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<v Speaker 1>Section twenty eight of Sun, Moon and Stars Astronomy for Beginners.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in

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<v Speaker 1>the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please

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<v Speaker 1>visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Jennifer beckett Wood, Sun

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<v Speaker 1>Moon and Stars Astronomy for Beginners by Agnes Giburne.

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<v Speaker 2>Further thoughts.

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<v Speaker 1>My right hand hath spanned the Heavens Isaiah.

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<v Speaker 2>Forty eight thirteen.

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<v Speaker 1>Early in the year eighteen ninety two, a new star

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<v Speaker 1>appeared in the constellation or Riga, winning much attention. On

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<v Speaker 1>December tenth, eighteen ninety one, it made its first appearance

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly as a star of the fifth magnitude. Two days earlier,

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<v Speaker 1>no stars so bright as even the ninth magnitude had

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<v Speaker 1>been visible in that of the Heavens. On the twentieth

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<v Speaker 1>of December, it reached its brightest. On the eighth of February,

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<v Speaker 1>it was again only a star of the fifth magnitude,

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<v Speaker 1>and after the seventh of March there were remarkable swayings

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<v Speaker 1>to and fro of the intensity of the light, set

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<v Speaker 1>up probably by commotions attendant on the cause of its outburst.

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<v Speaker 1>These lessened and the star fell steadily to only the

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<v Speaker 1>eleventh and then by the first of April to the

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<v Speaker 1>fourteenth magnitude. At the end of April, it was still

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<v Speaker 1>faintly visible. Nova Oregae, as this brilliant stranger has been named,

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<v Speaker 1>showed under the spectroscope a rainbow tinted ribbon in which

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<v Speaker 1>splendid groups of bright lines stood out from a paler background.

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<v Speaker 1>The red ray of hydrogen flower hoffers Sea glowed like

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<v Speaker 1>a danger signal on a dark night. A superb quartet

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<v Speaker 1>of rays shone in the green. Shimmering blue bands and

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<v Speaker 1>lines drew the eye far up towards the violet. The

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<v Speaker 1>characteristic blazing spectrum in fact of a new star was

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<v Speaker 1>unmistakably present. The interpretation left no doubt that hydrogen played

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<v Speaker 1>a large part in the conflagration.

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<v Speaker 2>Nor was this all that.

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<v Speaker 1>The spectroscope had to say. At the close of the

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<v Speaker 1>last chapter, brief mention was made of the mode in

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<v Speaker 1>which the coming nearer or passing away of a star

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<v Speaker 1>may be discovered. With the spectrum of Nova Origai, an

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<v Speaker 1>extraordinary thing was seen. There were distinct and unmistakable signs,

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<v Speaker 1>not of approach alone or of a receding movement alone,

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<v Speaker 1>but of both simultaneously At one and the self same moment,

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<v Speaker 1>the nova appeared to be speeding away from us at

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<v Speaker 1>a rate of two or three hundred miles per second,

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<v Speaker 1>and rushing towards us at much the same rate, the

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<v Speaker 1>sum of the two motions together amounting to no less

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<v Speaker 1>than about five hundred and fifty miles per second. At first,

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<v Speaker 1>this was explained by a conjecture that Nova O Regae

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<v Speaker 1>might consist of two stars, one of the two hurrying

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<v Speaker 1>towards us and the other hurrying away from us. But

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<v Speaker 1>the two star explanation is already being given up, and

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<v Speaker 1>astronomers are inclined to think that the rush to and

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<v Speaker 1>fro is probably only of heated gases on the turbulent

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<v Speaker 1>surface of the star. For Nova OU Regae, like many

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<v Speaker 1>or most other stars, is most likely a mass of

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<v Speaker 1>intensely heated and glowing gases forcibly compressed within by gravitation

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<v Speaker 1>and spreading outside far away into a furiously excited, incandescent atmosphere.

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<v Speaker 1>In any case, the history of the nova is a

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<v Speaker 1>remarkable one, and apparently we have not yet come to

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<v Speaker 1>the end of it. After steadily waning to a very

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<v Speaker 1>faint star, it has begun again to increase in brightness.

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<v Speaker 1>What course it will follow in the future. Time alone

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<v Speaker 1>can show mention has more than once been made in

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<v Speaker 1>this revised edition of the Probable Presence and Absence of

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<v Speaker 1>atmospheres on different Heavenly bodies, and of apparent reasons for

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<v Speaker 1>the same.

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<v Speaker 2>An atmosphere is formed.

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<v Speaker 1>Of gas particles or gas molecules in rapid motion. There

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<v Speaker 1>are different gases, and the particles of one gas differ

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<v Speaker 1>in speed from those of another gas. Moreover, the colder

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<v Speaker 1>any gases, the more slowly its particles move. The hotter

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<v Speaker 1>any gas, the more vehemently its tiny molecules dash to

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<v Speaker 1>and fro, incessantly striking against other molecules and striving to escape.

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<v Speaker 1>If this is the case with our atmosphere, why should

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<v Speaker 1>not all the particles of air escape in the course

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<v Speaker 1>of time, passing into distant space and forsaking us utterly.

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<v Speaker 1>So unquestionably they would do, but for the restraining force

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<v Speaker 1>of gravitation. Struggle as they may to get away, Earth's

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<v Speaker 1>strong attraction holds them in leash, and they cannot flee.

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<v Speaker 1>Our atmosphere consists mainly of oxygen and nitrogen, and the

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<v Speaker 1>oxygen gas is essential for animal life. No free hydrogen

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<v Speaker 1>gas floats in our atmosphere, although enormous quantities of it

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<v Speaker 1>are present in the Sun. It is very possible that

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<v Speaker 1>once upon a time Earth possessed hydrogen gas also in

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<v Speaker 1>her air, and that she has lost it since, for

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<v Speaker 1>the particles of hydrogen are exceedingly rapid in their motions,

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<v Speaker 1>far more so than the particles of oxygen or nitrogen. Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>they need a much stronger restraint to hold them in.

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<v Speaker 1>And while Earth is large, judge and dense enough to

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<v Speaker 1>keep her nitrogen and oxygen gases prisoners, she has not

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<v Speaker 1>it would seem sufficient attractive power to hold in hydrogen.

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<v Speaker 1>If Mars has an atmosphere or mercury, we may say

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<v Speaker 1>with tolerable confidence that no free hydrogen exists in it,

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<v Speaker 1>because neither Mars nor Mercury could be expected to hold

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<v Speaker 1>fast the rapidly journeying particles of hydrogen gas. It has

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<v Speaker 1>even been calculated that very probably Mars is somewhere about

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<v Speaker 1>the smallest world which can permanently retain an atmosphere. We

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<v Speaker 1>have already seen that the Moon, so far as we

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<v Speaker 1>can discover, has no atmosphere. If ever, the Moon did

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<v Speaker 1>possess one, it has doubtless all wandered away because her

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<v Speaker 1>attractive power was too weak to keep it.

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<v Speaker 2>This is not merely a guess.

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<v Speaker 1>The speed of different gas particles is accurately known, and

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<v Speaker 1>the strength of gravitation needed to control them is known. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>it is no difficult matter to find out about how

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<v Speaker 1>heavy a world must be to overcome by attraction the

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<v Speaker 1>impetus of the busy little gas molecules. But while the

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<v Speaker 1>Moon perhaps could not keep any atmosphere, and while the

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<v Speaker 1>Earth might be unable to hold in bondage an atmosphere

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<v Speaker 1>of hydrogen gas, the Sun has no such difficulty. His

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<v Speaker 1>enormous bulk gives such enormous attractive power that the hydrogen

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<v Speaker 1>in his atmosphere, though violently heated and furiously excited, is

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<v Speaker 1>still under control. A most natural, though wide step carries

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<v Speaker 1>us from the restless gas particles breaking loose from control,

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<v Speaker 1>to the larger, restless heavenly bodies, which appear to do.

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<v Speaker 2>Precisely the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>In our Solar system, we have worlds and satellites, comets

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<v Speaker 1>and meteors are under the Sun's command, obedient to his

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<v Speaker 1>attractive power. We have also wandering comets, occasional and passing visitants,

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<v Speaker 1>traveling at so rapid a pace that all the great

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<v Speaker 1>attraction of the Sun fails utterly to hold them in,

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<v Speaker 1>and they plunge into the depths of space, never to return.

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<v Speaker 1>In our stellar system we have countless suns, double stars, clusters,

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<v Speaker 1>and perhaps nebulae, subject one to another, bound together by

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<v Speaker 1>the bonds of mutual gravitation. But also we have possibly

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<v Speaker 1>runaway stars, wanderers from the depths beyond, passing through our

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<v Speaker 1>starry system at a headlong rush, which it may be

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<v Speaker 1>not all the combined control of all the stars of

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<v Speaker 1>light can check or hinder. If so, they doubtless will

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<v Speaker 1>plunge into profounder distances beyond the utmost stretch of human imagination,

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<v Speaker 1>never to return. Verily, the great things and the little

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<v Speaker 1>things of creation are subject to the same laws. A

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<v Speaker 1>few closing words as to the possible comparative ages of

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<v Speaker 1>different heavenly bodies.

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<v Speaker 2>May be of interest.

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<v Speaker 1>The ages of worlds and sons cannot indeed be reckoned

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<v Speaker 1>by years or by centuries. No record gives us the

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<v Speaker 1>date in past millenniums of the birth of this or

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<v Speaker 1>that bright orb. Yet looking upon them. From our little

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<v Speaker 1>world we see signs which seem to tell in one

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<v Speaker 1>of comparative youth, in another of comparative age. Nay, so

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<v Speaker 1>marked to these signs, and so evidently is one stage

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<v Speaker 1>succeeded by another stage, that, as in looking on boy

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<v Speaker 1>and man, we may say with confidence that the one

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<v Speaker 1>has been or the one will be, just like the other,

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<v Speaker 1>so in looking on diverse heavenly bodies we may conjecture

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<v Speaker 1>that as one is, another has been or will be.

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<v Speaker 1>Positive assertions are indeed, here, as elsewhere, out of place.

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<v Speaker 1>Watching the heavens as we do, with limited sight and

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<v Speaker 1>for a very brief span, it behooves us to be careful,

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<v Speaker 1>even in conjecture. Though the marvel is that we can

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<v Speaker 1>know so much. Though the question may well be asked,

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<v Speaker 1>what then must the true nature of that mind be

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<v Speaker 1>which thus freely associates itself with the things beyond the stars.

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<v Speaker 1>Surely it must find its natural home among the infinite,

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<v Speaker 1>the infinitely remote, both in space and in time. Still, caution,

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<v Speaker 1>linked with humility, must be our watchword, for the utmost

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<v Speaker 1>that we know is as nothing compared with the vast

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<v Speaker 1>regions beyond which we do not know Still, the more

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<v Speaker 1>yonder heavens are searched, the more it does appear that

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<v Speaker 1>development takes place among those shining hosts, even as among

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<v Speaker 1>the little existences on Earth, our Moon, for instance, seems

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<v Speaker 1>to be a very old and used up world. Old

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<v Speaker 1>not so much in centuries or millenniums, as in having

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<v Speaker 1>reached a certain decrepit and worn out phase of existence.

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<v Speaker 1>One man is old and another is young at sixty

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<v Speaker 1>in actual decades of centuries, the Moon may reckon no

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<v Speaker 1>more recurring birthdays than Earth or Sun, but in the

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<v Speaker 1>social standing of the skies, she is or seems to

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<v Speaker 1>be very elderly, very much paid out, almost a dead world.

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<v Speaker 1>Once upon a time, doubtless, the Moon was a shining

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<v Speaker 1>mass of rotating gases, vague and nebulous in form, and

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<v Speaker 1>that was her extreme youth, her infancy, so to speak.

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<v Speaker 1>For her actual birth, one would have to go farther back. Still, then,

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<v Speaker 1>through ages, as gravitation drew the masses of gas nearer,

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<v Speaker 1>she probably grew into a tiny sun or star, with

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<v Speaker 1>a radiant photosphere and an atmosphere of heated gases in commotion.

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<v Speaker 1>So tiny a sun would cool quickly, and by and

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<v Speaker 1>by the radiance would die out as the little orb

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<v Speaker 1>passed from vigorous youth to early middle life, reaching the

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<v Speaker 1>present heated and molten but not luminous condition of Jupiter,

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<v Speaker 1>after which would follow the advanced middle age, such as

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<v Speaker 1>our Earth has now attained to, though if the Moon

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<v Speaker 1>had by that time lost her atmosphere, it could not

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<v Speaker 1>well be an inhabited stage. Lastly, she has gained her

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<v Speaker 1>present half dead phase of extreme old age. The Sun

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<v Speaker 1>is young, still in the very heyday of his existence,

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<v Speaker 1>though now a huge, shapely ball with a photosphere of

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<v Speaker 1>radiant clouds and an envelope of heated gases. He was

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<v Speaker 1>probably once upon a time a vast nebula of revolving gases,

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<v Speaker 1>like such nebulae as we see now in the skies.

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<v Speaker 1>A mutual attraction drew the gas particles slowly together. His

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<v Speaker 1>enormous hazy bulk gradually lessened and took a definite form.

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<v Speaker 1>But still he continues and will steadily continue to lessen

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<v Speaker 1>in size, and this shrinkage is conjectured to cause the

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<v Speaker 1>heat from which springs his glowing radiance. By and by,

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<v Speaker 1>after countless ages, he may be expected to cool down further,

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<v Speaker 1>yet first to a molten and then to a solid body,

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<v Speaker 1>no longer giving out light or heat. Jupiter has passed

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<v Speaker 1>from the gaseous and radiant to the heated but non

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<v Speaker 1>luminous condition. Earth, being smaller, has cooled and shrunk more

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<v Speaker 1>rapidly than Jupiter, though by no means so rapidly as

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<v Speaker 1>the still smaller Moon. Thus, in Sun Jupiter, Earth, Moon,

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<v Speaker 1>we seem to see four distinct stages of star life.

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<v Speaker 1>The radiant figure of youth, the calmer warmth of manhood,

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<v Speaker 1>the composed usefulness of middle age, the used up chilliness

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<v Speaker 1>of extreme old age.

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<v Speaker 2>This may have been, and seemingly to.

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<v Speaker 1>Us it has been, the mode in which our God, gradually,

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<v Speaker 1>stage by stage, made the stars and framed the worlds

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<v Speaker 1>which float in the universe.

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<v Speaker 2>These few paces have been trodden, step by step.

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<v Speaker 1>We have advanced from the first early notion of our

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<v Speaker 1>Earth as the mighty center of the universe, to a

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<v Speaker 1>stage where Earth and planets vanish from sight, and the

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<v Speaker 1>great central Sun of our system himself shines forth, but

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<v Speaker 1>as one glimmering.

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<v Speaker 2>Point of light amid a million stars.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, may we say, in the words of the inspired writer,

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<v Speaker 1>as we gaze on the wonders of God's glorious creation.

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<v Speaker 1>When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

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<v Speaker 1>the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained. What

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<v Speaker 1>is man that thou art mindful of him? And the

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<v Speaker 1>son of Man that thou visitest him? And yet there

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<v Speaker 1>is another side to the matter. Infinite in power, God

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<v Speaker 1>is also infinite in love, mighty in the creation of

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<v Speaker 1>his vast and blazing suns, He is no less mighty

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<v Speaker 1>in the creation of a blade of grass. The rushing

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<v Speaker 1>stars of a universe are in his hand, but not

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<v Speaker 1>as sparrow on Earth may fall to the ground without

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<v Speaker 1>his knowledge. He guides each distant sun in its pathway

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<v Speaker 1>through the sky. And also he looks from his throne

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<v Speaker 1>of light to ponder the ways of man. He tends

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<v Speaker 1>his countless furnaces of fire and flame. Yet the very

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<v Speaker 1>hairs of your head are all numbered. Let us look

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<v Speaker 1>into the matter as we will, Let us weigh, measure, calculate.

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<v Speaker 1>Let us find our earth to be but as a

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<v Speaker 1>grain of fine dust, lost amid myriads of worlds and suns.

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<v Speaker 1>Still at the close of all we stand face to

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<v Speaker 1>face with the simple historical fact that the King of Heaven.

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<v Speaker 1>The creator of the universe himself, lived as man for

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<v Speaker 1>thirty three years upon Earth, died upon Earth, rose from

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<v Speaker 1>death upon Earth, and went up again from Earth to

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<v Speaker 1>Heaven that sheds a distinguishing radiance upon our earth, which

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<v Speaker 1>it may well be. No other world in all the

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<v Speaker 1>universe can rival. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive

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<v Speaker 1>glory and honor and power, For thou hast created all things,

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<v Speaker 1>and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelations

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<v Speaker 1>four eleven, end of Section twenty eight. End of Sun,

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<v Speaker 1>Moon and Stars. Astronomy for Beginners by Agnes Gibburn