The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-22
THE STORY OF THE sun
Told to Us Through the Spectrum,
Which All May Read in Part.

Philadelphia Ledger
Every day royal presence, attended by
numerous unseen courtiers. sweeps across
the sky. Every night a panorama OF Won
ders softly unfolds it's splendors overhead.
yet tens of thousands of intelligent per-
sons have scarcely given a thought to
the inspiring recreation within such easy
arduous or costly, for the comparison
of the skies with the. simple star maps
quaintance with the principal constella-
tons and the brightest stars and when
these will have become familiar there will
endure through the years sense of COM
partnership with them which nothing
dissolve: And the sun looks up, SO boldly
in the face that we are compelled to veil
ourselves from his gaze. Let commence
our new studies by contemplating his at
A piece of we'll smoked glass will give us
good service. If this be covered with
another piece, with strips of paper at the
edges to separate them and prevent rub
bling, and other muclaged strips to bind
the edges, we shall have respectable and
lasting astronomical instrument.
The eye may now examine the dazzling
orb without danger, and it will discover
that of the full moon, but the fact that the
sun Is about four hundred times further
away ACCOUNTS for the resemblance in
size. But the disk is not all of the i'm
mense world, for very important envel-
ope of vast dimensions is invisible except
to special Instruments. The limb of the
sun is seen to be not quite so bright as the
central portions, because the light from it
has to penetrate a greater depth of at
Occasionally we see spot upon the
solar surface, in which case 1t must be
very large; but if we are fortunate enough
to have access to even a small spyglass,
we shall many times see spots. There are
years when the spots are very numerous
(the writer counted 16S one day in October
and more than 800 on a day in 1888, and
years when none are seen for months;
and this appears to be governed by a
period of about eleven years. To assist
the investigation of the cause of this period
the writer watches the sun with care and
omits day when it may be observed,
though it be but for minute.
If we use a telescope with our smoked
glass the spectacle will be curiously in
teresting, for the object glass-a very large
eye-gathers many rays of light and beads
them to a focus, producing a nagnified
image which is yet more enlarged 10y the
eyepiece, which is a microscope. Now the
very grain of the sun. to speak, IS
visible, the surface being completely fiecked
with gray-white matter, While here and
there huge masses of white protrude These
latter are called feeuae, and are usually
associated with the spots, which are de-
pressions in the surface-deep, dark cavi-
ties. but dark only contrasted with the
shining regions, for they are brighter than
the calcium light. Very recently the writer
measured a large group and found that 1t
occupied an area OF more than 100000 miles
in length, and about three-fourths as wide,
into which could be cast one hundred earths
without crowding them. Still larger groups
have sometimes been noticed Watching
the spots from day TO day reveals the time
of revolution of the sun upon its axis,
about twenty-five days, which means that
one day on the sun Is as long as twenty
five of ours.
of its composition and the telescope. I'M
aided, Is Inadequate to solve the mystery
Perhaps In childhood We beguiled hours
Wearisome to little ones. by noticing the
play OF color In the "lustres' which hung
In profusson from the cld-fashioned lamps