The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1893-12-28

possess the intrinsic beauty nor can Law
claim to the usefulness of a knowledge
| Of those glorious celestial bodies that OBJ
trude themselves upon our notice every
| clear night, The knowledge even of that
! body which Is the prime agent of all ami
NAL and vegetable life on the earth and
without which such life would be impos-
| sible. is so exceedingly limited as I'd
amount TO nothing. In the manifold use
fitness of the sun as the central body
| of our system and Il member of the bound
! less system of the universe, people In gem
! eral are less interested than In the most
insignificant transactions of their daily
| lives. 1t is a fact much TO be lamented
that science is appreciated by them only
in proportion of it's usefulness for their
personal concerns. Perhaps no one ever
has pointed out the two fold conception
of science more graphically than the great
German poet. Schiller. He SAYS: $40
some science is a lofty, celestial goddess;
to others a mich COW which supplies
them with butter"
If on the one hand It is perfectly proper
to render the results of science useful for
practical life, II must, on the other hand.
be admitted that there is an intrinsic
beauty and interest in science which de-
serves our highest consideration and most
assiduous study and attention.
In this article we propose to say some
thing about the sun. the central body of
our system. Its bulk Is 100000 times as
large as that Of our earth, but its mass
only $4,000 times as great as that of the
earth, The word mass" in physical
science is not infrequently perplexlng to
the student. II must not be COMPOUNDED
with either bulk or weight. Mass is the
quantity of matter which 1t is attracted
toward the center Since this force de-
ponds upon distance, and all points on the
surface OF the earth are not equally dist
ant from the center, the weight of a body
Is not constant quantity, but varies with
luff 10 81 he.
least on the equator and most at the
poles Could a body ascend from the
Garth indefinitely it would ultimately reach
point where 1t would be absolutely
welghtless. A man weighing leo pounds
on the surface of the earth would weigh
on the surface of the sun more than, two
tuns.
The question what that enormous body
which gives us light and heat and is the
source of all terrestrial energy consists OF
has for long time attracted the atten-
ton of astronomers and brought their |
keenest mental powers into play From
observations made with that powerful in
srument spectroscopic analysis, It has |
been proved beyond doubt that the sun |
contains almost all of the chemical ele- |
ments found on the earth When 1t is |
viewed with a telescope it's surface is
seen 10 be often mottled over with dark |
and irreeularly formed spots, which con |
stantiy vary in appearance. situation and I
magnitude some OF them being OF an inn
mense size. Sir William Herschel oh
served one in 177e whose diameter was six
times as large as that OF our earth. These
spots. have been the means of disroy- |
erinB the important fact that, like our
earth and the planets, the sun rotates on |.
an axis, the time OF rotation exceeding
somewhat twenty-five days II is evident
mat, as some were inclined TO believe,
these spots are not planetary bodies. Ii
= tar more probable that they are depres-
'ions in the luminous matter enyeloping
he sun which has been called the photo
iphere This philosophers is an intensely
luminous and hot gas which transmits
10Th light and heat by radiation to the
'arth and the other members of the solar
iystem. 1t Is yet an unsolyed question
low large part Of the sun IS solid; the
lnccasins efforts Of astronomers how
ver, will finally overcome difficulties
vhich by some undoubtedly are consid-
red insurmountable. But we should make
ourselves guilty of grave omission were
We not 10 mention remarkable phenom-
nc n Observable during total solar eciipses
no which give rise to number of theo- {
les OF which but one was destined to ]
land the test OF modern scrutiny. When (
yer the moon happens to come between /
ne sun and earth in such manner that I
II these three bodies form one straight /
ne and that the varying length of the i
looms shadow reaches the earth total q
enpse OF the sun is the most interesting
asuit of this conjunction Only two to- q
Il solar eclipses viii yet take place in
lis century, on the 9th OF August, 1896, y
hieh, however win not be visible within &
ie United States, and on the sth OF May.
w, visible IN this country. II had long
cen observed that during such mn eclipse
le dark disk Of the moon was surround p
by broad band Of light n halo which a
adually vanished. For long time this c.
roma, as II was quite appropriately r,
lied, was regarded as terrestrial phe- Is
lHehon, but with the aid OF two modern Of
scoveries, 80 incaloulable in their value q
r astronomical researches fpectrum an al
ysis and photography. the fact, no lon ci
T TO be doubted, has been established b.
az the corona is solar appendage, and
'thing else but reflected light OF the
Last chance TO see the splendid produce ~
IN OF the opera ePocahontasi fonIpht y