The evening times., 1896-08-18
KING OF THE IN|NkLERs
Speed and Magnitude of a
Distant Star AScertained.
IT'S DISTANCE FROM EARTH
Interesting Data Supplied by Astron-
omy-Occupant of the Planetary
System Whose Diameter Is More
Than Seventy Times That of the
Sunlight and Heat Intense.

Suu-i-1knI ana neat INTENSE.
Astronomers have demonstrated, and au-
thorize the declaration as a statement of
fact, lat OF all the stars that grace the
heavens the one which is by FAR the swiftest
traveller is Arcturus, the red king of the
great family OF twinklers.
II is shown by the records, duly attested,
that i rcturus rushes through space at the
rate OF 1871 900 miles n hour, or 4, 72S 900
miles in every twenty -four hours, a rate of
speed which would make the distance from
Washington to Liverpool in little more
than minute.
Mind can scarcely grasp the magnitude of
this sproposition-the obliteration OF distance
by SO reckless method of "scorciling;;"
the traverse OF space OF thousa nds of miles
inless time tn an it trcquires to walk from the
White House to the Treasury Department.
The distance of Arcturus from the earth,
according to Dr. Guilemin, is II 500, 900
times as far away as the sun of our sys-
tem--n round numbers 1,069 SOC, ,000,-
000, ,O00-an inconceivable space. The
light of star OF of the sun varies in
versely as the square OF the distance. If the
sun were twice as far away as IL is now We
would get fourth Of the light we now OBJ
tain from IL.
DISTANCE FROM EARTH
Careful comparisons have shown that
Arctarus actually sends to the earth about
one twenty-billionth as much light as
the sun itself; but IL the sun were removed
i 40 900 times as far as it now Is, il would
shine as a star no brighter than Arcturus.
Yet, please remember, Arcturus is 1.50O,-
coo times as far away as the sun. Dividing
that figure by 14o, 900, we get the number
the diameter of Arcturus as compared with
the diameter of the sun.
The suns diameter is sS6 600 miles, and,
therefore, the diameter of Arcturns mustb be
about II 100000 miles, and its circum-
ference 224 Coo, 900 miles. Its bulk is 551,-
600 times greater than the sun Having SO
times the diameter OF the sun, it must
shine, IL every point upon it as bright rs n
corresponding point on the sun, 6,T24 times
| more brilliantly than the sun, because the
| surfaces Of spheres vary as the squares OF
| their diameter. Such a globe as near to
us as our sun is would fill half the sky, but
we never could live IN such proximity To
| SO tremendous sun.
fthe earth could he moved through space
| toward Arcturus, or if it could fail toArc-
| turus, as IL would probably do but for the
| protecting force that is extended by our
| own sun at close quarters, the spectacle
that would be presented to its inhabitants
as they approached mat great star would
be of iDdescribable ma nagnificence.
Consider the effect. When We had ar
rived within something less than s,0OO.-
600 900 miles of Arcturus lis light ard
heat would be equal to that which We get
| from our sun al a distance of only 90. 600, :
| 900 miles. When We approached it as
| clnse as Neptune frcm the sun tie intcns-
ity OF i,s heat would begin to be unbearable.
Al the distance of Jupiter from the sun it
would snnte the earth with the resistless
| energy of its radiation. The forests would
| burn. the oceans rise from their beds in
vapor, the very ground would smoke. and
before we could approach as close as the
| carth.is 10 TIE spp the whole globe would
| be melted and dissipated in steam.
GREAT Is ARCTURUs.
4 Truly, Arcturiis is king among stars,
and our sun, great and brilliant as il is, If
dropped into the blazing piiotosphere OF
| that great planet, would be instantly
| swallowed up, and the only visible evil
| deDcc of its fate would be Il sudden flash,
and then probably quickly vanishing bot
| on the brilliant surface of the great star,
where The down rush of the doomed sun
| had swept in breath Of cooler vapor from
| above.
1t is worth while TO stop moment and
consider the effects of the gigantic attrac-
ton of such body as Arcturus. Upon the
sun the force of gravity is twenty-sevcn
times as great as upon the surface of the
earth, but upon Arcturus, supposing the
same mean density, it would be 2 ,2GO times
as great, SO that man weighing ECO
pounds on the earth, when transported tc
Arcturus, would be crushed under his own
weight of 100000 pounds into a flat
speck OF protoplasmic DoEcnity almost be
fore the fires OF that mighty solar furnace
could lick him up and transform him into
stfhbeam
Were it possible to fire a ball from an
Armstrong gun on earth, and propel il 10
Arcturus at the ordinary speed of such q
projectile, without any slackening OF pace
It would consume l61 900 900 years ir
| reaching that planet 1t is ascertained tha,
the train mileage upon all the railwaysin the
United states last year Il S95) was, i'll round
numbers, $50, 900, 900 miles.
This is equivalent to a half round trip tC
the SUD; but it would consume ,645. 1884
years, showing each the same train mile
age, 20 cover one round trip 10 Arcturus
IL devil fish had been born at the same
date with julius Caesar, June l g, 100 B. c.
with a tentacle1 .Oes 800 900 900, ,OOe milei
long, and on the day Of its birth had
placed one claw upon the fervid surfacs
of Arcturus, it would yet require the laps.
of several thousand years beyond the
present date before the sensation OF the
burn would enter the squid's consciousness
upon the supposition that sensation trav
els with the same speed as light, SO O0t
miles per second.
A MooTED QUESTION.
Whether these planets are inhabited viii
doubtless always remain a mooted ques
ion with mankind. But We know from
| thor SnectrOsropc cn,nnnsition that n