TLDR
Clouds—Fire-Mist—Vapour of Platinum—Components of Chalk—Constituents of the Primæval Fire-Mist—Objections—Origin of the Mist—Remarkable Discovery of the Century—Analysis of the Sun—Spectroscopic Analysis—Simplicity of Solar Chemistry—Potassium—A Drop of Water—The Solar Elements—Calcium—The Most Important Lines in the Solar Spectrum—Photograph of the Sun—Carbon in the Solar Clouds—Function of Carbon—Bunsen’s Burner Illustrates Carbon in the Sun—Carbon Vapours in the Sun—The Supposed Limit to our Knowledge of the Heavens—Characteristics of Spectroscopic Work—Bearing on the Nebular Theory.
In considering how the formation of our solar system was brought about, we naturally first enquire as to the material of which this superb scheme is constructed. What were the materials already to hand from which, in pursuance of the laws of Nature, the solar system was evolved?
See the robust and solid nature of this earth of ours, and the robust and solid nature of the moon and the planets. It might at first sight be concluded that the primitive materials of our earth had also been in the solid state. But such is not the case. The primitive material of the solar system was not solid, it was not even liquid. What we may describe as the mother-substance of the universe must have been of quite a different nature; we can give an illustration of the physical character of that substance.
The lover of Nature delights to look at the mountains and the trees, the lakes and the rivers. But he will not confine his regard merely to the objects on the earth’s surface. He, no less than the artist and the poet, delights to gaze at that enchanting scenery which, day by day, is displayed in infinite beauty overhead; that scenery which is not wholly withheld even from observers whose lives may be passed amid the busy haunts of men, that scenery which is so often displayed on fine days at all seasons. We are alluding to those clouds which add the charm of infinite variety to the sky above us.via the TL;DR App
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Written by robertsball | I was an Irish astronomer who founded the screw theory.