The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-04-22

10 degrees apart from northeast to southwest
The southern one 10 Alpha Libre. II you look
at It with pretty strong opera glass you will
perceive that IL Is com posed Of two stars about
four minutes. or one fifteenth OF degree.
apart. At the same time you will see the
planet Uranus The accompanying sketch
shows the position which Uranus will occupy
on Thursday night The motion OF the planet
IL very slow from left to right In the direction
OF the dotted line. and late on Friday night or
early Saturday morning IL will be only little
more than two minutes Of arc. or one-thirtieth
OF degree. distant from the uppermost star
which Is called Alpha one." its brighter COM
panion being Alpha two" Both Uranus and
this star. Alpha one are OF about the sixth
magnitude. Uranus Is really moving from
right to left, or west to east. ore than four
miles In a second. but the earth 10 travelling
30 much fastor nearly nineteen miles In q sec
ond. In the Same direction. that Uranus APP
pears at present to movo backward among the
stars. Just as objects viewed from u railway
train seem to be running the contrary way.
All this. It may be admitted. Is interesting,
and yet II does not touch the i'm ag In alton very
stirringly. II Uranus were planet like those
little ones called asteroids, which are being
discovered By the dozen every year. 1t could
not have much claim upon popular atten-
u,
more than sixty times as large as ours.
Its vast distance. now about loo. 900. 900
miles from the earth. Is what causes
1t to look SO small. Uranus has four
moons. which revolvs backward in their
orbits: that Is to say. they revove from east to
west around Uranus. while Uranus goes like
all the other planets. from west to east around
the sun. 1t 10 believed that Uranus rotates
backward on It's axis also. Moreover. the axis
OF that great. strange globe. lies in such d.
rsction that. In the course Of its year. which 10
equal TO eighty-four OF or years. the sun
shines almost psrpendicularly first upon one
pole and then upon the other. Measured by
our time standard there are forty years Of con-
slant daylight followed by forty years OF I'M
broken night, around the poles Of Uranus.
And the sun rises in the west and sets In the
east there. But the sun looks very small when
viewed from Uranus-only one four hundredth
as large as 1t appears TO US Still 1t sheds upon
that planet l.5O0 times as much light as the
full moon sends to the earth. so that daylight
upon Uranus. while faint compared with the
blaze Of a terrestrial MONDAY. IL nevertheless
q very respectable kind OF illumination.
1t 10 pity that the telescope Il able to show
US very little OF the detail Of the surface OF
Uranus Some faint bands or belts. Just visible
with the most powerful instruments. are all
We should probably be greatly surprised. II
not greatly disappointed It's average density
is but trife In excess OF that OF water. and. OF
course. its surface density IL far less. A voy-
aGer from the earth landing on Uranus would
probably sink almost a. rapidly as II he had
lenped upon one Of those round. white thun-
der clouds. which. piled high In air. look so
solid and snowy cool on July afternoon. He
could no more walk on the surface Of that
world than he could walk on water
II has generally been assumed that the
meaning OF the slight density OF Uranus 10
that that planet is still In va porous or liquid
condition. aud exceedingly hot perhaps. III so,
It may, in the course Of future ages contract
aud condense and cool until it comes into q
condition resembling tho earth's. VIII vital
forces then become active upon IL. and pro-
duee q long succession OF living species
Frightening It's dim daylight with the color OF
flowers and the ceAssless activity of animate
existencef IL Is not likely that man will ever
be able TO answer that question. but who that
looks upon Uranus keeping step with the earth
to the music OF the sun. can help asking itf
GARRETT T. SELVES.