The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1911-01-06
DISTANCE OF The STARS.
How As,r suorosrs Set About the TAs.
ef Measuring IL.


With the exception Of hundre'
stars at most. we know nothing o
the distances of the individual stars
What is the cause of this state o
things? Ii is owing TO the fact tina
We have two eyes that We are an
abled not only TO perceive the di
rection in which external object
are situated, but 10 get an idea o
their distance, 10 localize them il
space. But this power is rather lin
tied. For distances exceeding som,
hundreds of yards il utterly fails
The reason is that the distance be
tween the eyes as compared witt
the distance TO be evaluated be
comes too small. instruments hav,
been devised by which the distanc,
between the eyes is, as it were, arti
fcially increased. With a good in,
strument Of this sort distances Of
several miles may be eyaluated. Fol
still greater distances we may i'm
agine each eye replaced by a photo
graphic plate. Even this would be
quite sufficient for one of the heav-
emily bodies-viz, for the moon.
At one and the same moment LEI
photograph of the moon and the
surrounding stars be taken both at
the Cape observatory and at the
Royal observatory at Greenwich.
Placing the two photographs side by
side in the stereoscope, We shall
clearly see the moon hanging in
space" and may evaluate its dis
tance.
But for the sun and the nearest
planets, our next nsighbors in the
universe after the moon, the diff
Guilty recommences.
The reason is that any available
distance on the earth, taken as eve
distance, is rather small for the
purpose. However, owing to in
credible perseverance and skill Of
several observers and by substitut
ing the most refined measurement
for stereoscopic examination, as
tronomers have succeeded in over
coming the difficulty for the sun.
think we may say that at present
we know its distance to within a
thousandth part of its amount
Knowing the suns distance, we get
that of all the planets by well
known relation existing between the
planetary distances.
But now for the fixed stars,
which must be hundreds Of thou
sands of times farther removed than
the sun. There evidently can be no
question of any sufficient eve dis
lance on our earth. Meanwhile our
success with the sun has provided
US with a new one distance, $4,000
times greater than any possible eve
distance on the earth. for now that
We know the distance at which the
earth travels in its orbit around the
sun we can take the diameter Of It's
orbit as our eve distance. Photo
graphs taken at periods six months
apart will represent the stellar
world as seen from points the dis
lance between which is already best
expressed in the time il would tax.
light to traverse it. The time would
be about sixteen minutes.
However, even this distance, i'm
mense as it is, is, on the. whole, in
adequate for obtaining q steEso-
scopic view of the stars. 1t Is only
in quite exceptional cases that pho
tographs on a large .scale-thst Is,
obtained by the aid Of big tee-
scopes-show any stereoscopic f-
feet for fixed stars BY accurate
measurement Of the photos we may
perhaps get somewhat beyond what
we can attain by simple stereoscopic
inspection; but as we said a mo-
ment ago, astronomers have not sue
ceeded in this way in determining
the distance Of more than a hun
dred stars in al.-Scientifc Amen
can.
When Ohio Failed.
In the midst Of G. b. Galbreaths
lecture on Lafayette" the other
night at the Young Mems Christian
association he spent quite a little
time on the incident Of the prineely
sum Of $4,000 which he brought
with him to this country and gave
to congress.
"When Lafayette returned to the
United States about forty-two years
later congress voted him 100000
in return for the $4,000 which he
gave to us in that time Of great
need. When the vote was taken ev-
cry state in the Union voted for il
with-let us mention it soft'v-the
exception of Ohio" - Columbus