Democratic messenger., 1909-11-13
A GREAT CENTRAL SUN
MadIer's Theory Is That It Is the
Star Alcyone.
THE CENTER OF GRAVITY.

Body Around Which All Created
Matter Within Our Ken Revoives.
Il has been the dream of all the ro-
mantle astronomers since the time of
Copernicus to prove the existence of q
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
q larger than the eartk. round which
the sun, with all its planets. must re.
voive. II has been proved that the
sun and all its satellites are rushing
forward through space with enormous
velocity. but whether the motion was
I'm a straight line or a circular path
was not proved for some time.
But even II It was proved q curved
path and that there probably existed
a central sun that transcribed the
.earth's lord in size. why couldn't we
.:see it7 The only answers are that II
would have to be nonluminous or else
80 far away that the light hadn't reach.
ed US yet But II all the stars. includ-
ting our sun. were children Of this big
sun. just rs the earth is the child OF
rthe sun and the moon Of the earth.
they would have had to have been
dung OF from the big sun with q
greater velocity than that Of light In
order for IT, zig sun not to be visible
and still he 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 simmared down to finding a
star or group. OK stars that would take
. the place of the. central sun.
The motion Of the solar system hav-
ing been settled az 20 fact. quantity
and direction. astronomers set about
to hnd the center OF gravity OF the
whole astral system, for there, II any
where. the central sun was to be
found. An astronomer named Mad
ler thought he had found the star to
satisfy the necessary conditions IN the
constellation known as Taurus. or the
Bull. A closer search proved the spe-
cial star under examination to be lack
ing In some OF the conditions. so this
anew. This same astronomer persist
cd In his search with q wonderful
faith In his theory and at last found
q star fulfilling In the most wonderful
and complete manner the necessary
conditions. Every one is familiar with
the beautiful little cluster known as
the Pleiades. or seven stars. The teles.
cope. however. shows fourteen stars
clustered about the beautiful and bril-.
liant star Alcyone. which Is the op-
dcal center Of this group.
The proper motions Of all these have
been determined with great exactness.
They are all In the same direction and
are all nearly equal to each other. aud.
what IL still more important the mean
Of their proper motions differs from
that Of the central star. Alcyone. by
only one-thousandth OF a second OF
arc in right ascension and by only
two-thousandths OF q second IN decH-
nation. Here. then. Is found a mag
niicent group Of suns either actually
allied together and sweeping together
through space or else composing a
cluster so situated as to be affected
Ly the same apparent motion produced
by the suns progression through the
.ae,estiai regions.
,hvt an extension Of the limits OF re-
search round Alcyone exhibits also the
,werdarful truth that out OF 40 stars
being ,w,thiT Is degrees Of this center
there are sixty moving south-that is'
In the same direction-in full accord
,ance with the hypothesis that Acyone
is the center. ffsrty.nine showing prac-
tieaily no motion. while only one SIN
gle individual that moves at all con-
trary to the computed motion. Thus
was Madler,s profound speculation
Justified. Furthermore. assuming Al
cyone as the grand ceufer OF the NIL
lions of stars composing eur astral sys-
item and the direction Of the suns mo-
vtiou to be as before mentioned. Mad
,iar investigated the consequent move
uaanss of all the stars IN every quarter
tie heavens.
,,.t where the ~swiftest motions
..,s Jus - fOpnA In accordance with
snoa.u - sen there they actually ex-
=. sn' ,h,s tss o,,bsr a. >uoHstrating the truth
Of of the ,a,' theory % OF or e...~ sisowing well
,r,vh imnossible series d cetpeidences.
Tberefore the CONCLUSION l,iven out oy
Madler N that Alycoue. th-s pI,n.'pa p 80
star of the Plelades. now occ 'ps. -
center Of gravity and Is at pres Sh' s "a
great central sun about which tn ~.
verse Of stars and all created ma I've.
within our ken is revolving. each
tity Units own special path.