Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-08-20

DIacK screen pehlnd the JumbIer anu
hold the whole so that the sunlight
must be reflected from the liquid before
it can reach your eye. The liquid will
appear blue. Hold it next In direct
line toward the sun and it appears yell
lowish red. Now these are the exactap-
pearances OF the sky. Sky light is re-
fracted light. The water particles in
the atmosphere, like the PARTICLES Of
soap in the water, retract blue light;
while the background of darkness sur
rounding the earth replaced the black
screen. The atmosphere, like the solu-
tion of soap and water, transmits yell
low and red rays but slightly refracted.
while the blue, being weak color, is
refracted too low to be seen: hence when
we look toward the source of light in
the evening or morning the sky is Of a
yellowish red color. This effect is more
pronounced then than during the day.
because when the sun Is near the hori-
zonthe rays travel a greater distance in
the air in order to reach the earth than
when directly above us Consequently
the blue rays are more thoroughly
refracted.
"The atmosphere has many effects In
modifying the appearance of the sky
and the heavenly bodies. Look at Venus
over there near the western horizon and
just below the crescent moon, which has
come into plain view while we have
been talking ION account Of the deepen
ing darkness). Its real distance from
the horizon is not as great as it appears,
for the rays Of light which 1t reflects to
us, and which 1t receives from the sun,
are bent downward when they pass into
our air, perhaps fifty miles from the
earth's surface.
''As the effect Is the same as that
which would be produced were there no
atmosphere, by rays proceeding from
higher star, we locate the body in a
more elevated position than the one
which it actually occupies. Put dime
on the bottom of pail filled with water
and you have like conditions with SINH
lar effect If you place your hand
where you think you see the coin you
will not touch 1t. but spot perhaps an
inch above the true bottom. Again, do
you notice how steadily Venus shinesP
If you are here in an hour later, when
the stars are all out, you will observe
that all those near the horizon,
the others to smaller extent,
are merrily twinkling. This ap-
pearance, made familiar to all of rs by
theold nursery rhyme: Twinkle, twinkle,
little star is not noticeable in the
case of any planet except Mercury, and
has been subject of much study on the
part of scientific men; it is now gener-
ally believed that it arises from the un-
equal bending of the rays of light as they
pass through aerial currents of different
temperatures and densities- The facts
seem to support this theory, for where
the air is the densest-near the horizon
the effect is most noticeable, where it
is the rarest-in our zenith-it is less
marked.
This twinkling produces another IL
lusion. When we look at the heavens
on clear winters night the first i'm
preston on our mind is that we see an
almost infinite number of stars. In
truth, seldom can an ordinary eye dis
Germ more than 1900 at once; If you
| should observe the sky nightly for a
whole year there would be presented to
| your view only about 5000. But if you
take telescope, as Sir VIM. Herschell
did. and point 1t toward that portion Of
the milky way which looks the whitest
and the milkiest, you will see more
than 600, 900 stars pass across the field of
your instrument every fifteen minutes. 3"