The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-08-30
THE AWFUL DEPTHS OF SPACE.
Distances So Overwhelming That the Mind
Cannot Conceive of Them.


Cannot Conceive of Them.
Let us suppose that telegraph lines,
instead of being merely confined to the
earth, were extended throughout tho
length and depth of space. Let one
wire stretch from the earth to the
moon, another from the earth to tho
sun, another from the earth to the
nearest bright star, another from the
earth to faint telescope star, and
finally let wire be stretched all the
way from the earth to one of the more
distant stars. Let us ROW see what the
very shortest time would be in which a
message might be transmitted to each
of these several destinations First,
with respect to the moon. Our satel-
lite is. comparatively speaking, so near
to us that but little more than a Sec
ond would be required for q signal 10
travel thither from the earth. The
sun is, however, many times farther
away than the moon, and the time re-
quired for sending a message to the
sun would be corresponding longer.
The sun is, indeed, so far that when
the key had been pressed down and the
electric wave had shot forth along the
solar wire to pursue its route at that
stupendous speed which would permit
it to place girdle seven times round
this earth in second, yet eight min
utes would have to elapse ere the cleo
trio wave had passed from the earth to
the sun. An answer sent back from
the sun would require another eight
minutes for the return journey, so that
if there were no undue delay in the
solar post Office we might expect re-
ply within half an hour or so after the
original message had been dispatched
Telegraphing to the stars would
however, be a much more tedious mat
ter. Take first the case of the very
nearest of those twinkling points OF
light-namely: Alpha Centauri The
transmission of telegraphic message
to this distant sun would indeed tax
the patience. The key is pressed down.
the message bounds off on its journey;
st wings its way along the wire with
that velocity sufficient TO carry il one
hundred and eighty thousand miles in
single second of time. Even the
nearest of the stars. however, sunk
into space to a distance so overwheln-
ing that the time required for the jour
ney is not a question of seconds, or OF
minutes, not OF hours. not Of days. not
of weeks, nor even of months. for no
less than four years would have TO
pass BY before the electricity had &C
complished this stupeud0us journey
Alpha Centauri is, however. merely
the nearest of these stars. We have
yet to indicate the distance OF those
which are more remote. Look up to-
night toward the heavens. and among
the thousands of twinkiing points
which delight our eyes. there is many
q one up there so far off that If. after
the battle Of Waterloo had been won
in 1915. the duke OF Wellington had
.elecraphed the news TO these stellar
depths, the message would not yet
have been received there. notwith-
standing the fact that for eighty years
ii has been flashing along with that
lightning velocity which would carry
il seven times round the earth in tho
interval between two ticks OF clock
There are stars farther still For.ity
YOUR eyes with a telescope and direct
i toward the sky. Over our heads
there are thousands of stars SO remote
that If the news of the discovery OF
America by Columbus had been circu-
lated far and wide through the uni
verse. by the fundamentally of the
telegraph, those thousands Of starS