Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1914-01-24
n "
From Our Little Sofa.
the Far Starry Llmiss.
SOME MARVELLOUS DISTANCES
The Stellar Universe as We Know u
and What Il Means In the Matter OF
Miles to Reach Its Boundaries From
the Center Of Our Own Sun.


Miles to Reach Its Boundaries From
the Center Of Our Own Sun.
Ii l. 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 n small corner OF the
stellar system. we must work outward
from that beginning. Let us take Tor
our unit 80 measurement the space
which separates the earth from the
sun and lot the W 100000 miles OF this
distance be represented In our minds
by II single inch. In proportion the
sun itself must be pictured by tiny
bail less than one hundredth part OF an
inch In diameter while our earth
must be II mere speck less than one
ten-thousundth OF an inch i'll diameter
And this little sun and this minute
earth must be just an inch asunder.
Following out the same idea, Mer-
curry aud Venus. being closer TO the
sun than we are, have TO be less than
an In, Ii away from him. while Jupiter
will he five inches of. Saturn will be
ten inches of. Uranus will be over
nineteen inches on. Neptune Will be
almost thirty inches of. Then the SO
lar system rs whole. leaving only
ont of the question certain comets
which travel farther. will he Enclosed
IN a circle less than two yards In diam
eter.
The question arises next. What will
he the proportlonate size Of the stellar
system on this same scale OF measure
ment: II the solar system Is TO DO
comprised with a hoop not two yards
across how wide space should We
allow 10 the surrounding system OF
stars. our universe?" How near will
be the nearest OF outlying stars? And
the answer IL sufficiently startling. II
the sun i rcckOned to be one inch
away from our earth. II Neptune Is
reckone,i tn be less than three feet
away from the sun. then on the same
scale the star which lies closest or all
outer stars IN the whole universe to US
Aphn Centauri by name. must he
reckoned rs lying at distance Of
about three and a half miles. And be
tween tn. two-nothing; nj least moth
ing Ia the shape Of Il star An occa-
sional comet may lag slowly along In
the darkness. finding its way from one
sun system To another, and dark bod
les. cooled suns. may possibly fioat
here or there unseen by us. but OF
stars radiant with heat and light none
IS found in that wide area.
Astronomical writer's sometimes talk
OF stars lin the vicinity" OF the sun.
and this IS what Is meant by "vicin-
ity.' Think of the distances implied
our whole solar system is first brought
down into Il small circle two yards
across every Inch in those yards stand.
Ing for more than 9O.oo0,Oc0 miles
ana then on every side and ADORE and
below Is an accomplishing void 81
three and half miles. every inch Of
those miles again representing more
than 9OOnUD miles And then we
come upon one cleaning star. Only
one quite 50 near Another star in tho
suns vicinity" known rs IL Cygni
would lie AT distance Of seven miles
and the brilliant Sirius would be over
ten miles OF Others must he placed
at distances Of twenty miles. tifty
miles. 100 miles II Is easy 10 start
with list OF these figures II II not
easy 10 say where one should stop
That the starry system has limits we
do not doubt. but 10 define those limits
is not possible On such scale as Is
given above those limits certainly
would not lie within n distance Of 100
! miles nor OF 1900 miles.
1t is believed that some dim stars
! barely 10 be detected may be 1900
times as far away as our suns nearest
neighbor Alpha Centauri. and this At
once gives. even on our much reduced
scale. a line from the center OF $1,000
miles. suppose that the limits OF the
stellar system lay somewhere about
there Thirty-tive thousand miles each
way from the center would mean IA d.
amcter Tor the whole OF 10000 miles
Imagine starry system 10000 miles
across from side To side. each inch In
those miles representing a2.OOO.OOo OF
real miles. and somewhere IN the midst
~ II our smail solar system. just two
yards across. separated from all other
stars by a wide blank of three or four
miles.
That would he stupendOus enough
But We have no reason whatever for
supposing that the limits VI 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 It's center though this
/ seems rather likely Far on as the
boundary reaches in one direction. Il +
may reach much further In another 81,
rection. Chambers Journal.