Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-05-09
THE STARRY SYSTEM
IT is SO VAST THAT ITS LIMITS ARE
BEYOND COMPUTATION.


considering Some Stupendous Dis
tances by n Scale Greatly Reduced.
Comparison win Our Relatively
Small solar System
II is worth while making an effort TO
picture TO ourselves the vast extent OF
the starry system in which we reside.
Having gained some faint notion OF
the extent OF the lesser solar system.
which occupies n small corner Of the
stellar system. we must work outward
from that beginning. Let us take for
our unit OF measurement the space
which separates the earth from the
sun, and let the 100000 miles OF this
distance be represented in our minds
by single inch. In proportion the sun
Itself must DE pictured 10y n tiny ball
less than one hundredth part OF an
inch In diameter. while our earth must
be mere speck. less than one ten
thouSaudth Of an inch In diameter.
And this little sun and this minute
earth must be just an inch asunder.
Following out the same idea. Mer-
curry and Venus. being closer to the
sun than we are. have to be less than
an inch away from him. while Jupiter
Will be five inches or Saturn will be
ten inches OF. Uranus will be over
nineteen inches OF, Neptune will be
almost thirty inches or Then the So
lar system as a whole. leaving only out
OF the question certain comets which
travel farther, Will be inclosed IN a cir
Gle less than two yards in diameter.
The question arises next. What will
be the proportionate size OF the stellar
system on this same scale OF measure
ment2 III the solar system Is 10 be
comprised with hoop not two yards
across, how wide space should we
allow TO the surrounding system OF
stars. "our universeT' How near Will
be the nearest OF outlying stars? And
the answer is sufficiently startling. IL
the sun is reckOned TO be one inch
away from our earth. II Neptune Is
reckoned TO be less than three feet
away from the sun. then, on the same
scale. the star which lies closest OF all
outer stars in the whole universe TO US.
Alpha Centaurl 10y name. must be
reckoned rs lying at distance OF
about three and half miles. And be-
tween the twO-nothing; at least moth
ing In the shape OF star. An occa-
slonal comet may lag slowly along In
the darkness. finding its way from one
sun system 10 another, and dark bod
les, cooled suns, may possibly 1oat here
or there unseen 10y Us. but OF stars,
radiant with heat and light. none Is.
found in that wide area.
Astronomical writers sometimes talk
OF stars lin the vicinity of the sun.
and this is what is meant by "vicini-
V." Think OF the distances implied.
Our whole solar system is first brought
down into n small circle. two Yards
across-every inch in those yards stand
ing for more than 9O,O00,OO0 miles-and
then on every side and above and be-
low Is an encompassing void OF three
and half miles, every inch of those
miles again representing more than
100000 miles. And then we come
upon one cleaning star. Only one
quite so near Another star in the
suns vicinity" known rs 81 Cygni.
would lie at distance of seven miles.
and the brilliant Sirius would be over,
10 miles OFF. Others must be placed
at distances of 20 miles. so miles. 100
miles 1t is easy to start with list of
THESE hgures. 1t is not easy to say
where one should stop. That the star
~ system has limits we do not doubt
out 10 define those limits is not posi-
bic. On such scale as is given above
those limits certainly would not lie
Within distance of 100 miles nor of
1000 miles.
1t Is believed that some dim stars
barely to be detected, may be 10000 |
times as far away as our suns nearest |
neighbor, Alpha Centauri, and this M |
once gives, even on our much reduced
scale, line from the center of $4,000 |
miles. Suppose that the limits OF the |
stellar system lay somewhere about |
there. Thirty-fve thousand miles each |
way from the center would mean n d. !
ameter for the whole OF 10000 miles.
Imagine a starry system 10000 miles
across from side to side, each inch In
those miles representing 81. OOO. 900 of
real miles, and somewhere In the midst
OF 1t our small solar system. lust two
yards across, separated from all other
STARS oy wide blank OF three or four
miles.
That would be stupendous enough
But we have no reason whatever for
supposing that the limits of our uni
verse do lie there. The true boundaries
or the stellar system may be twice as
Tar, four times as far, ten times as far
we do not even know with certainty
uiat our solar system is placed any
where near its center. though this
seems rather likely. Far off as the
boundary reaches in one direction. il
may reach much farther In another di-
rection.-Chambers' Journal.
Inc taste of beauty and the relish of
what Is decent. just and amlable nor
fect the character of the gent,a,non