TLDR
The vast Size of the Sun—Hotter than Melting Platinum—Is the Sun the Source of Heat for the Earth?—The Sun is 92,900,000 miles distant—How to realise the magnitude of this distance—Day and Night—Luminous and Non-Luminous Bodies—Contrast between the Sun and the Stars—The Sun a Star—Granulated Appearance of the Sun—The Spots on the Sun—Changes in the Form of a Spot—The Faculæ—The Rotation of the Sun on its Axis—View of a Typical Sun-Spot—Periodicity of the Sun-Spots—Connection between the Sun-Spots and Terrestrial Magnetism—Principles of Spectrum Analysis—Substances present in the Sun—Spectrum of a Spot—The Prominences surrounding the Sun—Total Eclipse of the Sun—Size and Movement of the Prominences—Their connection with the Spots—Spectroscopic Measurement of Motion on the Sun—The Corona surrounding the Sun—Constitution of the Sun.
In commencing our examination of the orbs which surround us, we naturally begin with our peerless sun. His splendid brilliance gives him the pre-eminence over all other celestial bodies.
The dimensions of our luminary are commensurate with his importance. Astronomers have succeeded in the difficult task of ascertaining the exact figures, but they are so gigantic that the results are hard to realise. The diameter of the orb of day, or the length of the axis, passing through the centre from one side to the other, is 866,000 miles. Yet this bare statement of the dimensions of the great globe fails to convey an adequate idea of its vastness. If a railway were laid round the sun, and if we were to start in an express train moving sixty miles an hour, we should have to travel for five years without intermission night or day before we had accomplished the journey.via the TL;DR App
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Written by robertsball | I was an Irish astronomer who founded the screw theory.