The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1909-04-15
How We Are WhirIing Around
and Through Space.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE sun.
Without It's Attraction That Draws the
World Toward Il In an ElIiptieal
Course Our Globe Would Wander on
Forever In a Straight Line.

| ~ " Sceh u ClIuIdle Wule tue hurry
ing earth is bringing to them one eli.
mate after another in endless success
sion. Those who have not hitherto
taken much notice of the earth's prog
ress-whO have not, so to speak, looked
out of their carriage window as they
are whirled along-might find new
interest III doing so. Look. for exam
pie. at the apparent size of the sun.
Casual observation shows that it ap-
pears larger IN the winter heavens.
And exact measurements tell us that
it is largest on Jan. and smallest on
July 2. The size Of the sun thus marks
the carth's nearest approach and
greatest distance from the sun. Accu-
rate astronomical measurement Of the
suns diameter might even determine
the day Of the year. for the daily vari-
alton in the apparent size of the sun is
some nine fftieths of a second Of an
gular measurement. And astronomers
profess to measure the second decimal
of seconds.
There are three ways in which we
are journey;ng with the earth. There
is. first. the daily revolution. which car
ries us through complete circle in
twenty-four hours at rate varying
from rather more than thousand
miles an hour at the equator to moth
ing at the poles. where no one. by the
way. has ever been. Then we are trav-
cling around the sun once year at
the rate Of eighteen miles second
Thirdly. we are journeying through
stellar space, for one of the most re-
markable facts which modern astron-
omy has brought to light is that our
solar system. the sun with all it's plan
cts. is OH journey toward the con-
stellation Lyra ut the rate of ten miles
a second. ~
AS we sit in train and are whirlcd
along it sometimes appears as If the
scenery were flying past us rather
than we past it. So the daily revolu-
ton Of the earth--a thousand miles an
hour at the equator-makes the SUN
rise and set, and our yearly journey
makes the sun apparently travel
through the consultations of the 20
diac. If We move round any stationary
object on the earth we see 1t with"a
constantly changing background-now
q windmill. now cottage, now d
wood. now q church, etc. So as we
travel round the sun we see It with an
ever changing background Of stars
now those Of Aries. now Of Taurus.
now Of Gemini. and so on. The posi-
ton Of the sun among the stars marks
l 20 Of hn o,pkI,s
ney. And as the earth arrives at diff
ferent points of its orbit the times 6f
the risings of certain stars vary. These
indications Of the earth's progress
have been taken as marks of the sen
sons. Thus when Sirius rose with the
sun 1t was known that the dog days
had begun. Early astronomers watch
ed carefully for the rising Of the dog
star. The Egyptian astronomers look
ed for the helical rising Of Sothis to
proclaim the new year.
1t is the earth's yearly journey round
the sun which enables us to determine
the distances of the stars. The method
is precisely that adopted by surveyors
for determining the position of objects
on earth. The direction Of the object
whose distance Is to be found Is OBJ
served from two points known dis.
lance apart The rest is mere calcula-
ton. In the case Of the stars the direc-
tons are observed from two extreme
points In the earth's orbit instead of
from the two ends of base line. The
process is called triangulation when
applied to earth measurements. and
everybody understands what 1t means.
When applied to the stars it is called
parallax and remains a mystery to
most people. Such Is the obscuring
power of word.
The ''little more" and the little less
Of Browning are forcibly illustrated in
the direction of the earth's journey
round the sun. An elliptic course diff
fering very little from circle. COM
bined with tilt Of the axis, gives us
the seasons. But II this difference and
tilt did not exist there would be no
seasons and one climate would rule
the year. If, again. the course were
more elliptic, then for the hemisphere
whose winter occurred at the earth's
greatest distance from the sun there
might be a glacial period.
"The straight line" says Miss Helen
Keller, "symbolizes duty. 1t is dull
thought drawn out endlessly." And
this seems to be reflection on what
we had thought was the earth's path
Of duty round the sun. for this path Is
the curve known as the ellipse. More
over. the thought makes the sun a
tempter Of the earth from the strict
path of duty. for the earth. we learn
from our Newton. If left to itself
would wander on forever through
space In straight line. 1t is the sun
which draws it from this dull course
\ into the pleasant curve of subsection.
Yet the SUMS victory is only partial,
the carth's actual path being a combi-
nation of its own straight line Of in
clination and obedience to the pull of
the sun. And so instead of the dull
thought drawn out rndlesSly" we have
the beautiful thought of the changing
j Seasons tho f1OwOrS and fruits NJ tho