Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-30

rounding the sun, is visible, and there
IN lies much Of the mystery which
Iascinates science. BY the study of
the gases In the corona may be dis
covered secrets of the universe an.
pllcable not alone to the myriads of
suns, but to the planets and to earth
itself.
In 1858 there was found in the sun
peculiar gas, which scientists named
AFTER Helas, the suns Greek name.
,helium." In 1895 helium gas was
discovered In the earth. 1t was found
10 emanate from radium. It's peculiar
properties open up research with the
expectation that 1t will give the secret
VI changing one metal into another.
f1e!lum is almost as light as hydrogen
and as 1t is non-inflammable. it is nre.
ferred for initiating balloons.
X X y y
HOW does the sun compare in i'm.
portance with the earth and with the
universe?
Here are just few facts:
II the sun were hollow shell. 4. 900
earths could be inclosed in it, with
room to spare. The mass of the sun
ls 35O,000 times that of the earth. The
4laineter OF the earth, in round num-
oels' IS ABOUT 5000 miles; that of the
sun Is more than hundred times as
great Yet our sun is but one If m.
counted thousands of suns. each with
!ts planets in their orbits, and MANY
immensely greater than our own solar
system and its eight planets.
our suns diameter of $3.50 600 miles
becomes small in comparison with
tnat or the Star-Sun. ReteIeausa
W nna Is 23O times as great-214 900 =:
ooo miles. And Betelgeuse il small
compared with Antares, which meas.
ures 400, 100000 miles in diameter.
Inc distance from earth to the sun
IS about 100000 miles, which is Jess
IMAM q quarter the diameter of
Antares. 1t takes a sunbeam onlv
eignt minutes to travel the 90. 900 .OO0
mics to- earth, but some starlight
reaches the earth only after thousands
OF years OF travel, at the rate of 1855
! vUO miles second. The Christian era
history Of man goes back only 70 con.
turtles, but the Hercules Constella.
tlon might have been DESTROYED AGO
centuries ago, and the last beam which
leIt there just before that destruction
would have arrived yesterday" while
an our lives we may have seen"
dercules, which had ceased to exist
oo,OOO years ago. It is 1000. 900 600
times as far away from us as is the
sun. 40 VIC
with such measurements in mind
II VIII not appear SO preposterous TO
go pack to considering the fire which
v1sibly pours out from around tha
ecl1psed sun-the corona"
There is confiagration, inconceiv.
aoly grand and wonderful! What is
the corona? 1t may be sunlight re.
nected by dust filling the universe. but
tnere Is no real proof that such dust
exists. SUM uoS'
Around the sun is a first LAYER of
glowing gas, called the photosnhere
about 1000 miles thick.
Then there is a reversing" 1aver
OF cooler gas, not so thick.
Ihere is another layer of glowing
gas, 5000 miles thick, called the
chromosphere, and out of the chrome.
sphere rise great flames sometimes
reaching out into space half a million
miles, writing like the blazes of an
Internal conflagration.
Th1s holocaust Is clearly visible onlv
when the shining sun Is curtained in
an eclipse, but then it is magnificently
spectacular.
A description OF such a vision as
seen in 1871 may have been true of
yesterdays eclipse, which cannot vet
be reported by the astronomers who
witnessed 1t. Prof. Young thus
described it as he saw It:
1t had remained unchanged since
noon of the previous day--a long, low,
quiet.looking cloud, not very dense or
brilliant. or in any way remarkable.
On returning half an hour
later to his observations. he was
astonished to find the gigantic sun
flame shot to pieces. The solar atmos-
phere was filled with flying debris, and
some of these portions reached a
height Of 100000 miles above the solar
surface
Moving with a velocity which even
at distance of 93,QQ0,000 miles was
almost perceptible to the eye. these