion
Of twenty miles per second, gives as th'
actual movement of Sirius in space ;
speed of about thirty-three miles pc
second.
These, then, constitute some of th'
chief items of information about Sirius
at present within our knowledge,
There seems to be no reason to doubt
that. in common with other SUNS he has
his system of planets circiing round
him after the manner of our own sun
and what system! Vast as ours ap
pears. it is dwarfed into insignifcance
compared with system whose ruling
orb is five thousand times larger than
that which does duty for US. There
seems also no reason to doubt that these
planets are intended to be the abode o
life; it may be that at the present mo
ment none of them present any signs o
life; but l think we may safely infel
rifhnut imnrnhahilitH that each one O