St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-12-05
SIRIUS PROBLEMS.
Suggestion - to the Origin ef WhaS
We Call Sunlight

1 MO N1u S0nu&0Is
The dark companion Of Sirius, dis
covered by Alyan G. Clark in 1862 will
the 1s-inch telescope constructed fol
the Chicago university, and which ha'
rot been seen since 1890, was retliscov
cred in the early part of September a
the Lowell observatory, Flagstaff. A. I
The observation was made with thu
excellent Clark instrument, constructed
for the use of Mr.. Lowell in the study o.
Mars. Owing to the clear air of Ari
zona. wonderful observations have beer
made hy the instrument. and the disk o1
Mars has been SO accurately mapped
that all previous attempts were sur
passed.
Prof. See, one of the members of thu
observatory staff, sighted the compan
ion Of Sirius after patient search. Ths
companion is so near to the great star
about six seconds Of an arc. and is Sc
faint, comparatively, that the blaze oi
the giant sun fills the eye. 1t was. there
fore, necessary to bar out the light OF
Sirius by small screen in the field ot
the cyepiece. With this device properly
adjusted. the companion, judged to be
Of the 11th magnitude, was observed,
but in a position not expected by the
astronomers who have computed the
orbit.
Sirius and his companion swing about
zach other, forming a great system
The motion has been great enough
since 1862 to get sufficient number OF
position angles for the construction oi
an approximate orbit. Those who at
tended the meetings of the Rochester
academy Of science when it occupied a
room in Reynolds arcade will recollect
that Rev. n. NJ. Mann presented the re.
suits Of his computations Of the orbit
with a paper on the Sirian system
We do not now recall the time Of revolu.
ton which was given by him. but we be-
lieve it was longer than was then gen.
orally accepted. 1t is discovered by
Prof. See and his coworkers at Flag
staff that the companion has fallen SO
degrees behind the position which II
should occupy to meet the require
ments of the orbit marked out from the
accepted computations. In falling be-
hind, it has also receded from Sirius.
After the companion was found by
use ofa screen in the eyepiece it could be
easily seen upon the outer border Of the
light fringe about Sirius without COW
ering that star. Observation could be
continued until = few minutes before
sunrise.
It is estimated from the new observa-
tions that the time Of revolution of the
Sirian system is about 50 years, or three
years longer than was originally esti-
mated. The orbit is believed to be
larger than that of Uranus, and may
nearly approach that OF Neptune. The
dark companion is about the size OF
cur sun. and is but half the size of
Sirius. The light of Sirius is intense,
and the rejecting surface of his COM
panion is so vast that the illumination
must be very great. Presumably this
reflected light alone renders the other
wise dark object visible.
1t is idle to speculate about the habit
ability of the Sirian planet, but there is
plenty of room for a large population.
The body is about $4,000 miles in di-
ameter. and would give globe-trotters
to do if they got around be-
fore the close Of their lives. Sirius and
his dark companion are the most inter-
esting pair within the reach of the tel
escope. No other dark body of such
size as the S;rian planet is known in the
whole universe of stars.
The age of this system cannot be cal
The time required for the
Siran planet to reach the stage Of dark
ness is beyond computation, because
men have no data for the problem.
There is a record stating that the Ro-
mans called Sirius red. As the names
OF colors have not materially changed
in the 1000 years since the record was
made. it is quite probable that the color
Of Sirius has changed from red to blush
white That is Sirius is incandescent,
a condition that shows q life-giving
energy if we gauge the light Of Sirius
by that Of our sun. Perhaps Sirius was
red because his giant globe was sur
by vapors that have now sub
sided, permitting rs to see the light
covering or photosphere. This suppo-
sition conflicts somewhat with the the
ories Of the spectroscopists, rs they con.
clude that the red stars are in the
spotted stage. and are fading into dark
ness. Sirius has passed from red to the
blush white, reversing the order.
Nobody yet knows the cause Of sun
light. and it may yet be found that it is
the result of intcraction between worlds
that are linked together like the sun
and its planets, or Sirius and his planet.
II the astronomical records Of the pres
rnt day are carefully preserved. man.
kind may have some data with which to
attack these problems two or three cen
turies hence. If white stars fade to red
or red stars blaze with white light, it
will be known that there il something
more than the processes Of heating and
cooling to be accounted for.-Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle.
Dianoads Golng - Waste.
That the manufacture of hard eteels