Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-09-13


shines with 4 luster that is peculiarly
her own, will not likely take her torl
any other planet or star, In fact, the
only celestial object that may be said
to vie with Venus In hrilNauCe is lupl-
ter, and even this magnificent rlanet
must yield the palm Of beauty to her
sister planet when she is at her maxi
mum brightness. The planet Mars isl
in Gemiui, rising about an hour before
Venus and acting, like her, as n morn
ing star. Jupiter is still lingering i'm
Scorpio, enhancing by his royal pres
stellation. She viii set between and
10 in the evening. Saturn, acting
at present also as an evening star, is in
Sagittarius, almost on the boundary
line that separates this constellation
from Ophiuchus, 1t sets about an hour
later than Jupiter. The two planets
Jupiter and Saturn, as evening stars,
and Venus and Mars, MS morning stars,
lend to the nocturnal September skies
a particularly tine appearance,
Given in mere numbers no one, In
Guiding even those who are familiar
with large numbers and their true
meaning, has an adequate conception
of the vastness of our solar system,
and still less so OF the vastness of the
sidoreal heaven, and in order to convey
a more distinct idea Of these it becomes
Indispensable to resort to suitable COM
PARSONS As to the size of our solar
system the famous HersChel has given
us a very interesting illustration.
Choose any well-}eveled field. On IT
place a globe two feet in diameter
This will reprenst the sun; Mercury
will be represented by grain of must
ard seed on the circumference of cir
Gle 164 feet in diameter for it's orbit.
Venus, a pea on a circle 2S4 feet in d.
ameter; the earth, also n pea on cir
Gle OF 430 feet; Mars a rather large
pinhead on a circle of Gao feet; the
asteroids, grains of sand in orbits %
1000 to 1900 feet; Jupiter, a moderate
sized orange in a circle nearly half a
mile across; Saturn, small orange on
a circle OF four-fifths of mile: Uranus.
a full-sized cherry or small plum upon
the circumference of circle more than
a mile and half, and finally Neptune
a good-sized plum on circle about
two miles and a half in diameter. &"
Passing now from our system to the
sidoreal heaven, the nearest star would
on this scale be on the opposite side "
the globe; that is, 5000 miles away
For sidereal distance, therefore, the So
called astronomical unit, the distance
of the sun from the earth, becomes
wholly inadequate and unsuitable as a
unit, though it amounts to the respect
able quantity OF over 92,OO0,0 900 miles,
and astronomers have chosen the SO
called light-yeaT as unit, which is the
distance which that swift traveller light
would traverse in one year. From the
fact that we are able to see bodies Ut
such almost inconceivable distances at
all it is easy to conclude that these
bodies must themselves be OF stipend
GUS size. In fact, in many cases where
an approximate calculation is possible
that our sun, with which we always
connect the idea Of immense vastness.
dwindles almost into insignihCance
when compared with these orbs, a
thought not altogether devoid Of hu-
initiation. From the eternal motion Of
the planets, the rapid motion in space
Of the sun itself, and the observed mo
ton Of many stars It follows by an
analogy which Is simply irresistible
that without an exception, all celestial
bodies are and cannot be otherwisnI
than in motion, and still for thousands
Of years the shape Of the constellatiOnsI
has not undergone material change
FrOm ancient records we can infer that
the Great and Lesser Bears and other
familiar star CONGREGATIONS are thcI
same now as they were thousands OF
years ago, almost impressing US with
their immutabllity We must not for
get, however, that in astronomy three
or four thousand years, 10 which the
most ancient records date back, are al
vanishing quantity and that, consc-
quently. after a lapse OF many thoU-
sands OF years the consultations can
not but assume a shape more Or less
different from their present oncs /
When. however this comes 10 pass it IS
very questiCn9b be whether The earth /
will any longer be an inlab.tab,e J0dy 7.
for II seems that each planetary body, /
Mt ID speak OF the en- Itself has It's