Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1899-06-07
WONDERS OF THE SUN
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR
FIERY ORB OF DAY.
It's Size, Weight and Intense Heat.
It's Dazzling Light and the Sub
stance From which It Proceeds.
The Elements which It Contains.


earth, and is nearly twice that of the
moons orbit.
Its volume of bulk is 1, 80 900 times
that Of the earth. Its weight, calculat-
ed from the strength of its pull upon
the planets, is that of 327, 900 earths.
The suns mean or average distance
from Us, according 70 the latest dtermi-
nations, is 90 700, 600 miles. Owing TO
a slight ellipticity of the earth's orbit
and the fact that the sun is not exactly
at its center we are 5000, 900 miles |
nearer the sun on the 1st of January
than on the lst of July.
Light, travelling at the rate of 1856,
600 miles a second, requires 81 min
utes TO come TO us from the sun. A rail
way train. speeding day and night at
the rate Of go miles an hour, would
cover q distance as great in I76 years
The amount OF heat radiated by the
sun every 40 minutes is equivalent TO
that which would be generated by the
combustion of chunk Of the best an
thraoite coal of the size of the moon.
If javelin of ice 40 miles thick were
TO be hurled at the sun by some titantic
arm, with the velocity of light and
could the whole heat of the sun be con-
centrated upon it, the weapon would
melt as fast as it advanced.
The sun is 600, 900 times as bright as
the full moon.
Sunlight has l46 times the intensity
Of calcium light and three times that Of
the electric arc light.
The temperature Of the sun is now
thought TO be somewhere between 8, 600
and 9. 900 degrees centigrade.
This temperature is sufficiently high
20 vaporize all known substances, with
the possible exception Of carbon. For
this reason il is now held to be probable
that the light Of the sun comes from
solid or liquid PARTICLES of carbon,
which float in its otherwise gaseous
mass near its exterior. forming in their
aggregation the dazzling, cloudlike
shell known as the "photosphere. "
The reason for thinking that the sun 5
| light comes from intensely heated solid
or liquid matter. though undoubtedly
the great bulk of the suns mass is gas
/ eOus, Is that the spectrum Of sun
| light (formed by causing a beam of
sunlight TO pass through glass prism)
IL ''continuOus" is, it contains all
OF the rainbow colors from red 70 violet,
and such spectrum Is given only by
light from a glowing solid or liquid.
The spectrum of a glowing gas con
sists only of greater or less number Of
bright lines, the intervening spaces be-
ing dark, each gas-or metal reduced
10 the gaseous state-giving a spectrum
peculiar 10 itself
Crossing the rainbow spectrum of
sunlight are 20 be seen thousands Of fine
dark lines. These lines are now known
70 be due TO the fact that above the
suns dazzling philosophers j. an atmos-
phere-abOut 5, 600 miles deep-made
Of various gases and vapors Of metals,
which stop or absorb part Of the
suns light in passage through them.
These dark lines correspond in posi-
tion and intensity with the bright lines
which form the spectra Of various gases
and metals and are undoubtedly caused
by the presence Of these substances in
the suns atmosphere.
About one-half Of the 10 and more
elements known 10 terrestrial chem
istry have been discovered by these in
dications TO exist in the SUI. and as
trOnOmers are confident that the rest of
the terrestrial elements are also there
though for some reason they have not
vet revealed themselves through the
spectroscope.
Some years ago astronomers were
puzzled at finding evidence of the ex-
istence in the sun Of substance appar-
emily quite abundant, which could not
be identified by means of its lines with
any known terrestrial element They
named il helium.
Helium has lately been found TO ex-
ist upon the earth as we'll as in the sun,
In the shape of gas which is contain
ed, absorbed, in certain rare minerals
cleveite, broggerite and a few others
It is somewhat heavier than hydrogen,
but Is too light to remain in a free state
in the earth's atmosphere, just as no
hydrogen exists upon the earth in "A free
state, but only in compounds, of which
water Is the most important.
Among the elements which have not
yet been found III the sun, though it
hardly seems possible that they are not
there, are oxygen, sulphur. phosphorus
mercury, gold and the recently discov-
cred gas argon
From what is now known it is little
less than certain that the material OF
which the sun and the earth consist Is
precisely the same The two bodies
differ mainly in size and temperature.
In the sun nearly everything is gaseous,
because of its intense heat. The earth
may once have been rs hot as the sun
now is and have been then as luminous.
but now its temperature has fallen so
low that the greater part of its sub
stance is III the solid state. and only a
small part is either liquid or gaseous
To Remove shine.