The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-17

| pulsates In the sublime heights of the
empirean during July and August. If the
reader would like to make the acquaint-
! ance of this dainty starmaiden he will
| find her in the constellation of Lyra. the
Harp. Yet, one must be careful not to
approach too near to Vega, her light will
blind the near beholder. At close range
Vega radiates more light than 800 suns
the size of our central orb But being
SO far from us, her light Is comparative
| ly faint
| The other star to which l referred as
enjoying 1t in the summer is Arcturus,
a splendid globe of yellow fire, radiant
world of Illuminated topaz OF Arcturus
we read In the book of job 1t is the
principal star in the constellation of
Bootes Bootes is the great bear-driver.
He holds a stick in his right hand, while
wit hthe other hand he grips the leash
upon his dogs, as they pursue the Great
Bear hobbling around the North Star.
Arcturus is the brilliant buckle upon the
garter of the left leg of Bootes. This
star travels its orbit at the rate of so
miles a second. ray of light darting
| from Arcturus just as the reader of this
| paper begins to read, would not reach
the earth until the year 1895, so distant Is
! the star. But it is a mammoth world,
! that same Arcturus, and causes our sun
to hide his diminished head, so far as
| comparisons are concerned If the skies
| lacked suns 1900 Of them the size of ours
| could be carved out of this same Arctu-
rus. Yet our sun can assume an air of
| Importance in the bosom of his own plan
etary family at home, because his mass
| Is 500 times greater than all the planets
of his realm put together, even includ-
| ing that colossal planet Jupiter, with all
his satellites.
of esinpr m clIhiactS that
have in mind | shall say something of
Jupiter, still illustrating the subordinate
Notwithstanding Figures.
| Jupiter is the Goliath of the planetary
| family, its diameter being $4,000 miles. If
| it were as near to us as is the moon. 1t
would fill 1900 times the space that the
| full moon occupies What light 1t would
cast upon the earth. The earth moves
at the rate of II miles per minute. but in
the same fragment of time Jupiter has
accomplished 467 miles. Jupiter receives
from the sun only one twenty-seventh
| the amount of light that the earth does,
but we are not in his class if we consider
| the opulence of his moonlight. 1t Is now
held that eight moons attend the gigantic
Jupiter. Some of these moons are so
| bright at times that the unaided eye can
detect them. If you will look through
your opera glass you may have a fine
view of some of them They look like
tiny golden balls / have seen them in
such juxtaposition that they suggested
the sign of the pawn-broker, and looked
as if Jupiter were advertising loan
business to impecunious worlds passing
by. If you lived on Jupiter. supposing
that you could, what splendors of the
heavens you could look upon! You could
see the various star-groups that you now
behold and in addition thereto there
would be a number OF moons Illuminating
! the heavens and the planet with their
soft silver light. If a Romeo on Jupiter
should say to his Juliet, Il swear by the
moon, she might properly ask. by
which one?'
This earth is about s2,ooo,ooo of miles