The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-15

OK the light waves which a star ernits il
can be determined whether that stars dis
lance from us is increasing diminishing.
The most celebrated instrument used in
this research is known as the Mills spec
trograph." 1t is named for Mr.. d. o. Mills.
the New York millionaire. who has just
sent the expedition in question to the
southern hemisphere and whose endow-
ments have enabled some of the most note
worthy of recent astronomic discoveries to
be made. Mr.. Mills has contributed the
money and Professor Campbell. of the Lick
Observatory, the scientific knowledge
wherewith the Mills spectrograph has &C
complished a great feat. With this instru-
ment Professor Campbell has made Zine
OF sight determinations Of the velocities
Of all OF the brighter stars of the northern
hemi. 2here. All of these apparent motions
taken together give an average indicating
that the whole sky Is moving toward us
from the direction of the constellation of
the Tyre. or. to put II the other way. that
we are moving toward that group of stars.
After setting up their spectrograph in the
southern hemisphere the astronomers OF
the Mills expedition will. during the next
two years. apply II to the great southern
canopy of stars invisible to us here. but
which stretch outward in their apparently
infinite procession beyond the'south pole
Until the year 1905. therefore, we must
wait to hear the verdict of these enter
prising astronomers-to learn whether we
are whizzing toward the Tyre, or perhaps
Hercules, or the winged Pegasus.
WHEN WE GET THERE-wHAT?
/ asked two of Uncle Sans astronomers
as to the probable fate of the earth at the
time of our solar systems predicted i'm
pact with Vega and its planets. One OF
them said:
When we ultimately reach them, IL we
ever do. we will probably pass through
without damage. There is one chance in
million that we will strike one of these
heavenly bodies. OF course, if we collide
with body relatively great in extent, it
may sweep us entirely away from the sun.
We are quietly moving through space. and
IL any disturbing element appears directly
in our path astronomers will give the sig
nal many centuries in advance of our reach
ing it,
Another astronomer said:
Whether any Of the planets in the con-
stellation of the Tyre would strike the
earth before they would hit the sun or
other planets of our solar system would de-
pend upon what side of the sun the earth
| happened to be at the time. If Neptune,
| Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter or Mars were on
the side nearest the approaching Vega they
might encounter one of its planets four
months before the sun would.
Two effects would result from the
earth's or suns collision with some other
body In space. The earth would either be-
come glowing ball of fire or would lose
its present position in the solar system.
If large body should knock the earth
sufficiently hard to alter it's present poise
in space; the suns great attraction would
| probably draw our planet in. Then we
would all be frizzled up. 1t might take a
| year before we would ultimately reach the
sun, but we would be destroyed before we
would get halfway there. Were we to re-
main at half our present distance from the
sun the earth's temperature would rise pos
sibly to 500 or coo degrees. No life could
! withstand such heat, of course. A year
would be but three months long. Our We
| locity would be four times as fast as it is
now Our buildings and all loose objects
would probably be thrown off into space by
centrifugal force. Man and animals would
of course, be obliterated by heat.
| Were the earth to strike something Sc
| hot to actually set it on fire, it would
never burn up entirely. 1t would go from
an incandescent to a gaseous form and ul-
timately cool down irto solid again.
Were another sun of equal size to col
Tide with ours, the attraction of the COM
bined bodies would probably be so great
| as to draw the earth into the great seeth-
ing mass"
But we will suspend all Of this worry
| until the year 37690O.
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS, JR.