Some Astronomical Suggestions

SOME ASTRONOMICAL SUGGESTIONS. BY S. A. KENNER.

Astronomy is the most fascinating study in the whole range of human education. Because it deals with subjects which are be- yond the range of ordinary understanding, and cannot be treated by any customary means of reckoning or computation, the great mass of people are never well informed regarding it, some taking — no interest whatever, and others still very few in number, fortun- — ately looking, or professing to look upon the whole matter as fraudulent, unsubstantial and unreal, because of not having been made plain to the common understanding. The latter class also base their judgment, if such it can be called, upon their own lack of knowledge, and, arrogantly as well as ignorantly, assume that what they do not know is not known by others. The facts are that in addition to its grandeur and sublimity, astronomy is an exact science, and the deductions of astronomers are nearly always abso- lutely correct. This is something that even the uneducated ought to understand, whether or not the bigoted will concede it. In proof of this, (if proof were needed) take up any almanac, or other pub- lication containing astronomical data, and look over the events of more than usual consequence relating to the solar system that are not only foretold but the time of their occurrence brought down to the merest fractions of a minute, and the locality fixed with mathematical exactness. Eclipses of the sun or moon are scheduled with absolute precision, not only for the current year, but as far ahead as it may be deemed necessary to go; and these predictions never fail, partly for the reason that they are not altogether pre- dictions but rather geometrical elucidations, concerning which there

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need be no more that is erroneous than in the product of two simple sums added or multiplied. This is the foundation of the system but is by no means its only principle; dealing with subjects beyond the region of our sphere, and reaching, as it were, into sur- rounding space, makes it necessary to allow for differences pro- duced by different conditions, for eccentricities caused by refrac tion, gravitation, electrical influences, different atmosphere or the

want thereof, and so on. None of these could be overcome by mathematics, any more than a person could figure himself out of a well or into a tree, but they are overcome, as is partly proved by results previously spoken of, and the system remains as stated, an exactly correct one. It is not advisable that all should be astronomers, even ama- teur ones, or should give more study to the subject than is neces- sary to acquire a general knowledge of its fundamental principles and means of obtaining ends. It is so very abstruse, exacting and

illimitable a study that to be successful at it, two natural quali- ties would be indispensable —a thoroughly mathematical mind, and the most untiring application. Such other natural qualities as good eyesight, a faculty of comparison, a disposition to explore and investigate, and good descriptive power, are secondary, but none the less necessary possessions of the successful student. Then there must be acquired qualities in great number the complete — mastery of mathematical rules, a reasonably good education of a general nature, and the ability not only to live without an income from the pursuit, but to be able to procure mechanical devices and scientific materials, also to be able to travel wherever the field of exploration makes it necessary, and to stay at any particular place as long as desired. It is not in the least unexpected that in a system comprehend-

ing so much that is and cannot be attained, some conditions exist and conclusions are reached that appear to the mind of the lay- man as contradictory, and even absurd. For instance, who that has given the matter no study, could all at once understand that the full- orbed sun is above the eastern horizon of our view when we catch the first glimpse of his thin crescent peeping over the mountains, that his entire glorious face has been beaming upon us for about seven minutes before we see it at all? Another, but even more profound

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proposition, is that the moon is always falling to the earth and never getting nearer. This looks so much like a flat contradiction on the face of it that the uninitiated will in some cases be disposed to smile, yet it is as true as any other statement I ever made.

(Some readers may think this rather indifferent authentication.) If the moon were not always falling our way, it would project off into space at what is known in mathematics as a tangent, that is, a straight line corresponding with its independent motion. The superior attractive power of our earth measurably overcomes that force, and between the two we have our satellite performing an orbit about us —that is, while she is disposed to meander off into new and strange fields, and engage in other business than being a mere moving outpost and semi-illuminant for us, we check the roving tendency with a force which, while not holding her still, causes her to draw toward us unceasingly. Everything that moves at all, moves in a straight line unless acted upon by some- thing other than its own motion, and this something causes a de- flection corresponding with its attractiveness, or ends the flight altogether; but where there is sufficient momentum to keep the attracted body from joining the attracting one, the former will revolve about —in other words, always be drawn toward the other, — and always remain away at the same mean distance. This is like any other proposition, plain enough when understood. It is the co-attraction between the two orbs which causes the tides. The moon's "pull" upon the earth is one of immeasurable power, but being a greatly inferior body, its attractiveness is chiefly overcome by the counter influence with which it comes in contact. It is not, however, wholly overcome, otherwise it would be a nega- tion and accomplish nothing. It serves to deflect the earth very slightly from its "beaten path," so to speak, but where the waters on the earth's surface cover as much space and present as broad a surface to work upon as the oceans and seas, being movable they are moved. The moon exerts its attractive power directly upon the waters, and, though unable to draw them or any part of them, or anything else, to it, it nevertheless in some measure loosens theh: grip upon their resting place and they gather themselves up in great billows and follow the moon until her power is spent, when they naturally recede and return to their normal condition with

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tumultuous and even angry demonstrations. What no doubt causes the most wonder in connection with this subject is that the tides are antipodal, that is, they occur on exactly opposite sides of the earth at precisely the same time. As the moon's influence does not simultaneously extend about the globe, the question is, what causes the waters to rise and rage on the other side? The answer has already been partly suggested but not perhaps made plain. On this side, we will say the moon is directly acting on the waters be- cause of acting directly upon the surface of the earth; as was stated, it draws our planet very slightly from its moorings, but still a little, and doing this naturally loosens, for the time being, the hold of the waters upon the other side. That is, on this side the waters are loosened from the earth, while on the other side, the earth is loosened from the waters, the effect being exactly the same in both cases. The foregoing is not given by way of instruction particularly, because the writer would be a poor hand indeed to instruct any one in a science so abstruse and of which he knows so little —noth- ing at all but what has been gleaned from the researches and de- ductions of wiser heads and riper minds. It is more for illustra- tion, to "point a moral and adorn a tale," that these lines are in-

dited. The moral is this: that after we have learned all that we can, there is still much unlearned, and no other science so forcibly impresses this upon us as the one discussed. The field is illimit- able, and man's power to explore it is painfully limited. Yet, is it not our duty to gain all the useful knowledge we can, and be not deterred or discouraged because restrained by our finite capacity? Each additional step that we take in the direction of superior in- telligence does but narrow the span between us and the Source of intelligence by just so much, and the fact that as mortals, we can never in mortal life close the span, is no defense for not pro- ceeding to the utmost extent of our capacity. The wisest of men as to mortal things are only wiser than we in a sense so limited, in contemplation of the great field of knowledge, that it is scarcely appreciable. None of them comprehends the infinity of space or has a much, if any, nearer comprehension of the composition of comets or the conditions prevailing on the other planets than the tyro who turns his mind that way.

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In making these statements, it is reasonable to suppose that some opposition will be met with, but this will in most cases be found to arise from those who subscribe to what the more profound believe as a result of their investigations and deductions based upon

what they know. For example, Nikola Tesla, the scientist and electrical expert, boldly announces to the world that he expects to establish communication by electrical means with the planet Mars. In this he assumes that our nearest planetary neighbor is inhabited by a sentient, intelligent race not greatly differing from us. Mr. Tesla is not noted in the field of astronomy, but he is able to con- clude that certain appearances, somewhat out of the common, which some of the astronomers have occasionally noted, are efforts of the people of that world to commune with us, and such communion can be established by means of his great specialty, electricity. Con- ceding (for the present purpose only) that all this is true, and that through the wonderful power with which he is so expert, we could at least respond to the signals being made to us in Mars, what then? That would not be communication but merely recognition. To communicate, some sort of code would have to be devised, and codes are only made by the concurrent action or understanding of the parties using them, and we thus actually have to reach the con- summation of the scheme to introduce it! That would be very much like building our house before we get the bricks and mortar to do

it with. It is a pretty hardy statement to make, in this era of astounding scientific and psychological development, that anything at all that has been suggested is impossible. Even Jules Verne's "Nautilus" has been realized, his "Around the World in Eighty Days" has been surpassed, and his "Trip to the Moon" is occasionally spoken of with more or less seriousness. But it does seem as if the astronomers and electricians had reached a wall which they are wholly unable to scale —that they have, in a word, gone to their limit, when they seek for other than optical, mathematical and spectral demonstration from any of the so-called heavenly bodies. I am unable to agree with the poet who wrote, "A little learn- ing is a dangerous thing." It is not only not a dangerous, but oft-

times a useful, and sometimes an indispensable, thing. The child who masters its a, b, c's acquires a little, very little, knowledge, but so far from being dangerous it is the foundation, the indis-

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pensable precedent of its education. As a matter of fact, as pre- viously suggested, all that we are able to acquire in the way of knowledge in this life is, by comparison, very little, but let us make that little as big as we can, and stop only when confronted with something beyond the realms of the knowable. The story of Joshua and the sun, in which he commanded it to stand still and it obeyed, has alone been the cause of much doubt even among the faithful, and of endless skepticism if not actual infidelity throughout the world. Of course, the more educated know that relatively to us, the sun always stands still, and that if it were made to appear to stand still, the means of such accomplishment would hurl every movable thing upon the face of the earth into space. But why pursue it? There are many things we will not yet be permitted to understand, but we need not go backward on that account. I well remember a little incident apropos to this. The late George G. Bywater, in whose mind the religious, scientific and mechanical dwelt together on terms of the most perfect harmony, was being pressed by me with a series of questions, (such as any fool might ask) regarding some things relating to the spiritual existence. As the questions, however, really had in view the acquiring of in- formation, they were patiently and intelligently answered until one was reached that could not be made plain to the ordinary under- standing, when he remarked, "You go ahead and learn all you can regarding these and all other useful matters, and when you find you can go no further, just stick a pin there." How homely and yet how wise!