, 1910-03-26

JColt1oucd from 4rjS Of zSrd Harchl
The sun and its planets make up Our sun
system or solar system.
In the great central body, the sun, there
are muny wonderful things besides the
spots, and astronomers study him eagerly,
chiefly because be is q type of the many
millions If stars that SURF uud us on all
sides, every one OF which, the astronomers
tell u, is Il glorious sun ike our own, and
may have a family OF planets nourIshed hy
and obedieIt to hlu-, as he planets of our
own system, our beautiful earth among
them, are uourished by and are obedieut TO
our own mighty sun.
When we learn that TIE vast ring Of pale
light Che Milky Woy)whicA encircIes the sky,
parting for a great portion ii is length INTO
two bands, is shown by the telescopes to
to be made up Of stprs. we see the tolce Of
Sir William Herschel's conclusion that the
stars of our armament, instead of being
scattered irregularly through space, form O
stratum, Of which the thickness is smaII IN
comparison with its length and breadth,
and in which our own solar system occupies
a place somewhere about the middle of its
thickness and ne0r the point where it divides
into two. But our own star system, incon-
ceivably vast as 1t IS, is not all away at eul
greater distances are seen cloudy forms, some
OF which when viewed through powerful teIe-
scopes break up into separate starssand show
themselves 10 be star systems like our Own,
but apparently quite apart tromlt.By coatem-
platlp5 those great starry centres aloI with
.u1T own the mind eau conceive q FAINT image
Of the vast universe Of which our own star
thesun, and our own planetary system,8Iand
as they are,form but an infnitesimai part.
Professor Todd in bis New Astronomy
quotes the great German philosopher In
manuel Kant as saying "Iwo things till Inc
with ceaseless awe, the starry heavens above
anu the moral law within Happy are
they. who, with however feeble a vision, can
each some ~gljmpses o. the glory II the
universe, and thus attain to something OF
thai c@ease!ess awe, an awe which IS as up
lifting as the childish fears OF superstition
are degrading.
From tbs thought of the Iimitable uni
verse we come back to our own solar system,
and although some of the comets winch nave
been seen appear to come out Of the Starry
spaces and to wander away again, by far the
greater number belong to our own system,
ana like the planets they travel round the sun
in definite courses and in definite periods.
There IRE, however, some fundamental LITER
enceU, the most important of which Is IN the
form of the path round the sun, and / If we
have not been accustomed to think of such
matters it will require, and is worth, a little
effort to get an understanding OF what that
difference IS.
We perhaps think of our earth travelling
round the sun in q circle, but that is not
quite correct. 1t is a little nearer the sun
at one part of the year than al another. Rough
" we may compare the form OF it's path, or
orbit. to a circle somewhat fattened. Accu-
rately expressed, it is an ellipse. Possibly
some reader does not know just what an
ellipse is, but if he would like to know he
may learn it in a very simple way. Take
two DIS ana stick them into a sheet Of