The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-11-04
GREAT PLANET JUPITER.

GREAT PLANET JUPITER.
u the brightest Object in tho Octo-
her Skies.
Everybody who ever takes q look
at the skies, has noticed the great
planet Jupiter, who has held the
reigning place in the heavens this
month. 1t is stated that in some
places In France, they have been
bombarding this planet, believing it
to. be Zeppelin. Concerning this
beautiful object in the night skies,
Prof. Emory e. Watson, of Parsons
College, writes as follows:
Except for the moon, the brightest
object, and the most interesting
world now in the evening sky is the
planet Jupiter. 1t will be seen lit
tie east of south and well up in the
sky at $3.50 o'clock. This planet will
we'll repay careful study with the
telescope. Its broad bands, its satel-
lites In ever changing positions due
to their rapid rotation makes it a
beautiful and interesting object for
observation with small telescope.
In size, Jupiter is equal to 1900
earths, and four of the satellites are
equal to or larger than our moon.
Jupiter is semi-sun, with prob
ably nothing RESEMBLING solid crust
and having density little less
than that of our sun. The great red
spots suggest tremendous Outbursts
like those from molten material, or
the great lava overflOws of the earth
in its earlier stages. Like the sun,
different portions of the surface have
different velocities, and storms hav-
ing a velocity of $50 miles or more
per hour often rage for weeks.
Although Jupiter can not now sup
port life, either animal or vegetable
It's satellites may be passing through
the life bearing stage.
The clouds of Jupiter are probably
of an entirely different origin from
that Of terrestrial clouds and rather
resemble the chaotic masses of vapor
which enveloped the earth when it
was still in a semi-nebulOus condi-
tion The stupendOus miracle of
world making which is dimly painted
in the grand figures employed by the
writer's of Genesis and the compos-
ers of the cosmogonic legends is here
actually going on before our eyes.
Jupiter is now some 100000, 900
miles away and one feels that its at
tractive force upon the earth is in
significant, yet this attractive force
due to gravitation is equivalent to
about 19S,0O0,00Q,00O,000 tons. The
earth bows little to this force, but
goes serenely on it's way, held safely
by the still more gigantic power of
the sun, which curbs it with a force
amounting to OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
100000 tons. One cannot grasp the
meaning of such force expressed in
figures. Let us then, attempt to H.
lustrate what it means. 1t can be
shown that a bar of solid steel one
foot square would sustain a pull of
about SEA TONS If the bar were one
mile square it would sustain pull of
more than 100000, 900, 900 tons. Now
it would take 100000 such bars to
resist the pull of the sun upon the
earth. Or to put it another way, if
we should suspend gravity, and bind
bar, that bar would have to be 1875
miles thick.
Forces like that from Jupiter and
the sun are acting upon our tiny
earth from every direction as it
Willis dIOu6 lu1Ou6A opdCC aL tAO
rate of 1871 miles each second. The
moon would run away from the earth
if it were not restrained by the latter
with a force amounting to about 21,-
600, OO0,O0O,O00,OOO tons which is
equivalent to the strength of $1,000
bars of steel each one mile thick.
The nearest star in the sky pulls
upon the earth with force of 9O,-
100000 tons, while the force exert
ed between that same star and the
sun amounts to 5,000,O0O,OOO,00O
tons. All the other stars at least a
hundred million are pulling in sim
ilar way, each according to it's
strength and distance. The universe
is alive with those wonderful forces
which never sleep. No star is so
small or so far away that its in
fluence is not felt, acting upon all it's
fellows