Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1909-11-19
A GREAT CENTRAL SUN
Madler's Theory Is That 1t Is the
Star AlCyone.
THE CENTER OF GRAVITY.
According to the Astronomer, the
Principal Star of the Pleiades Is the
Body Around Which All Created
Matter Within Our Ken Revolves.

PrtncIpal Star OF the Pleiades is the
Body Around Which All Created
Matter Within Our Ken RevoIves.
1t has been the dream OF all the ro-
hantic astronomers since the time of
UupernicuS to prove the existence OF a
central sun. says Lawrence Hodges,
writing In the New York Tribune. BY
this is meant a heavenly body as much
larger than the sun as the sun itself
is larger than the earth. round which
the sun. with all its planets. must re-
volve. 1t has been proved that the
sun and all its satellites are rushing
forward through space with enormous
velocity. but whether the motion was
in a straight line or a circular path
was not proved for some time.
But even If 1t was proved a curved
path and that there probably existed
a central sun that transcribed the
earth's lord in size. why couldn't we
see it? The only answers are that 1t
would have to be mountainous or else
so far away that the light hadn't reach
ed us yet. But If all the stars includ-
ing our sun. were children of this big
sun, just as the earth Is the child of
the sun aud the moon of the earth.
they would have had to have been
flung off from the big sun with
greater velocity than that Of light In
order for the big sun not to be visible
and still be luminous: also the big sun
would have to be luminous II any Of
its children were, for that Is the in
variable law Of the heavens So the
problem simmered down to finding a
star or group OF stars that would take
the place Of the central sun.
The motion of the solar system hav-
ing been settled as to fact. quantity
and direction. astronomers set about
to find the center of gravity of the
whole astral system. for there, if any
where, the central sun was to be
found. An astronomer named Mad
Ter thought he bad found the star to
satisfy the necessary conditions in the
Bull. closer search proved the spe-
cial star under examination 10 be lack.
ing in some OF the conditions. so this
one was left and the search begun
anew This same astronomer persist
ed in his search with wonderful
/ faith in his theory and at last found
a star fulfilling in the most wonderful
/ and complete manner the necessary
/ conditions. Every one is familiar with
+ the beautifui little cluster known as
/ the pleiades. or seven stars. The teles-
( core, however. shows fourteen stars
/ clustered about the beautiful and bril-
/ liant star Alcyone. which is the op-
/ tical center of this group.
/ The proper motions of all these have
/ been determined with great exactness.
They are all in the same direction and
/ ale all nearly equal to each other, and.
what is still more important, the mean
( of their proper motions differs from
! that of the ceutrai star. Alcyone. by
4 only one-thOusandth of q second of
/ are in right ascension and by only
| twothousandths of second In decli-
nation Here, then, is found mag
niticent group of suns either actually
allied together and sweeping together
! through space or else composing a
cluster so situated as to be affected
by the same apparent motion produced
by the suns progression through the
celestial regions.
But an extension of the limits OF re-
search round Aicyoue exhibits also the
wondertuI truth that out OF ITO stars
being within 10 degrees OF this center
there are sixty moving south that Is.
in the same direction-in full accord
ance with the hypothesis that Alcyone
is the center. forty nine showing prac-
tically no motion. while only one sin.
Gle individual that moves at all con-
trary to the computed motion. Thus
was Mader's profound speculation
justified. Furthermore. assuming Al
cyone as the grand center OF the mil
lions of stars composing our astral sys-