The Coconino sun., 1909-03-19
PROF. PERCIvAL LOWELL
Receiving Considerable Attention from
 the Press of the Country.

the Press of the Country.
 Professor Percival Lowell, owner of the Lowell Observatory of this city. has been receiving consider able attention editorially during the, past few days as result of a lecture delivered on "Cosmic Phys ics" in Boston on February 26. a synopsis of which was published in the Sun of last week. Some prom inent editors are disposed to make light of the predicted crash rather than take the matter with any de- gree of seriousness. It must be amusing to an astronomer like Prof. Lowell to read some of the satire" aimed at him recently by Journalistic sages. The follow ing from the Philadelphia Inquirer is, we believe, a fair example of how Prof. Lowell's lecture was re- sceived by the press of the country;
 When the Earth Goes to Smash.
 Professor Percival Lowell, who believes that Mars is inhabited by human beings. now turns on his critics and says that they needn t be so pessimistic. for the earth is going to be smashed anyhow by contact with dark sun wandering around somewhere inspace. When the impact comes both celestial ~bodies-willsbe-smashed to smither- ' eens and anebula will result out of which in some billion of years there will arise another solar sys- fem which willsproduce it's own race of human beings and the pro cess will be repeated literally ad infinitum.
 This'soonds excitingat first and is enough to make goesefiesh come out on the most saturine. But a little furtherlinspection shows that we shall have vat ,least fourteen gears warning in order to set our houses in'order and get ready for the crash. For this relief much thanks, although it seems a very sorry sort of consolation to think that we shall have no tombs but all be reduced to cosmic dust to make anew system. A crash of planets .1aAd,a wreck of worlds must be a very fine sight to those not impli- caued, but it is narrowing for the victims to contemplate in advance.
 It is. however. comforting to know that at present there is no such celestial freebooter in sight and that it is only said that the thing will happen ''some day. say fifteen million years hence. Oh. very well. Let prosperity take care of itself.
 The interesting point of this con troversy is that Professor Lowell ranges himself on the side of those astronomers who believe that the "dead suns" are more numerous than the hundreds of millions of burning ones in the sky of which we may gain some knowledge through the eye. the telescope or photography. As fact, there is only one of such dead suns which seems to be absolutely authentic. There are others which are predict ed on known phenomena and by analogy the rest are assumed. The astro-physicists are by no means certain on this point, but it Cis al least to be assumed that some day our own sun will grow cold and the earth will be wrapped in ice until the days of the scheduled col lision.
 In the meantime there is no req son why we should not proceed quietly. lovingly righteousness and acting uprightly before God and man. If such a calamity ever comes we won't be here to see it. It is hoped that all of us will be in a nnch hetter nlace