Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-10-05
Story of the sun.

When l was little girl l wondered
where the sun went after it disnp-
peared in the evening skies and
whether it might possibly forget to
return in time again next morning to
give us light, but ! soon learned that
sunset and sunrise are due to the
earth turning round once every
2t hours, so that first one side, then
the other enjoys sunlight and day.
When the side of the earth on which
we live turns away from the sun the
sky grows dark, and the stars which
are always overhead, but fade in the
suns bright light. begin to make their
appearance. Birds seek their nests,
flowers fold their petals, and little
children grow sleepy and tired and
close their eyes. Meanwhile the
children in China aud Japan, and in
the far away Philippines, will soon
be opening their eyes on the glorics of
a new day. They are all wide awake
when we are fast asleep.
1t is the sun that gives us light and
heat, makes the flowers grow, paint
ing them with pretty colors and
brings the roses to our cheeks. We
are just at the right distance from the
sun, for it is neither too near nor too
far away from us. But have you any
idea how far away the sun really is?
1t is millions of miles away, So that
If Il railroad track could be made rom
the earth to the sun, train rushing
1lonr nt thn nj n I,1i1n a r,it11rtn
would not reach the sun for 175 years.
Supposing one of you had gone in that
train, you would nave become old
and wrinklcd and gray before the
train had Travelled half the distance.
The great American astronomer
named Professor c. A. Young once
told us Il story about little boy he
knew who would play with spirit
lamp. He wanted to find out if the
alcohol flame burned, and when the
professor was not looking put his FIN
ger i'll it and howled with the pain
The professor did the best he could
for the little sufferer, and ut the same
time said to himself:-"S "SupposinG the
hoy had burned his finger by toucning
~ '''ii'NN VI liit sun ION N'Ui
would he have felt the pain?" His
arm would have to be nearly
93,000,000 miles long, and lie would
never know that he had burned his
finger, because the pain would take no
less than $50 years in travelling from
the tip of the child's finger to his
brain.
The size of the sun is so great that
more than 100000 globes as large
as the earth could be made out of it.
and We're it weighed in the scales it
would take 332 900 globes rs heavy as
the earth to make the scales even. If
a tunnel We're made through the CEN
ter of the sun and railroad track
laid down, train going at the rate
of mile minute would take 600
days in going from one side of the
sun to the other.
The central part of the sun is made
of copper, iron, tin, lead and mary
other things we find Oh earth in the
solid state, but the heat of the sun
melts them and makes them soft like
molasses candy. Outside the central
part of the sun is n shell of bright
clouds and that which takes the place
of the air that surrounds the earth.
In this case, however, the air around
the sun is intensely hot and madA up
OF the gases of IRON, copper, and so
on; the clouds that form are masses
of glowing iron, and the rains that
fall are drops of burning metal.
The sun is also surrounded with an
ocean of scarlet fire, in which form
great whirlpools thousands of miles In
size. Out from this ocean dart flames
reaching to distance of hundreds Of
miles and thousands of miles beyond
the surface of the sun. The flames
are of a rosy color, and when the suns
light is hidden by the moon coming ex-
actly between the sun and the earth
we can see them outlined against the
dazzling white of the inner corona.
This is crown of glory surrounding
the sun, and fading away into the
silvery streamers of the outer corona.
which reaches to distance of millions
of miles from the sun.-Niiss Mary
Proctor, in New York Herald.