The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-10-18
WONDERS Of TIL SUN
Some Facts About That Colossal
Fiery Globe.
AN IDEA OF ITs aREAT SIZE.
Our Earth and Neon, aa Far Apart ns
They New Ats, Could Easily Move
Around IN lts Flaming Some
of the Substances II Contains,

7FVenv " lts FtanIl1g ln1erior--b ONE
cf the Substances II Contains.
Astronomy does not always consist
of night studies There ore aome things
to DO scen after darkness Ii gone. both
With glass and lInnssisted eye. Tile
dear old moon often gives us d good
daylight view of herself. looking aa n
Ihaggard, sleepy and disgusted after 10.
ling out overnight The star Venus bas
often been seen IN the afternoon. Some
comets are On record rs having ap-
preached W near tlc earth that thc
same could be said Of them for weeks
at d time.
But Of course the great day attrac.
tion n the ruler of our own family of
brother and sister planets, the sun.
Although medium sized" as com.
pared to many Of the fixed stars, our
sun is no lightweight icing about
100000 times as large as the earth. If
some great force could put us Ia the
center Of that ultra mammoth globe.
aud the moon also Qseeping her At the
same distance from rs as she now ls).
and there was another moon nearly al
far away FROM her. the earth, and the
two moons and ali the space between
them could stu be contained in the
great, sparkling sun.
Its distance from us Is 02,0D7. 900
miles 4 very tedious little journey if
we could make II BY customary meth.
ods. You can lind plenty Of accounts
ii books OF how long II would take
railroad train to get TO II, and you can
ascertain II yourself by h little figuring.
You VIII learn, for instance. that linn
ited express travelling 1000 miles per
day would arrive at Sun station IN
about 2SA years. during which time
there would probably be few deaths
on the train. II when the engine ar
rived II could give blast Of the whis-
tie loud enough to be heard here. the
people nj this end of the line would
have TO wait fourteen years before the
signal arrived II 1t proceeded at the
usual velocity OF gound.
But the eye, most wonderful Of CON
Yeyances, can traverse All that dis
tancc III between eight aud nine min
utes. II takes that length Of time
for light to pass between the two
worlds.
What n the material of which that |
great fiery globe Is composeds The
following substances have been detect i
ed BY the spectroscope and may be /
considered as surely n part Of Il: Bari
um, calcium, chrornIum. cobalt. copper,
hydrogen. iron. magnesium. manga
nese. nickel, platinum, silicon, silver,
sodium, titanium. yanadium. 1t IS
thought that the following substances
lre also there. although the proof,
while strong. is not absolute: Alumni
um, cadmium, carbon, lead, molybde-
mum. palladium. uranium and zinc. It
Is singular fact that gold has not yet
been discovered In this great golden
orb.
The fact that "all IS action, ell Is mo-
tion," not only in ''this world Of ours"
but throughout our entire universe, Is
by the sun, for, while all the
planets Of our system are revolving
around 1t, It is not itself still; 1t would
seem TO be having waltz Of It's own.
Il turns on its axis. It has another mo-
ion about the center Of gravity Of the
iolar system, and, besides, It Is on IT'S
way. with It's flock Of planets. toward
'ome distant point In space at the
ate Of 900 miles per minute. These
acts and figures sound strange and
lardly belieyable. but they have been
mathematically over and
'ver again by astronomers Of different
lines and lands.
One Of the most interesting things
. be seen upon the sun is its spots
'or this great king Of planets Ii not
ntirely immaculate Some think these
re caused BY cyclones, some that they
re eruptIons from within the SUMS
urface, some by cool matter from me-
eors falling Into the hotter atmos-
here, and this last idea would seem
he most sensible one. Such d great
Iafning furnace as the sun apparent
! II. giving out lie to 4 colony III plan-
Is must haya food, ana possibly the
reaf heat giving life imparting crea-