The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-11-29
The Astronomer.

The star-gazer if one pleases to call him that,
the astronomer nevertheless, is engaged i'll one
OF the most absorbing labors man ever has
undertaken, that OF delving for the cosmic
mysteries that continue to battle and mystify.
He is a man who knows much and yet knows
little, for astronomy, while most ancient
study, is in its infancy. So far the informa-
ton about the universe that has been OBJ
tanned really is very small compared to the
knowledge yet to be learned. The astronomer
himself realizes this and increases his efforts,
knowing that in his short span of life he can
not hope to contribute much to the many
mysteries
Some persons-laymen-are afraid OF as
tronomy, thinking it might affect their minds,
That fear is not altogether groundless, for it
is easy to see how the battling mysteries could
disturb reason Yet the layman loves to be
awed by the things the astronomer can tell
him, and he can be found open mouthed lis
tening as though his future happiness de
pended upon his getting every word. The as
tronomer would not get far in talking to the
layman about his wonderful subject if he
did not come back down to earth and talk
the language OF the layman. Terms that have
no meaning to the uninitiated-whole SEN
fences of them in fact-are used Huently by
astronomers to describe what they have
found. Fortunately they are persons kindly
disposed, and in talking to laymen abandon
their use.
Astronomers recently have discovered er-
rors in their methods OF computation. 1t IS
now positively known that some distances
were greater than at first believed, that some
heavenly bodies were many times larger than
the sizes accredited to them. Astronomers
now agree that the universe is some billions
of light years in extent. That means the dis
lance light would travel in billions OF years
at the inconceivable velocity of 10000 miles
Der second. The astronomers are guessing at
that and admit it. Some of them have ventur-
ed the opinion that the universe has limit
an end but they do not offer to say what
the end is, whether a void, an absolute dark
ness with nothing in it, in which case space
still would exist, or, most unbelievable OF ALL
A wall of material character beyond which
nothing can go. 1t is now estimated that
many millions of SUNS, bright, glowing, merry
objects like that which warns the earth and
controls its revolutions, only younger, hotter
and bigger, make up the various nebulae scat
tered broadcast over the heavens. What these
suns do in the Cosfnic scheme astronomers
do not know. They suspect that each has its
family of planets, on which in many cases
life is throbbng as it is on earth today.
Where conditions are suitable for life it
exists is the dictum of the astronomer, who
knowing that space is filled with forces and
elements similar to our own solar system,
does not doubt that nature has been at work
there just as here.
The astronomer can tell many interesting
things to an audience. One of the most alb
sorbing conclusions he makes after realizing
the bigness of his subject is that God lives,
that he is in and behind all cosmic plans and
schemes, that they could not exist OF them
selves by the force OF their own power.