The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1913-01-03
DISTANCE OF THE STARS.


III e' "ossaffna w.
Il With the exception of q hundred
Rtars at most, We know nothing of
The distances Of the individual stars.
| What is the cause OF this siate of
thingsf II is owing 10 the fact that
we have two eyes that we are en-
abled not only to perceive the di-
rection in which external objects
are situated. but TO get an idea OF
their distance, to localize them in
space. But this power is rather lin
tied. For distances exceeding some
hundreds Of yards IL utterly fails.
The reason is that the distance be-
tween the eyes as compared with
the distance to be .evaluated be-
comes too small. Instruments have
been devised by which the distance
between the eyes is. as it were, arti-
fcially increased. With good in
strument of this sort distances Of
several miles may be evaluated. For
still greater distances we may i'm
agine each eye replaced by a photo
graphic plate. Even this would bs
quite sufficient for one of the heav-
enly bodies-viz, for the moon.
At one and the same moment let
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 Changing In
space" and may esaluste its dis
tance.
But for the sun and the nearest
planets, our next neighbors in the
universe after the moon, the diff
Guilty recommences.
The reason is that any available
distance on the earth, taken as eye
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
tronosaers have succeeded in over
coming the difficulty for the sun. I
think we may say that at present
we know its distance to within q
thousandth part of its amount.
Knowing the suns distance, we get
that Of all the planets by a 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 eye dis
,ance on our earth. Meanwhile our
success with the sun has provided
Is with new one distance, $4,000
lines greater than any possible eye
distance on the earth, for now that
We know the distance at which the
'arth travels in its orbit around the
Iun we can take the diameter of its
'rbit as our eye distance. Photo
,raphs taken at periods six months
part will represent the stellar
world as seen from points the dis
ance between which is already best
in the time it would take
light 10 traverse it. The time would
'e about sixteen minutes.
However, even this distance, inn
nense as it is, is, on the whole, in
.dequate for obtaining a stereo-
copic view of the stars. 1t is only
q quite exceptional cases that pho
ographs on a large scale-that is,
btained by the aid of big tele-
ppes-show any stereoscopic ef-
ect for fixed stars. By accurate
Measurement of the photos we may
erhaps get somewhat beyond what
70 can attain by simple Microscopic
but, as we said a mo-
lent ago, astronomers have not sue.
eeded in this way in determining
he distance of more than a hun
red stars in all.-Scientific Amen.