The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-08-13
WILL FALL INTO THE Sun
Comments or Camille Flammari0n's
Articles on the End of the World.
Old Sol Will Eat Up His Planetary Children
One After the Other and Thus Renew
His Fading Life for q Few Years.
can Francisco Chronicle.

Gan Francisco Chronicle.
Il his Popular Astronomy. a periodical
tba appears monthly, Camille FlammariOn
has published SIX articles on tho end of the
world, a-stronomically considered. The
theory on which he bases bis conclusions
Is not new. bat it has never before been
embellished with such a luxury OF detail.
The view We OF the scientists of late years do
not, 1t is to be observed. correspond with
those of the Biblical writer's, who
believe that at the final catas-
trophe the heavens would be rolled
together like a scroll ana the earth melt
with fervent heat. drawing their differences
doubtless from volcanoes. earthquakes. hot
springs and burning wells and the phenom-
ena of electricity as dispayed IN thunder
storms. Now it is generally thought that.
like the moon. the earth viii gradually lose
it's atmosphere and its water. the chemical
elements of which Will be absorbed by the
soil, and perish of cold. Other accidents
may cause Its destruction. such as contact
with or other bodies wandering in
visible in space. but NJ. Flammarion does
not consider these casualties as probable.
Another process of nature Is mean while
going Oh. to-wit. the gradual leveling or
the earth by the action OF rain and rivers
constantly washing down the high lands
into the sea. which would. In four million
years, place the entire surface of the earth
under water were not the ocean itself
The process of absorption will proceed q
little more rapidly than the levelIng pro-
cess. and should any human beings
remain on the surface of the globe four
million years from date they Will be per-
mitted to perish by cold rather than by
drowning. the former mode of death being
attended with less suffering. Mars being
smaller than the earth. and a little further
E.,ur tha ann -. - n@-a n1 Atafo
of decay, for IL has not a single body of
water deserving the name ocean. but only
internal seas like the Caspian and the
Mediterranean. connected 10y canals.
The writer occupies himself principally
with the manner in which the end of the
world il likely to happen, without trou-
bling himself particularly with the fate of
it's inhabitants. although lie appears to
think that a few men and specimens OF
certain species of animals will linger to
the end, which, as the processes of nature
are slow. though sure. will not arrive for
100000 years yet. According TO GER
tain authorities in geology. the coal cup
ply of Great Britain, the most extensive
in the world, will be- exhausted in O thou
sand years. The Chronicle has already ex-
pressed the opinion that oil the iron mines
will have been exhausted long before that
time If the consumption goes on at the
present rate. and that probably even sooner
there will remain for fuel. building and
for manufacturing purposes only the scanfy
bupply VI WOOu w. u IL
ornamental trees and by artificial forests.
while the winters are constantly growing
colder and the population of the world
more numerous and exacting.
The world. having lost all the elements
which sustained life, will 20 on revolving
around the sup. and it's life sustaininR mis-
sion will devolve probably on Jupiter and
Saturn. which. being much larger. nave
taken much more time to arrive at the con-
dition of solidlty which renders lite posi-
BILE. These planets will pass through 9
series of similar geological conditions, and
will perish in precisely the Same manner.
Then the sun. having gradually lost its
heat. will live on for an indefinite
period surrounded by it's dead planets,
which will fell into il one after the other.
each as IL falls acting as fuel and aiding TO
continue for awhile the combustion which
furnished heat and life to so many worlds.
This portion of his subject 10 miDutefy arr
gued be- Camilla FlammariOn. In his 0Dln-
ION the fall of the earth into the sun will
proloug Its existence ninety.tive years; tie
fall of the planet Venus eighty-fOur yy4s,
the fall of Mercury seven years. or Mars
thirteen years. of Jupiter S2. 1854 years, of
Saturn a.G52 years. of Uranus l,6lO years
and OF Neptune 1.s9c years. That is to say,
the fall of the planets into ne sun will
only prOlong it's existence, which goes on
by condensation. as we'll as the fall of
other bodies into 1t. only 5000 years. q
mere sDeck of time compared with the
periods already mentioned. The unscien-
tiiic mind might venture TO hesitate before
these figures measuring of the future with
such precision, but ss no one can prove
that the soul IL not immortal no one can
prove that the arithmetic of the astrono-
mers 10 not correct.
After all the planets and all the meteors
of the solar system have fallen into the
sun its surface will become gradually cool
and hard enough to develop vegetation.
and perhaps animal life. but the solar flora
and fauna will bear but slight resemblance
to those with which we are at present fa-
miliar on the face of the earth. This is
his deductions are logical. his premises be-
ing granted. The ann will. as regards de-
velOpInent and decay of life, 90 through
the same process as the earth and will
have the same end. ALI the stars of tue
stellar system will perish in q similar man
ner. after having received into their bosom
all the planets which we're once q part OF
themselves. and for millions. perhaps bill
lions, OF years there will be only darkness
in the lntiniey of space. who're all is now 80
brilliant. Then the dead sun of our system.
after having wandered blind and bIackened
space. will collide with the dead sun of an
other system. while other dead sun Will
collide with other dead suns until the en-
tire universe is reduced to it's original con-
dition of nebulOus matter. and in this neb-
ulOus matter will commence gyTatOry
movements that will finally end in the evo-
luton of new suns. stars and planets pre-
cisely like those we see at present. and des-
tined to the same growth and decay. But,
as already remarked, this theory is not
new, and only varies from the statement of
1t by other writer's in a certain multiplicity
of details and an exactitude of dates shat
will not always bear criticlem. 4.
The Country's Warning.
1 E-~,. %o,~o. ,r,,aro No %ros turr