The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-03-24
HUMAN MIND
CANNOT GRASP
IT; REPORTER DOES
STRANGER OFFERS LESSON IN
ASTEOLOaY TO STAR-9Ax1F9
IETELLIGENCER NAN G6-
PLANNING MANY STRANGE
HEALxTTE4.
IT TAKES THE LIGHT FROM THE
SUN EIGHT AND A HALF MIN
UTES TO REACH THE EARTH.
rF THE NEAREST FIXED STAR
WERE BLOTTHD OUT WE
WOULD not Know II
FOR THREE YEARS.


The skies in the carly part OF the
night present beautiful appearance
lust at this period, the bright winter
consultations are conspicuous IN tue
southwestern sky where Orion. Cauis
Major and CAMS Minor are the main
objects and the brightest fixed star III
tho heavens. Sirius blazes in Canls
Major with Procyon not near go bright
in a Cuts Minor. Orion contains the
bright white star Pigel which is $4,000
times larger than our own sun Whlch
Is really a star. Orion can be FOUND
By the irregular shaped square north
est Of Sirius, found by Rigel IN the
lower right-hand corner BeLatrlx,
BctclgeuX and q star OF the eecoho
magnitude. In the center of this square,
,sloping up to the right are three slals
of the second magnitude. forming inc
famous belt Of Orion; three smaller
stars extends downward from the belt
and the great nelbula Of the heavens
surrounds the star Theta near the
lower end.
Higher I'D and north is Taurus, the
bull with the beautiful Pleiades ano
the bright star Aldcbaran; east Oh
these is the constellation Of the tw1ns
which at the present Jupiter Is IN; nc
can be readily distinguished as ne ID
The brightest object in the heavens eA-
cont Venus which is rather low in the
west and can be seen Immediately alter
sundowu. East Of the Twins Is the
constellation of Leo and the pr1nclple
star is Regulus, which Is In the to"e.
end Of the sickle which can DC piaihIy
traced in the SKY. Saturn Is IN Eo
and can be recognized as the prie
object in this region
no
turns is in the northwest and directly
southeast is Virgo which can be tolo
hy Snica. q star OF the first magnitude
Tho dipper on the Great Bear ~
northeast of overhead and Is visible an
night long as it makes. It's hd1es'iS
sweep around the pole.
jncal student of astronomy tatklhs
nm an Intelligencer reporter last nisht
who happened to sec him cram'hs n'
mock in the direction Of the SKY saiu.
EVERY clear night II one only loohs
IN he will see the Srandest sisn|s
which /, is mans privilege to see; the
nlnnets trace their way through the
STARS: the consultations rise curve
overhead and set in the west. Mltllons
Of stars can be seen II you LOOK ciose-s
and the wonderful resources ana drains
Of the astronomers leave measuleu
their resistance which TO the oFoniai'
mind means nothing because II caiii'oI
grasp the immensely OF inc distance
The only way il can be graspcd IS
eaudy of the velocity Of light. which
travels ut the rate of $4,000 miles
sccond. the sun is SO far away that
II takes eight and a half minutes 70
make the Garth: in other words. If the
sun should be- instantly blotted OUT VIC
on the earth would not know 1t Tor
eight and half minutes.
Ir the nearest fixed star. which Is
Alnha Ccntuuri, should be instantly
blo,ted out We would not know II TOT
three years and six months. light tah-
ing that length Of time TO reach US
from that star which Is our nearest
ncighbor in space
Suppose you had paper large enough
the plat Of tho heavens 10 n scale; lot
instance, VIC will take dlc earth. which
is 5000 miles in diameter. and reduce
il 10 an inch, and let each inch repre-
sent 5000 miles. On that scale tho
sun will be globe . feet in diameter
and tho Garth would be. $40 feet away.
one inch in diameter, while the moon
circling around the earth 80 feet
away would be onc-fourth Of an inch
IN diameter.
Ono mile from the sun. Jupiter
would he located with diameter OF II
inches; Saturn would be TWO miles
away, inches in diameter; Uranus
four miles. inches in diameter, and
Neptune eight miles away. Az inches
in diameter. That is the end OF the
solar SYSTEM we now embark into
space.
Astronomers have slmplihed the
light year which is 5.S26 .04G.000.UUO
miles, which they call a parSec or
light year, and this multiplied three
and onn-half times for the three and
half light years to the nearest fixed
star, which is Alpha Centurl.
The result is scaled to 5000 miles
to the inch. and you have reached
Alpha Centauri. which would be 255.li4
miles away from the sun on that scale.
Remember, on this scale Neptune Is