The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-09-22

There may be meteors OF such magni-
tUde. II there can be small ones there
can probably be large ones. The largest 1
which have struck the earth within his
toric times have weighed but few tons. I
Such bodies falling upon our surface |
might kin one or two persons. Nothing
more serious would result. In space there
have been meteors apparently as large as
the great planet Jupiter. But they have
Jt en- probably less than two hundred miles
away and something like ten feet in
diameter. But If large one should knock
the earth hard enough to change its pres
eni balance, the suns great attraction
would probably draw our planet in. Then
we would al be frizzled up. A meteor
ore-half the earth's size and weight
might accomplish this. 1t might take a
year before we ultimately reached the
sun, but we would be destroyed before
we got half way there.
AT 100000 miles, or half the distance
from the sun. the earth's temperature
would rise possibly to 500 or 600 degrees.
No life could withstand such heat, OF
course. Should the earth stay at this dis
lance a year would be but three months
long. Our velocity would be four times
as fast IL is now. We would buzz
around at the rate of seventy-two miles
a second. Our buildings and all loose
objects would probably be thrown off into
space by centrifugal force. AS for our
selves and all other animate objects. they
would all have been obliterated by the
heat.
II said that the earth might also strike
|, Something so hot as to actually set it on
! fire. In such an event II would never
burn up entirely. 1t would go from an
, incandescent to gaseous form and ul-
timately cool down into solid again
. There is nothing lost in nature. Fire
: cculd not extinguish a planet
Eyes, Il Is true that within millions OF
years we will either strike or pass the
. constel alton of the -LyT2-sometimes call
ed the harp-now overhead at about 10 p
: m That group of stars is an Independent
. solar system from ffty-five TO sixty bill
' ions miles away. 1t takes ray Of light
: eighteen years to travel from their sur
: to earth. When we look at that sun nov
we see Il as II appeared in 1852. IL II
: should suddenly disappear tonight We
y should continue to see X until 1913
. Whether any of the planets In this con-
. stellation would strike the earth befor'
. they would hit the sun or other planets o.
r our solar system would depend upon VIVA
n side OF the sun we happened TO be on a.
a the time. If Neptune, Uranus, Saturn
: Jupiter or Mars were on the side neares
a the approaching constellation they nigh
= encounter one of its planets four month.
before the sun would II our sun SHOULD
y strike the sun Of the Tyre. the shocl
r would probably throw US Immediately In
i 10 their combined mass"
u PROF. W. j Mc0Iee cons 0ereQ the QIeS
Il tiOn from the standpoint OF an ethnologis
Is ard geologist- Il can see no probabilit,
II Of mans ultimate humiliation from an!
carse." said he Were il not for tn
l. great factor Of intellect, the last human
q being on this planet would probabi,
freeze to death. From age to age tn
n Quantity of ice on the surface of on
Is globe increases. Moreover. the continent
1r are growing and the oceans shrinking
Il. The earth is gradually drying as well a
81 freezing.
j. But Intellect win not let the entir
A earth freeze and thus exterminate the hu
lg thoroughly dissatisfied with the earth
ne Temperature he will change II to suit n
e. needs. A century hence man will live a
Fe over the world. In the polar regions
en- viii warm the temperature around hin
he in the tropics he will cool IT.
re Intellect viii extract water from Il
5 rocks after they have absorbed all OF Z
al 'carth's moisture. We can extract wat'
r from rock now, but the process Is bot
en- Expensive and unnecessary. AS the OK
ng gen in the air becomes exhausted, int
a. lect Will make some more DO we n
as manufacture II now7 1t also can be e,
u tracted from rock We do not thus pr
81 duce II because the process doesn't %
ed now"
Has IT not been estimated that the
Te wiz be standing room only on earth
the year 31is7"'
let Nonsense! Intellect does not let SUI
e. icatssrophes as that occur when 1t CO