Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-10-04
TILE sUs,s DESTINATION.
HerscheI's Conclusions More Than Ce
fury Ago Being Verified.

HerscheFs Conclusions More Thhn ceh-
fury Ago Being Verified.
More than century ago Sir William
Herschel was able to fix roughly what we
call the apex of the SUMS way in space, or
the point among the stars toward which
that way is for the moment directed. We
say for the moment, but we mean that
moment of which Bradley saw the be.
ginning in 1850, and upon whose end no
man of those now living shall ever look.
Herschel, says Prof. Harold Jacoby, In
Popular Science Monthly, found that
comparison of the old steiler observations
seemed to indicate that the stars in GER
!. tain part Of the sky were opening out, as
it were, and that the consultations in the
opposite direction of the heavens seemed,
to be drawing In, or becoming smaller.
There can be but one reasonable explnna.
ton of this. We must be moving toward
that part of the sky where the stars are
separating. Just so a man watching q
regiment of soldiers approaching, will
see at first only confused body OF men.
But as the come nearer the Individual
soldier will seem to separate, until at
length each one is seen distinct from all
| the others.
Herschel fixed the position of the apex
at point in the constellation Hercules.
| The most recent investigations OF New
comb, published only few months ago,
have, on the whole, verified Herschel's
| conclusions. With the intnitive power
| of rare genius Herschel had been able to
sift truth out of error. The observational
data at his disposal would now be called
rude, but they disclosed to the scrutiny
of his acute understanding the germ OF
| IL, nta v N IL
gstors have increased the precision Of
our knowledge, until we now say that
the present direction of the solar motion
is known within very narrow limits. A
tiny circle might be drawn on the sky, tC
which an astronomer might point his
hand and say: "Yonder little circle con
tains the goal tlward which the sun and
planets are Fastening today. Even the
speed of this motion has been SUBJECTED
: to measurements and found to be abou
10 miles per second" l
} The objective point and the rate OF mo
! ton thus stated, exact science holds he
peace. Her genuine knowledge stops, anc
we can proceed further only by the aid o
that Imagination which men of scienc
, need to curb at every moment. But let II,
, one think that the sun will ever reach tn
, so.callcd apex. To do so would meal
cosmic motion upon straight line, Will
D every consideration of celestial mechanic
: points to motion upon a curve. Whe
shall we turn sufficiently upon that cury
to detect It's bendingP IT'S a problem "
a must leave as rich heritage to late
8 generations that are to follow us. Th
s visionary theorists notion of great Ger
trail sun, controlling our own SUMS wa
0 in space, must be dismissed as far to
d daring. But for such central sun W
= may substitute central centre of gravit
!. belonging to great system OF which on
. sun is but an insignificant member. The
y wereach conception that has lost nothin
t in the grandeur Of its simplicity, and
It yet in accord with the probabilities {
n sober mechanical science. Wecease to
y a lonely world, and stretch out the bont
s of common relationship to yonder sta
within the armament. u