The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1911-01-26
THE EARTH'S MOTIONS
How We Are V'I1irIing Around
and Through Space.
THE INFLUENcE OF TIE SUN.
Without Its Attraction That Draws the
World Toward 1t In an Eiliptical
Course Our Globe Would Wander on
Forever In Straight Line.

moving from one point to another OF
the earth-travel they call it-and yet
pay little heed to the wonderful jour
ney of the earth itself. Many. again,
60 to seek a climate while the hurry
ing earth is bringing to them one eli
mate after another in endless success
sion. Those who have not hitherto
taken much nbtice of the earth's prog
resS-who have not, so to speak, looked
out of their carriage window as they
are whirled along-might find new
interest in doing SO. Lcok, for exam
pie. at the apparent size of the sun.
Casual observation shows that it APP
pears larger in the winter heavens.
And exact measurements tell US that
it is largest on Jan. l and smallest on
July Q The size of the sun thus marks
the earth's nearest approach and
greatest distance from the sun. Accu-
rate astronomical measurement OF the
suns diameter might even determine
the day of the year, for the daily vari-
alton in the apparent size Of the sun IS
some nine-fiftieths Of /; second OF an
gu!ar measurement And astronomers
profess to measure the second decimal
Of seconds.
There are three ways in which we
are journeying with the earth. There
is first, the daily revolution. which car
ries us through a complete circle in
twenty-four hours at i rate varying
from rather more than thousand
miles all hour at the equator to moth
ing at the poles, where no one, by the
way, has ever been. Then We are trav-
cling around the sun once a year at
the rate Of eighteen miles Il second.
Thirdly, we are journeying through
stellar space, for one of the most re-
markable facts which modern astron-
omy has brought to light is that our
solar system. the sun with ali its plan
cts, is on journey toward the con-
stelIation Lyra at the rate Of ten miles
second.
AS we sit in a train and are whirled
along it sometimes appears as if the
scenery We're flying past US rather
than we past it. So the daily revolu-
ton of the earth--a thousand miles an
hour at the eQuator-makes the sun
rise and set. and our yearly journey
makes the sun apparently travel
through the considerations of the zoa
diac. If we move round any stationary
object on the earth we see it with a
constantly changing background-now
a windmill, now cottage. now a
wood. now a church. etc. So as we
travel round the sun we see it with an
ever changing background of stars
now those of Aries, now of Taurus.
now Of Gemini. and so on. The posi-
ton of the sun among the stars marks
the stages of the earth'S annual jour
ney. And as the Nearth arrives at diff
ferent points of it's orbit the times OF
the risings of certain stars vary. These
Indications of the earth's progress
| have been taken as marks Of the sea-
sons. Thus when Sirius rose with the
sun it was known that the dog days
had begun. Early astronomers watch
ed carefully for the rising of the dog
star. The Egyptian astronomers look
ed for the helical rising of Sothis to
proclaim the new year.
1t is the earth's yearly journey round
the sun which enables us to determine
! the distances of the stars. The method
is precisely that adopted by surveyors
| for determining the position OF objects
4 on earth The direction Of the object
whose distance is to be found is OBJ
served from two points a known dis
tance apart. The rest is mere calcula-
ton. In the case of the stars the Girec-
tons are observed from two extreme
points in the eartli's orbit instead OF
from the two ends of q base line. The
! process is called trianguiatiGn when
! applied to earth measurements, and
everybody understands what it means
When applied to the stars it is called
parallax and remains a mystery tc
most people. Such is the obscurine
power of a word.
The little more and the little less
Of Browning are forcibly illustrated il
the direction Of the earth'S journey
round the sun. An elliptic course diff
ferins very little from a circle, com
bined with a tilt of the axis, gives Us
t!,e seasons But if this difference ant
tilt did not exist there would be NJ
seasons and one climate would rule
he year If, again, the course were
more elliptic, then for the hemisphere
whose winter occurred at tie earth:
greatest distance from the sun there
might be glacial period,
The straight line" says Miss Heller
Keller. "synbolizes duty. It is a dul
thought drawn out erdlessly." An(
this seems to be reflection on whi
we had thought was the earth's patti
Of duty round the sun. for this path il
the curve known as the ellipse. More
over. the thought makes the sun :
tempter of the earth from the stric
path of duty, for the earth. we learl
would wander ON forever through
: space in a straight line 1t is the SUI
which draws it from this dull cours
into the pleasant curve of subsection
Yet the suns victory is only partial
the earths actual path being a con,bi
nation of it's own straight line of in
clination and obedience to the pull @
? the sun. And so instead OF the "dul
thought drawn out endessly'' we hav
the beautiful thought of the changing
, seasons the flowers and fruits Of tn
earth. with its ever varying weather
sunshine and storm. heat and cold.
FOley'S Kidney Remedy an Appreciate
5 L. Mcconnell, Catherine St
! Elmira, N. Y. writes: Il wish to e.
press my appreciation of the gres
T i III