The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1929-03-28

the most distant stars are measured
and another is the spectroscope. By
the use of these we can tell the COM
position of stars, what is in their
atmosphere and other interesting
things. Ninety-three million miles
separate us from the sun and we can
tell what it is made of. One of the
substances or gases found in the
suns atmosphere is called helium, a
non-inflammable gas first discovered
there. Twenty-seven years later it
was found here ON earth. Helium
was first produced at the cost of
$4,000 per cubic foot during the great
war and was too expensive for COM
mereial use but is now produced at
the cost of 10 cents per cubic foot.
1t is the only gas that can be used
safely in airplanes and its future use
will save many lives and prevent
many catastrophies like those that
happened to the Shenandoah, Roma
and others. Another element called
eoronium has not so far been found
IN the earth's atmosphere but science
will some day capture it and add an
other servant to mankind. Outside
of this element all the rest found on
the sun are the same as here and it
has been proven that the most dis
tant stars are made of the same ma
terials. Our own bodies are COM
posed of % elements all found on
earth and the mightiest and most
distant of stars. In fact the whole
universe is closely related and the
force of gravitation keeps all of it
connected in proper courses. Crawl
tation may be illustrated by the
magnet, we cannot see what passes,
but we see the action. Then we are
connected by ethereal waves that carry
the light and heat and if these waves
could be understood and utilized
communication might some day be
carried on with other planets.
The spectroscope consists of prisms
through which the light passes and
metals and other substances are then
melted and compared by chemists. If
the earth could be put in a gaseous
condition it would give the same
spectrum as the sun. The distance
to the sun, SO millions of miles. is
the yardstiek of measurement of the
distances to the nearest stars. They
are only millions of billions of miles
distant, but to the most distant, an
other measurement must be used. It
is called the light year and has as
a basis the distance that the light
will travel in one of our years. Now
light travels at the rate of 1S6,330
miles second so that light year is
about in round numbers 6 trillion
Of miles. There are stars known
hundreds, thousands and even millions
of light years distant so far that the
mind can hardly grasp these enor-
nous distances. Lately new unit
has been adopted owing to further
extension of discoveries called the
parsec which is 10 trillion, 1872 bill |
lion light years.
Of the thousands of stars that we
see and the millions that the telescope
and photography show and record,
IN our solar system counting the
there are only seven planets or eight
earth. There are stars so distant
that no human eye ever saw them
and we only know them to be there
by Photographic plates that record
them. All stars are suns that shine (
by their own light and all planets
are dark bodies that reflect light.
Some suns are blue, others red,
orange and yellow and their colors
denote their ages. Ours is about
middle age in his life. Stars and
planets are born, live and die. In the
universe there is one eternal perfor-
nance. 1t is very reasonable though,
TO assume with certainty that there !
must be an untold number of planets
Whlrllng around distant suns and
supporting life, but so far off that
mankind may never know anything
about them. If the suns are so dis
tant how can we ever hope to dis
cover the planets? Now how about
our own neighbors ruled by our sun
as we are? First there is the moon,
dead world thrown off from our ;
planet and may in past ages have
had an atmosphere but long since
disappeared. The nearest planet to
the sun is Mercury, SO million miles {
from the sun with year of SO days, /
not inhabitated because the