Mexico weekly ledger., 1899-06-15

/ Fu-na and am now WELL.
viii have understood that the suns ol
the universe 60 through progressive
alterations Of the hue as they grow
older. Our own sun is becoming
steadily bluer, because 1t is growing
hotter. Every star, or sun, grows
hotter and hotter up to a certain
point in its history and then cools.
Our sun, through the contraction Of
It's gaseous body, is still gaining tenn
perature, while losing bulk at the
rate Of 10 inches in diameter her diem.
It will be 10 inches less thick to-mor-
row than It is to-day.
However, our sun has nearly reach
ed the limit Of its increase In tenn
peratnre, and before long 1t will be-
gin to cool on. My belief is that
within 100000 years the solar orb,
while considerably smaller than now,
will be so hot that IT win look decid-
edly blue, even as seen through the
earth's atmosphere Thereafter it
will show signs of running down
quite rapidly, and tendency will
soon follow, on the part of the human
population Of the earth, to huddle to-
ward the equator.
$50 well as we are able to perceive,
mankind must be destroyed eventu-
ally by the progress OF cold, and, in
my oPini0n, un0 sun WIZ nvs 9lsi1S
more than 100000 years longer.
Originally, of course, it was q nebuia,
composed OF cold particles, chiefly
stony and widely scattered. These
particles, gathering together by mu-
tual attraction, formed body, In
which heat was engendered by the
falling together of the particles
composing It. Since then the pro-
gressive shrinking. e., falling to-
gether--of the particles has resulted in
the emission of heat. 1t is about 80, ,000,- :
600 years since the sun began to shine,
and we may reasonably expect that It
will give warmth enough to sustain
life on the earth for 100000 years to
come. / do not think we can count
upon a more extended survival for
the human race.
"Hitherto an absurdly mistaken no.
tion seems to have been accepted
regarding the makeup of the sun,
which has been supposed to be q
homogeneous body, equal in density
throughout. As a matter of fact, while
It's material is lighter than our own
atmosphere on its surface, the interior
is very much denser than the heaviest
known substances that 90 to compose
the earth. In fact, the solar orb, near
its center, is about three times as
dense as mercury. As for the future
of the sun, we may suppose that for
awhile, after cooling, 1t viii become
habitable by living forms. animal and
vegetable; but these are not likely to
be developed highly or to endure for
any length Of time, inasmuch as the
mighty globe viii have no external
source of heat to depend upon.
"sirius, as have said, is blue star,
Beta, In the beak of the constellation
Of the Swan, is a double sun, one of its
members being yellow and the other
q deep blue. The fiery red sun oi
Scorpio Is linked with another one that
is small and green. Thess double stars
are true cosmic twins, and OCCASION
ally triplets appear. Castor, in Gem
ini, is q pair Of suns, each Of which
ls larger than our orb OF day, and II Il
believed that the greater of the two
revolves around a third gigantic anc
invisible body, the presence of which
is suggested by the swaying move.
ments of the mighty lnminary In ques'
ton. Algol, the so-called demon star
has such body revolving around 1t
shutting of its light 80 as to make 1
glare and fade at alternate intervals.
myself, as / have already said, have
discovered a dozen great stars tina
are almost black, shining merely b.
reflected light from neighboring suns
What worlds they must be, to be sure
and how strange the forms Of HfI
which may be imagined to inhabi
them.
"Alcyone, 1000 times as big as on
sun, is in the constellation Of Lyra
toward which the whole OF our owl
solar system is moving. It may ever
be conceived as possible that our sui
eventually viii become satellite o
Vegas. But Arcturus, the king o
suns, gives 5000 times as much ligh
Is our snn-h statement which be
comes impressive when it is consid
cred that our solar orb would, Ecu
up" into 1,25o,0o0 pieces, each one a
large as the earth on which we live
II, by the way, the sun were a solil
block of anthraeits coal, ignited n
pure oxygen, It would burn out in i7s
years.
"The atmosphere Of the sun is sup
posed TO be 5000 miles deep, beinI
composed Of various gases and vaPor
Of metals. An observed through tn
telescope, lbs surfsss is covered wit
minute white forms, apparently foat
ing In an ocean Of grayish fluid. Thee
are clouds, composed not Of water
. / I.l.t nhlnflr ~ na.boa. Is.nl a. Al.