Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-02-04
A CAREFUL STUDY OF THE sun.
FASCINATING nrcnEArros wnro,l
ANYONE MAY ENJOY.
nov It MAY Ne observed without
pHnRer-A method OF Getting
Perfectly Pure Beam for In.peo-
ton.

Every day n royal presence, attended BY
numerous unseen courticrs, sweeps across
the sky. Tho sun looks us so boldly An thc
face that VIC are compelled to veil ourselves
from his accursing gazo Lotus commonec
our now studies by contemplating hia Mt.
Effectiveness
A plecc OF woll smoked glass will give
us good service. II this DO covered with
another piece, with strips Of paper at the
edges TO separate them and prevent rub.
hing, md other mucllRGod strins 10 hind
tho outor edges, We shall have 4 rcspectn.
bio and lasting astronomical instrument.
Tho eye may now examine tho dazzling
orb without danger, and IL will discover
disk which is apparently no larger thon
that Of tho full moon, but tho fact that
the sun Is about 400 times farther away
accounts for tho resemblance IN fise Bus
tho disk Is not all OF the immense world.
for q very Important envelope OF vast III
monslons IL Invisible except TO special In.
strumonts. Tho LIMB OF tho sun is seen 10
be not quito so bright rs thu central nor.
lions, because tho light from 1t has to
penetrate greater depth OF atmosphere.
Occasionally we soc spot" upon the
solar surface, IN which case IL must be
very large but II wo arc fortunate onouah
TO have access to even n small spyglgss We
shall many times SEQ spots There ara
years when tho spots are very numerous
(tho writer counted los ono day and more
than 400 on n day In ls03), and years
when mono IN soon for months, and tbis
appears TO he governed by period" Of
about / years,
II we usc n telescope with our smoked
nlnas, tho spectacle win loo ouriunsly In.
tcrosting, for the object glnss--a very largo
eye-gathcrs many rays OF light nnd bends
them to u focus, producing mngnifed
image which is yot more enlarged by tho
cyeplece, which ia microscope. Now.
tho very grain Of tho sun, 80 to sneak, ID
visible, tho surface being completely neoked
with grny white matter, while horo and
therohuge masses OF white protrudc. Those
latter arc called faculm and are usually
associated with the epots which nro do.
pfeasiuns In tho surface -dcop, dark cnvi.
tios, but dark only az contrastod with the
shining regions, for they arc brighter than
the calcium light Very recently tho writ
or measured large group and found that
IL occupied an area OF more than 100, 600
miles In length and about threp.fourths ns
wide, into which could 10 cast 100 eartha
without crowding them. sim Target
groups have sometimes boon noticed.
Watching the spots from day TO day re-.
veals tho time of revolution OF tho sun
upon Its axis, about 20 days, which means
that ono day on tho sun 10 as long as 20
Of ours.
As yet tho sun hos not yielded the score,
OF Its composition. and the telescope, un.
aided, " inadequate TO solve tho inystory
In ala 4 al a..
of church rsrvioe, which wero trlile
woarisoms TO little ones, by noticing tho
play Of color in tho busters" which hum
in profuSion from the old fashioned lamps
How little We dreamed that tho sun was
whispering through this simple medium
intelligiblu messages OF very high impor.
tanco, for this three faced form Of glass -
called prism, tho change OF direction IT
objects viewed through 1t being due to thu
bonding (refrectan) Of tho rnys OF light
passing through II, and the color fringe
along the edges Of the Images tho primary
rays OF which whito light ia composed,
which Ia enf W proved by passing the col.
ored rays Trough another prism, when !
th0y form beam Of white light oned
moro.
Tho snmo ooler band, or spectrum, "a I
shown by grating Of parallel wirn. |
strung In frame, or by close grained |
feather, or even by the eyolnshcs when tho |
eye is half closed
But wo can easily improve upon these
primitive Instruments by employing u
serios OF nriams OF ino construction or q
grating pro 'uoed by ruling lines with n
upon piece OF perfectly fiat and [
highly polished spoeulum metal.
To got perfectly pure bonm for inspoo.
tion we let tho telescope Image OF tho sun
fall upon a delicate slit in a metal plate,
which Is In tho focus Of tho object glass Of
d little telescope, whose duty 10 ii tD make
parallel tho rays 10 DO examined, and
which sends them through tho series Of
prisms referred 10 or causes them TO fall
upon grating. In other caRo they nrd
viewed by another little telescope and tho
beam OF sunlight tolls It's story in mag.
nifcent spectrum, far exceeding the rArest
touches Of world renowned artists.
Now for tho precious scorotl The beau.
tiful color band IL threaded with Thousands
Of slender dark lines, which correspond
With tho bright lines, which arc tho sign
manual of metals In Il glowing state, and
We need only TO put pinch Of salt IA thu
lame OF candle md lot tho light fall
alongside tho sun'a image on tho slit,
NHth tHeIt Will W Two hpCNtIAt hlue ny
tde, and tho two bright yellow limos 4
iodium will exactly coincide with two
black lines In tho orange Of the solar spec.
rum, and the orowning proof appears
when the calcium light is permitted 70
hine throuPA the candle flame, instantly
urniDg tho bright lines 10 dirk ones. So
With tho lines Of other metals We hive
earned from tho SUMS own messages, aft
r n journey OF 90, 600, 600 milos, that IL Is
gaseous body; that many Of tho metals
L Garth art ynporizod IN It's awful tcm-
'eraturc, and that tho surface IL probably
shell Of luminous clouds surrounded by
N atmosphere" OF gases Thousands Of
niles doop uut Of which squirt for hun
reds OF thousand< Of inllcs, with speed
y contrast Nth which the movement OF
ghirlwinds on earth is dsnd calm, Jets OF
AIMING hydrogen intormingled with tho
ietallio vspors. which, becoming cooled
y exposure 10 tho cold OF space, fall upon
ho surface and cause tho dopressions
nown az spots philadelphia Ledger.
To EboniEs Wood.
f.rs