Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1891-03-14
THE EARTH.
An Interesting Talk About the Origin aud
Birth of the Planet We Live On.

Accepting the theory of astronomers
that our sun and the millions of other
suns were evolved from masses of nebu-
lous matter. we should like 10 know
how tho earth and the rest of our suns
planetary brood came into existence.
The Bible tells us something about the
earth's infancy. and inferentially about
the other planets. The earth was
without form and void, :" we are told.
There was no division of land or water
nothing but chaos. This agrees with
well.known scientific facts. Geology
takes us back to the time When land
and water began TO take form as we
see them now.
But we should like TO know some
thing about the earth's history farther
back than the Bible and geology take
us. We are satisfied with the evidence
as to its childhood, but Wien and
where was onr dear old earth born?
How came the suns eight planets, and
the little asteroids, 10 he made into
balls and placed outward in space at
distances ranging from $4,000, 600 to
3. 600 600, 600 miles from the parent
pretend to say positively how this
mighty work OF world-making was ac-
complished, but some of them have a
theory that seems plausible and that
fully harmonizes with demonstrated
facts,
What are called spiral nebule--
nebulous bodies which are evidently
rotating or whirliug, have lately been
studied with greater care and miuutc-
ness than ever before. 1t seems prob
able that these spirals Indicate stage
in which inasses of nebulous matter
began to concentrate aud begin the
initial work OF making a star system
after the manner Of our solar system.
The attraction OF nebul@, as we
know by analogy, would cause rotary
motion. parts nearest the nucleus NOV
ing with the greatest rapidity and
other parts moving more slowly in
proportion to their distance from the
center. Such n nebue as this would
extend billions of miles in space. The
different velocties of the parts would
naturally produce spirals, and as the
process of condensation went on the
nucleus would become comparative
IL solid body, like our sun. while
spiras. at various distances thcrcfrom,
would, by their own attraction, be-
come more closely defined as individ-
ual rings.
In course of time, perhaps millions
OF years. these rings would gradually
draw together aud assume the snheri-
ss.. s:y:ss ,,srsaGsyun.y, sysanfs. ~ttz.,s1siS
position be true, the earth was
once q section of spiral nebula. As
the sun settled down into comparative
solidity the nearest spiral ring became
the planet Mercury, the next one
out to Neptune. nearly three billion
miles away.
And If planets are thus evolved
from spiral nebula surrounding the sun
or star then it logically follows that
our moon. and the moons of the other
planets. are the spherical outgrowth oi
nebulous rings. Astronomers who be.
lieye in this theory declare tla,
Saturn's rings will eventually increase
the very liberal allowance Of that
planets moons.
But if this planet-makiDg theory il
correct why can not the completed
planets OF a star be discerned through
the telescopes? Because the stuff o.
| which the planet Is made becomes
thousandS of times smaller when com
pleted than it was in the nebulou'
state. A woman's dress may not b,
more than four feet high and two fee
ia diameter; but probably there are
twenty yards of stuff in it. The spiral'
of which our planets were made must
have been billions of miles in diameter,
but the diameter of the largest plane,
is only $4,000 miles. Philadelphia
| Times.