Chapter V: The Moon, the Planets, and the Sun (2)

THE SUN.--That spots upon the sun may be seen with no greater optical aid than that of an opera-glass is perhaps well known to many of my readers, for during the past ten years public attention has been drawn to sun-spots in an especial manner, on account of their supposed connection with meteorology, and in that time there have been many spots upon the solar disk which could not only be seen with an opera-glass, but even with the unassisted eye. At present (1888) we are near a minimum period of sun-spots, and the number to be seen even with a telescope is comparatively very small, yet only a few days before this page was written there was a spot on the sun large enough to be conspicuous with the aid of a field-glass. During the time of a spot-maximum the sun is occasionally a wonderful object, no matter how small the power of the instrument used in viewing it may be. Strings of spots of every variety of shape sometimes extend completely across the disk. Our illustration shows the appearance of the sun, as drawn by the author on the 1st of September, 1883. Every one of the spots and spot-groups there represented could be seen with a good field-glass, and nearly all of them with an opera-glass.

As in all such cases, our interest in the phenomena increases in proportion to our understanding of their significance and their true scale of magnitude. In glancing from side to side of the sun's disk, the eye ranges over a distance of more than 860,000 miles--not a mere ideal distance, or an expanse of empty space, but a distance filled by an actual and, so to speak, tangible body, whose diameter is of that stupendous magnitude. One sees at a glance, then, the enormous scale on which these spots are formed. The earth placed beside them would be but a speck, and yet they are mere pits in the surface of the sun, filled perhaps with partially cooled metallic vapors, which have been cast up from the interior, and are settling back again. It is worth anybody's while to get a glimpse at a sun-spot if he can, for, although he may see it merely as a black dot on the shining disk, yet it represents the play of physical forces whose might and power are there exercised on a scale really beyond human comprehension. The imagination of Milton or Dante would have beheld the mouth of hell yawning in a sun-spot.

In order to view the sun it is, of course, necessary to contrive some protection for the eyes. This may be constructed by taking two strips of glass four or five inches long and an inch wide, and smoking one of them until you can without discomfort look at the sun through it. Then place the two strips together, with the smoked surface inside--taking care to separate them slightly by pieces of cardboard placed between the ends--and fasten the edges together with strips of paper gummed on. Then, by means of a rubber band, fasten the dark glass thus prepared over the eye-end of your opera-glass in such a way that both of the lenses are completely covered by it. It will require a little practice to enable you to get the sun into the field of view and keep it there, and for this purpose you should assume a posture--sitting, if possible--which will enable you to hold the glass very steady. Then point the glass nearly in the direction of the sun, and move it slowly about until the disk comes in sight. It is best to carefully focus your instrument on some distant object before trying to look at the sun with it.

As there is some danger of the shade-glass being cracked by the heat, especially if the object-glasses of the instrument are pretty large, it would be well to get the strips of glass for the shade large enough to cover the object-end of the instrument instead of the eye-end. At a little expense an optician will furnish you with strips of glass of complementary tints, which, when fastened together, give a very pleasing view of the sun without discoloring the disk. Dark red with dark blue or green answer very well; but the color must be very deep. The same arrangement, of course, will serve for viewing an eclipse of the sun.

A word, finally, about the messenger which brings to us all the knowledge we possess of the contents and marvels of space--light. Without the all-pervading luminiferous ether, narrow indeed would be our acquaintance with the physical creation. This is a sympathetic bond by which we may conceive that intelligent creatures throughout the universe are united. Light tells us of the existence of suns and systems so remote that the mind shrinks from the attempt to conceive their distance; and light bears back again to them a similar message in the feeble glimmering of our own sun. And can any one believe that there are no eyes out yonder to receive, and no intelligence to interpret that message?

Sir Humphry Davy has beautifully expressed a similar thought in one of his philosophical romances:

In Jupiter you would see creatures similar to those in Saturn, but
with different powers of locomotion; in Mars and Venus you would find
races of created forms more analogous to those belonging to the Earth;
but in every part of the planetary system you would find one character
peculiar to all intelligent natures, a sense of receiving impressions
from light by various organs of vision, and toward this result you can
not but perceive that all the arrangements and motions of the
planetary bodies, their satellites and atmospheres, are subservient.
The spiritual natures, therefore, that pass from system to system in
progression toward power and knowledge preserve at least this one
invariable character, and their intellectual life may be said to
depend more or less upon the influence of light.[G]

[G] See "Consolations in Travel, or, the Last Days of a
Philosopher"; Dialogue I.

Light is a result, and an expression, of the energy of cosmical life. The universe lives while light exists. But when the throbbing energies of all the suns are exhausted, and space is filled with universal gloom, the light of intelligence must vanish too.

One can not read the wonderful messages of light--one can not study the sun, the moon, and the stars in any manner--without perceiving that the physical universe is enormously greater than he had thought, and that the creation, of which the Earth is an infinitesimal part, is almost infinitely more magnificent in actual magnitude than the imaginary domain which men of old times pictured as the dwelling-place of the all-controlling gods; without feeling that he has risen to a higher plane, and that his intellectual life has taken a nobler aim and a broader scope.

INDEX.

Achernar, 94.

Albireo ([beta] Cygni), 55.

Alcor, 27.

Alcyone, 102.
Maedler's "Central Sun," 104.

Aldebaran, 22, 89, 91, 94, 95, 98.

Algenib ([alpha] Persei), 84, 85.

Algol, the Demon-Star, 83.
probable cause of variation of, 85.

Al-Mamoun, the Caliph, observation of a temporary star, 35.

Almaach ([gamma] Andromedae), 79, 82.

Alphard, 16.

Alpha Andromedae, 79.
Agnarii (Sadalmelik), 67.
Arietis (Hamal), 74.
Capricorni (Giedi), 65.
Ceti (Menkar), 70.
Draconis, formerly the pole-star, 102.
Librae, 52.
Ophiuchi (Ras Alhague), 42.
Orionis (Betelgeuse), 91, 98, 106.
Pegasi (Markab), 70.
Ursae Majoris, 28.

Alpheratz ([alpha] Andromedae), 79.

Alps, the lunar, 135.

Altai Mountains, 135.

Altair, 55.

Andromedae, map of, 76.
mythology of, 75.

Antares, 32, 33, 98.

Antinous, 55.

Apennines, the lunar, 135.

Apollonius, regarded the moon as a mirror, 119.

Aquarius, map of, 64.
mythology of, 67.

Aquila, map of, 56.
mythology of, 55.

Aratus, description of the Manger, 15.
the "Diosemia" of, 15.
the Phenomena of, 20.
story of Virgo, 51.
description of the "Royal Family," 78.
description of Cetus, 70.

Arcturus, 10, 24, 26, 49, 56.

Argo, map of, 110.
mythology of, 115.

Aries, map of, 71.
mythology of, 75.

Ariosto, story of a trip to the moon, 136.

Aristarchus, the shining mountain, 125.

Aselli, 15.

Asterope, 103.

Atlas, 102.

Auriga, map of, 23.
mythology of, 23.
star swarms in, 22.

Autumn, map of the Stars of, 62.

Bartschius invents Monoceros, 117.

Bay of Dew, 129.

Bay of Rainbows, 129.

Bear's head, stars forming the, 28.

Bellatrix, 90, 107.

Belt, Orion's, 90, 107.

Berenice's Hair, the constellation of, 24.
picture of, 53.

Bessel, studies of Sirius and Procyon, 20.
letter about "dark stars," 114.

Beta Andromedae (Mirach), 79.
Arietis (Sheratan), 75.
Capricorni (Dabih), 65.
Cassiopeia, 74.

Beta Corvi, 25.
Cygni (Albireo), 55.
Librae, 52.
Leonis (Denebola), 12.
Lyrae, 50.
Pegasi, 70.
Scorpionis, 34.
Ursae Minoris (Kochab), 27.

Betelgeuse ([alpha] Orionis), 91, 98, 106.

Bethlehem, the so-called Star of, 87.

Biela's comet, it breaks up, 82.

Biela meteors, radiant point of the, 82.

Booetes, map of, 50.
mythology of, 53.

Calisto, another name of Ursa Major, 29.

Cancer, map of, 18.
mythology of, 15.

Canes Venatici, 54.

Canis Major, map of, 110.
mythology of, 115.

Canis Minor, map of, 18.
mythology of, 21.

Canopus, 114.

Capella, 9, 22, 49, 89, 91.

Cape Heraclides, 129.
Laplace, 129.

Capricornus, map of, 64.
mythology of, 67.

Cassiopeia, map of, 76.
mythology of, 75.

Castor, 17.

Catharina, 135.

Caucasus Mountains, 135.

Celaeno, 103.

Central Gulf, 129.

"Central Sun," Maedler's ideas about a, 104.

Cepheus, map of, 58, 76.

Cetus, map of, 71.
mythology of, 70.

Chi Ceti, 73.

Clavius, 124, 132, 133.

Coal-Sack, 57.

Comet, Biela's, 82.

Comet, Halley's, the Crab Nebula mistaken for, 97.

Constellations, origin of, 6, 42, 61.
along the Milky-Way, 116.
the zodiacal, 16.

Constellations, St. Paul's knowledge of, 19.

Copernicus, 136.

Corvus, map of, 26.
mythology of, 25.

"Crimson Star," 110.

Crisian Sea, 127.

Cynosura, a name of Ursa Minor, 29.

Cygnus, map of, 56.

Cyrillus, 135.

Dabih ([beta] Capricorni), 65.

Dark Stars, Bessel's suggestion about, 114.

Davy, Humphry, on life in other worlds, 147.

Delta Canis Majoris, 112.
Cephei, 88.
Tauri, 99.

Deltoton, 75.

Denebola ([beta] Leonis), 12, 14, 24.

Dipper, the Great, 10, 27.

Dog-Days, origin of the, 111.

Dog-Star, 111.

Dolphin, map of the, 56.
mythology of the, 55.

Draco, map of, 58.
mythology of, 57.

El Nath, 22, 97.

Epsilon Leonis, 12.
Lyrae, 49.
Tauri, 99.
Virginis, 51.

Equinox, autumnal, 52.
vernal, 74.

Eridanus, map of, 93.

Eta Aquilae, 55.

Field-glass, 6.

Field of the Nebulae, 51.

Flammarion, on [alpha] Capricorni, 65.

Flood traditions connected with the Pleiades, 101, 102.

Focus, importance of a sharp, 11.

Fomalhaut, 63.

Fontenelle, "Plurality of Worlds," 60.

Galileo, his telescope an opera-glass, 4.
his description of Praesepe, 15.
his description of the moon, 118.
power of his telescope, 119.

Gamma Andromedae, 79, 82.
Leonis, 11.
Pegasi, 70.
Tauri, 99.
Virginis, 51.

"Garnet Star" (Mu Cephei), 88.

Gemini, map of, 18.
mythology of, 19.

Genesis, a celestial, 68.

Giedi ([alpha] Capricorni), 65.

Glass, use of smoked or colored, 130, 146.

Goldschmidt sees a nebula in the Pleiades, 104.

Gomelza, 20.

Gore, estimate of the stars in 13 M, 45.

"Grape-Gatherer" ([epsilon] Virginis), 51.

Grensted, Rev. Mr., suggestion about lunar rays, 132.

Grimaldi, 130.

Halley's comet and Crab Nebula, 97.

Hamal ([alpha] Arietis), 74.

Haemus Mountains, 128.

Henry, Paul and Prosper, photographs of the Pleiades, 105.

Hercules, map of, 44.
mythology of, 45.
motion of solar system toward, 43.

Herschel, William, discovers Uranus, 19.
computation of stars in 13 M, 45.
advice about seeing star-colors, 88.
thinks he sees lunar volcano, 125.
John, description of 8 M, 34.
suggestion about [alpha] Capricorni, 65.

Holden, Prof., on the Milky-Way, 40.
structure of Ring Nebula, 105.

Hooke, discovers first telescopic double star, 75.

Hyades, 89, 95, 98, 99.

Hydra, map of part of, 26.
mythology of, 16.

Hydra's Heart (Alphard), 16.

Humboldt Sea, 130.

Jeaurat, chart of the Pleiades, 104.

Job's coffin, 55.

Jupiter, 141.
satellites of, 142.

Kappa Argus, 116.
Tauri, 100.

Kepler observes the star of 1604, 42.

Kingsley, story of Andromeda, 77.

"King's lucky star," 67.

Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris), 27.

Lake of Death, 129.
of Dreams, 129.

Land of Drought, 130.
of Hoar Frost, 130.

Leo, map of, 12.
mythology of, 13.
sickle-shaped figure in, 9, 14.

Lepus, map of, 93.

Lick telescope, views of Milky-Way, 40.
views of Ring Nebula, 105.

Light, the messenger of the universe, 147.
in a star-cluster, 45.

Libra, description and mythology of, 52.

Life, does it exist beyond the earth? 37, 48, 137, 139, 140, 147.

Locke, Richard Adams, author of the "Moon Hoax," 125.

Lyra, map of, 44.
mythology of, 45.

Maedler, on the "Central Sun," 104.

Maginus, 124.

Maia, 103, 105.

Man in the Moon, 121.

Manger (Praesepe), 15.

Marine glass, 6.

Markab ([alpha] Pegasi), 70.

Marsh of Mists, 129.
of Putrefaction, 129.
of Sleep, 127.

Mars, 140.

Medusa, the head of, 83.

Menelaus, 128.

Menkalina, 22.

Menkar ([alpha] Ceti), 70.

Mercury, 139.

Merope, 102, 103.

Mesarthim, 75.

Meteors, radiant point of November, 11.
radiant point of Biela, 82.

Micromegas, the story of, 115.

Milk-Dipper, 34.

Milky-Way, 17, 34, 39, 40, 43, 57, 81, 86, 116.

Mira ([omicron] Ceti), 71.
probable cause of its variations, 72.

Milton, account of Libra, 52.

Mirach ([beta] Andromedae), 79.

Mizar, 27.

Moon, mountains of the, 120.
shadows on the, 120.
map of the, 123.
list of mountains, "seas," etc., 123.
inhabitableness of the, 136.
the other side of the, 138.

"Moon Hoax," 125, 128.

Monoceros, map of, 110.

Mu Argus, 116.
Scorpionis, 36.

Nebulae (and Star-Clusters):
4 M, 34.
6 M, 37.
7 M, 37.
8 M, 38.
13 M, 45.
24 M, 38.
25 M, 39.
30 M, 66.
34 M, 86.
35 M, 18.
37 M, 23.
38 M, 23.
41 M, 112.
46 M, 116.
50 M, 117.
80 M, 35.
93 M, 116.
2^7, 117.
33^7, 23.
38^8, 116.
Andromeda, Great Nebula in, 79, 80.
Aquarius, Nebula in, 68.
Crab Nebula, 97, 98.
Field of the Nebulae, 51.
Horseshoe Nebula, 39.
Orion, Great Nebula in, 107.
Perseus, Great Cluster in, 86.
Pleiades, nebulae in the, 104.
Ring Nebula in Lyra, 50.

Nebular hypothesis, 68.

Neison, description of sunrise on Clavius, 133.

Newton, 134.

"Nile-Star," 111.

Northern Cross, 54, 55.

Northern Crown, map of the, 44.

Northern Fish, 73, 79.

Nu Andromedae, 79, 82.
Aquarii, a pointer to a nebula, 68.
Canis Majoris, 112.
Draconis, 58.
Scorpionis, 34.

Ocean of Storms, 130.

Omicron Ceti (Mira), 71, 72.
Cygni, 57.

Omicron two Eridani, a flying-star, 95.

Opera-glass, views of the stars with, 3.
how to choose a good, 4.
magnifying power of, 4.
defects of, 5.

Ophiuchus and Serpens, map of, 41.
mythology of, 41.

Orion, map of, 93.
mythology of, 109.
great array of stars around, 90.
riches of, 106.
spectacle of the rising of, 89.

Orpheus, fancies about the moon, 119.

Pegasus, map of, 64.
mythology of, 69.

Perseus, map of, 76.
mythology of, 75.
great cluster in, 86.

Phantom, another name of Hercules, 45.

Photography, astronomical, 3, 105.

Pi Argus, 116.
Five Orionis, 109.
Pegasi, 70.

Pisces, map of, 71.
mythology of, 74.

Piscis Australis, 67.

Plato, 135.

Pleiades, 10, 22, 89, 95.
names of the, 100.
mythology of, 100.
and the Flood, 101, 102.
and the Great Pyramid, 101.
picture of the, 103.
common motion of the, 104.

Pleione, 102, 103.

Pole-star, 10, 26.

Pollux, 17.

Praesepe (the Manger), 15.

Prime Meridian, 74.

Proclus, 127.

Procyon, 9, 20.

Pyramid of Cheops and the Pleiades, 101.

Pyrenees Mountains, 128.

Ras Alhague ([alpha] Ophiuchi), 42.

Rays of the Moon, 131.

Regulus, 9, 11.

Revolution of the heavens, 7, 30.

Rho Ophiuchi, 33.

Rigel, 91, 94, 98, 108.

Ring Nebula, 50.

"Royal Family," 63, 75.

Rutherford, photograph of the moon, 122.

Sadalmelik ([alpha] Aquarii), 67.

Sagitta, map of, 56.

Sagittarius, map of, 34.
mythology of, 34.

Saiph, 90.

Saturn, 142.

Scorpio, map of, 34.
mythology of, 32.
pair of stars in sting of, 37.

Schickhard, 130.

Sea of Clouds, 130.

Sea of Cold, 129.

Sea of Fertility, 127.

Sea of Humors, 130.

Sea of Nectar, 128.

Sea of Serenity, 128.

Sea of Showers, 129.

Sea of Tranquillity, 127.

Sea of Vapors, 129.

Secchi, Father, types of the stars, 106.
description of a star-swarm, 39.

Seiss, Rev. Dr., on Canis Minor, 21.
description of Auriga, 23.

Sheratan ([beta] Arietis), 75.

Sidus Ludovicianum, 27.

Sirius, 9, 22, 91.
color of, 111.
size and distance of, 112.
the companion of, 21, 114.
its light compared with the sun's, 46.

Sigma Tauri, 99.

Sixty-one Cygni, 56.

Smyth, Admiral, on Capricorn, 67.
description of Aldebaran, 98.
description of 35 M, 18.

Solstice, summer, 16, 19.
winter, 38.

Sobieski's Shield, 39.

Solar system, voyaging of, in space, 43.

Southern Cross, 91, 116.

South Sea, 130.

Spectroscopic analysis, 3, 98.

Spica, 10, 24, 26, 51.

Spring, map of the stars of, 8.

Square of Pegasus, 69.

St. Paul, acquainted with the constellations, 19.

Star-Clusters (see Nebulae, etc.).

Star-Cluster, light in a, 45.

Summer, map of the stars of, 31.

Sun, opera-glass observations of the, 145.
the, a variable star, 72.

Sword of Orion, 107.

Taurus, map of, 93.
mythology of, 102.
the "Golden Horns" of, 96.
Poniatowskii, 42.

Tau Aquarii, 68.

Taygeta, 103.

Temporary stars:
134 B. C. the first on record, 35.
393 A. D., 35.
827, 35.
1203, 35.
1572, Tycho's star, 87.
1578, 36.
1604, 36, 42.
1860, 35, 81.
1885, 80.

Temple, discovers a nebula in the Pleiades, 104.

Tennyson, describes the Pleiades, 105.

Theophilus, 135.

Theta Orionis, 107.
Serpentis, 43.
Tauri, 99.

Tobias Mayer, sees the planet Neptune, 69.

Triangles, map of the, 71.
mythology of, 75.

Twenty-two Canis Majoris, 112.
Scorpii, 33.

Tycho Brahe, invents Antinous, 55.
places Hamal in Aries, 75.
studies the star of 1572, 87.

Tycho, 122, 131.

Upsilon Tauri, 100.

Uranus, discovery of, 19.
how to find, 142.

Ursa Major, map of, 27.
mythology of, 28.
stars in the feet of, 28.

Ursa Minor, map of, 27.
mythology of, 28.

Vega, 49.

Venus, mistaken for artificial light, 2.
opera-glass observation of, 139.

Virgil, description of Taurus, 96.

Virgo, map of, 50.
mythology of, 51.

Vision, seeing with averted, 13.

Voltaire, story of "Micromegas," 115.

Vulpecula, map of, 56.

Webb, Rev. T. W., on telescopes, 5.
on 35 M, 18.

Western Fish, 73.

Winter, brilliancy of the heavens in, 91.
map of the stars of, 92.

Woman in the Moon, 121.

Zeta Corvi, 25.
Cassiopeia, 86.
Leonis, 11.
Lyrae, 50.
Scorpionis, 36.
Tauri, a pointer to the Crab Nebula, 97.

Zi Argus, 116.

Zodiac, 16.

Zodiac, divided among the Twelve Apostles, 86.
of Dendera, 14.

Zoellner, estimate of Sirius's light, 46.

THE END.

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