The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-01-31
The Stars and tho Earth.
The following interesting question is pro-
pounded by an old friend OF The SUN:

The following interesting question is pro-
| pounded by an old friend OF The SUN:
please inform me II tho great scientists of ourday
regard tho stellar visible to the naked eye
and by the aid Of telescopes stellar system. with
orderly systematic movement of nil its bodies. con.
crete nehuar' And all the bodies which see.
members OF this one system,"
Yes. it Is generally thought by astrono-
mers to-day that all the celestial phenom-
ena within reach Of human vision belong to
| Il single great system: but it Is not yet
possible to say just what the controlling
order in the motions Of the stars composing
the visible universe is. Observation shows
that all the stars are in motion. but with
varying velocities. and In all possible direc-
tiOns. In the same quarter Of the sky. and
even In comparatively crowded aggrega-
tions OF stars. some are found to
be moving in one direction and some
in another. In the case OF the
well-known figure OF tho Great Dipper for
instance. the motions Of the stars are such
that in the course OF some thousands OF
years that figure will cease to DO remarked
in the sky. Many Of it's stars will have
separated. going in several directions. al
though some Of them will continue to keep
company. as their journey lies the same
way in space. So. too. some Of the stars
are approaching us and some are reced-
ing from us. The spcctroscope. aided
by photography. enables astronomers to
measure the velocity OF these flying suns
that are either coming nearer to us or
passing further from US. with m accuracy
that takes account OF single mile per
second. The sun is not exempt from this
1n,, -
the rate Of several hundred millions of
miles in year toward point in the north
ern heavens situated not far from the
brilliant star Vega. sun that is vastly
more luminous than our own. So we on
the earth are not travelling. as most per-
sons imagine. in n beaten track around the
sun year after year. but the earth follows
the sun in its northward pointed course, and
consequently sweeps onward in vast spirals
around the moving sun. SO that We are con-
tinually borne into new regions Of space.
The extension OF the law OF gravitation
throughout the universe has been ques-
toned. but never very seriously. and every
fresh Investigation OF stellar motion
Strengthens the belief that that law really
governs the whole visible celestial sys-
tenn. In the case OF the binary stars, OF
which great number are known. the revo-
luton OF the two stars around ono another
or around their common centre. evidently
takes place In obedience to that law. Now,
II gravltation extends throughout the uni
verse. no star can escape from the attractive
influence OF every other star. and of all the
other stars. So gravitation In itself forms,
as 1t were. a system Of links or chains bind
ing the stellar system together. II we can
ascertain the distance and the mass Of any
star In the heavens. 1t Is simple prob
lem to determine just how much the
force OF that stars attraction upon our
sun is. But when an attempt Is made
to apply this general principle to an investl-
cation OF tho actual motions observed
among the stars. almost insuperabe Diff
culties are encountered. Those motions
occur in so many different directions and
with such various velocitlcs. and our knowl-
edge OF the actual distances OF the stars
from us and from one another. and OF their
actual masses. Is so fragmentary and In
complete, that no systemat order. betray-
Ing a grand centre. or universal law. con-
trolling the gyrations OF the celestial bodies,
becomes apparent from their examination.
More than once 1t has been imagined that
the great centre OF motion In the universe
had been discovered or located. Many years
ago MADLER thought that the Pleiades were
the centre around which our sun was NOV
Ing. and the beautiful star Alcyone became
widely celebrated us the great central sun,
But 1t was all imagination. Later inyesti-
cations showed that MADLER was mistaken,
and now astronomers are not even prepared
to say In what direction the centre OF the
SUMS motion lies. or. indeed. whether It is
not at present actually flying ahead in a
straight line. So speculations on general
rotation OF the Milky Way. that vast irreg-
ular stellar ring. which girdlcs the visible
heavens like belt, and contains within its
borders the majority Of all the stars. have