The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1891-03-12

or another. A great deal Of work recently
done shows that probably many stars,
instead Of being like the sun, are built up
as the comets are, Of enormous clouds or
swarms Of little bodies, some Of them per
haps no bigger than grains Of dust, the
different quantities and qualities Of The
light given out depending upon the mo-
tons Of these little particles, and the
average distance between them. So
when we have . great many Of these
little masses closely packed together and
moving rapidly, they will have an op-
portunity to strike one another, and thus
produce light and heat in q greater degree
than can happen In those other so-called
STARS" where the dust is sPs.sar and
the motion less rapid.
This 10 an idea which has lately been
suggested, and refer to Il here because
it appears to make clear q great many
points on which children even Of q larger
growth have been long puzzled. The
idea, In its most general form, is that the
bodies which shine in space, whether
nebule, comets, stars, planets or moons,
all start in the same way. For the start
ing point it Is imagined that they all con-
sist Of the little particles to which have
referred, far apart and not in very rapid
movement. Collisions take place between
these particles and give rise to light as
the striking Of q flint against q steel
II out must also be different in some way
gives rise to light. The light at first Is
dim, because the collisions are not num-
erous, but in time the little particles
condense toward a center, which, there
fore becomes brighter because the
particles are then nearer together, clash
ing together Oftener, and, therefore,
developing larger amount Of heat and
light.
In this way we pass from what we see
In the heavens as patches Of milk-white
light called nebule TO other bodies even
hotter than our sun, and when the stage
Is reached in which we see specks Of
light merely and deal with "stars"
properly called we geta hot body which
increases In temperature as all the little
particles arrive at the center until the
motion Of all Of them has been changed
into heat and a ball Of vapor results very.
very hot.
As soon as the supply Of heat ceases
the mass begins to cool. Our sun IL such
q cooling mass. The cooling eOes on un-
Ill ct last q body such as our own earth
Is formed. This is why 1t is that the
chemical cOmpOsition Of the sun and
earth are 90 similar.
II this IL what really happens, we can
easily explain the colors Of all the stars.
Each stage Of heat in . star has its own
special color. It Is true that sometimes
very nearly the same color Is produced at
two different stages Of heat. but apart
from this we know that very white stars
are at the condition Of their greatest heat
and that yellow stars are cooler, though
some are old, some young; and that very
red, but especially blood-red stars. are
totterinG on the verge Of invlsibility, hay-
ing run through all their changes.
So far We have considered that the
quantity Of light given out by star de-
pends upon its age, 30 to speak. But
that is not all. In some cases stars,
although we do not see them as double
stars, are really double, and this causes
them to vary their light. We may
imagine one swarm Of colliding and
light giving bodies going round another,
and II the swaTms are not always the
same distance apart. and there is good
reason why they should not be, they will
at times, % to speak, intermingle, and
there will more opportunity for clashing,
and, therefore, more light will be given
out. The star will be what Is called
variable star" and the waxing and
waning Of the light will be regular, il we
are dealing with two swarms only, or
irregular, II we are dealing with more.
Not only %, the two swarms, which
consisted Of separate particles in the first
Instance, will eventually become bodies
like the sun and 90 on until both have
become cooling bodies, one Of them$pe-
haps, cooler than the other. Then It
may 20 happen that the cooler body will
come between our earth and the brighter
one, and stop some Of It's light in the
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