Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-01-30
"A DIP INTO SPACE
From Dur Little Solar System to
the Far Starry Limits.
SOME MARVELLOUS DISTANCES

The Stellar Universe as We Know II
and What II Means In the Matter Of
Miles to Reach Its Boundaries From
the Center Of Our Own Sun.
1t is worth while making an effort to
picture to ourselves the vast extent OF
| the starry system in which we reside
! Having gained some faint notion of
, the extent Of the lesser solar system.
which occupies small corner of the
stellar system. we must work outward
! from that beginning. Let us take for
our unit of measurement the space
which separates the earth from the
sun and let the 100000 miles of this
distance be represented in our minds
by single inch. In proportion the
sun itself must be pictured by a tiny
ball less than one hundredth part of an
inch In diameter, while our earth
must be mere speck less than one
ten-thousandth Of an inch in diameter.
And this little sun and this minute
earth must be just an inch asunder.
Following out the same idea. Mer-
curry and Venus. being closer to the
sun than we are, have to be less than
an inch away from him, while Jupiter
will be five inches OF, Saturn will be
ten inches off. Uranus will be over
nineteen inches off. Neptune will be
almost thirty inches off. Then the so
lar system as a Whole. leaving only
out of the question certain comets
which travel farther, will be Enclosed
in a circle less than two yards in diam
eter.
The question arises next, What will
be the proportionate size of the stellar
system on this same scale Of measure
ment? If the solar system is to be
comprised with hoop not two yards
across how wide space should we
sllow to the surrounding system Of
stars. "our univ erse?" How near will
he the nearest of outlying stars? And
the answer is sufficiently startling. III
the SUN is reckOned TO be one inch
away from our earth, If Neptune Is
reckoned to be less than three feet
away from the sun, then on the same
scale the star which lies closest Of all
outer stars in the whole universe to us.
Alpha Oentauri by name. must be
reckoned as lying ut distance of
about three and Ealf miles. And be-
tween the two-nothing; at least moth
ing i'm the shape Uf n star An occa.
sioDal comet may lag slowly aleng in
the darkness. finding its way frcm one
= 49, k,@<
les. cooled suns, may possibly float
here or there unseen by us. but Of
stars radiant with heat and light none
is found in that wide area
Astronomical writers sometimes talk
Of stars "in the vicinity Of the sun.
and this is whsr. is meant by ''vicfn-
ity." Think Of the distances implied
down into a small circle two yards
across-every irah in those yards stand
ing For more than 100000 miles
and then OH every side and above and
below is an accomplishing void Of
three and halt miles. every inch Of
those miles again representing more
than !0OOOO.O00 miles. And then we
come upon one cleaning star. Only
one gate 50 near. Another star in the
sums '"vicinity." known as G1 Cygni
would lie at Il distance of seven miles.
and the brilliant Sirius wou36 be over
ten miles off Others must be placed
at distances Of twenty m4ies. fifty
mics. 100 miles. 1t is easy to start
with q list Of these figures vt is moi
easy to say where one should stop
That the starry system has limits we
do not Doubt. but no define those limits
is not possible. 0n such a scale as is
given above those limits certainly
would not lie within distance Of 100
miles nor of 1000 sniles.
1t Is believed that some dim stars.
barely to 5e detected. may he 10000
times as far away as our suns Dearest
| neighbor. Alpha Centauri. and this at
once gives. even on orr much reduced
scale. line from the center Of 5000
miles Suppose that the limits Of the
stellar system lay somewhere abOu,
there. Thirty-fve thou,.a nd miles each
way from the center waalld mean iii
! ameter for the whole Of 10000 miles
Imagine starry system 10000 mile
across from side to side. each inh u
those miles representing @2.WiO.WsD ~
| real miles. and somewhere i'm the lnhl>
, of it our sluall solar SyStenn. just tw'
yards across. separated from all uthe;
stars 10y wide blank of three or -four
miles.
| That would he stupendOus enough
But we have no reason whatever for
| supposing that the limits of our uni.
verse do lie there The true boundaries
Of the stellar system may be twice as
far. four times rs far. ten times as far
We do not even know with certainty
that our solar system Is placed any
where near its center. though this
seems rather likely Far Off as the
boundary reaches in one direction. II
may reach much further in another d.
rection.-Chambers' Journal.