Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-12
SUN HELD TO BE NEARING
CLOSE OF ITS LIFE SPAN
Noted Astronomer Sees Old Sol as Well
Along, and Scientific Research
Strengthening Faith in Deity

verse. 1t is not chaos but order that
we find in the heavens at every step,
Everywhere / am impressed with the
notion of an intelligence superior to
our own"
Earth Is Tiny Object.
You say little solar system of ours
Is ours SO small? Is our earth so
small?"
'One of the very tinest objects in
the heavens is our globe In a galaxy
of stars that number thousands OF
millions our globe is a mere speck of
dust. And our galaxy lis only one of
countless thousands of galaxies, any
star of which is vastly larger than our
earth. The progress of astronomy IS
measured as it has made the earth
more and more insignificant in the
eyes of the heavens.
when astronomy began to tear
down superstitions that the sun was
hung in the heavens, that the stars
were merely Sits in the canopy of
heaven, that everything overhead
was revolving about the earth, it be-
gan with the popular notion that our
earth was the very biggest thing in
creation. Today we know it to be al
most the smallest"
What do you think is the great.
est benefit of astronomy to mankind?"
asked.
Most astronomers have searched
the heavens without a thought of ap-
plying their knowledge to human af.
fairs. They have been men of pure
science interested in knowledge only
for it's own sake. They have, how
ever, tossed over their shoulders in
formation that has been turned to
very practical account. Helium was
discovered in the sun by means Of its
spectrum Today it is the basis of
new air industry. The whole science
of spectrum analysis had it's origin in
astronomical observations; today 1t is
of vast commercial importance.
Battling Superstition.
1.-THE greatest service of astron
omy has been. however, in emancipat-
ing the human intellect from super
stition. 1t can do an even greater
service. 1t can mitigate bigotry and
intolerance The way to drive out
intolerance is to explain the uni
verse to every boy and girl. The
astronomer becomes aware of a vast
ness of space, the insignificance Of
our earthly troubles, the futility of
our ambitions, in a contemplation of
the heavens. The man who Is dan
gerous is the man who thinks that
everything revolves about him and
that his opinion and himself is the
biggest thing in the universe. Astron-
omy takes the conceit out Of US as
nothing else can.
when we pause to reflect that
there are vast univerSeS trillionS OF
miles away-that some stars are NOV
ing through space at the rate of
thousand miles a minute-that the
star Betelgeuse has a diameter of
$50, 900 900 miles-that If we put a
pin-head at Forty.second street and
Broadway in New York City and
across the street place foot ball, the
pin.head representing the earth and
the foot ball the sun, that we should
have to cross the Atlantic to the
vicinity of the Ruhr before we came
to the nearest star-that II we could
rush through siderea1 space as fast
as the sun travels, which Is at the
rate of IL miles a second, we should
consume half a million years before |
we should reach the bright star Vega,
which we can see on cloudless night |
earthly dogmaS seem petty"
"You have no fears that science |
will make people atheists"
asked DR.. Schlesinger, as rose
to go.
mo, the further science goes the
greater becomes the sea of the un-
known. Science has gathered what
seems to be a tremendous store Of
knowledge, but science today is no
nearer first causes. Science has not
told us what preceded the stars, or
what caused life, or what is the mean
ing of life. There is no conflict be-
tween science and the belief that
there is somewhere a superior intelli.
gence. Despite all the advances of
science, the universe seems as full Of
mystery as ever, and some questions
will forever remain a mystery even
to the most persistent science"
(Copyright. 1927