Curiosities of Science, Past and Present / A Book for Old and Young

by John Timbs

NATURE OF THE SUN.

To the article at pp. 59–60 should be added the result obtained by Dr. Woods of Parsonstown, and communicated to the Philosophical Magazine for July 1854. Dr. Woods, from photographic experiment, has no doubt that the light from the centre of flame acts more energetically than that from the edge on a surface capable of receiving its impression; and that light from a luminous solid body acts equally powerfully from its centre or its edges: wherefore Dr. Woods concludes that, as the sun affects a sensitive plate similarly with flame, it is probable its light-producing portion is of a similar nature.

Note to “Is the Heat of the Sun decreasing?” at page 65.—Dr. Vaughan of Cincinnati has stated to the British Association: “From a comparison of the relative intensity of solar, lunar, and artificial light, as determined by Euler and Wollaston, it appears that the rays of the sun have an illuminating power equal to that of 14,000 candles at a distance of one foot, or of 3500,000000,000000,000000,000000 candles at a distance of 95,000,000 miles. It follows that the amount of light which flows from the solar orb could be scarcely produced by the daily combustion of 200 globes of tallow, each equal to the earth in magnitude. A sphere of combustible matter much larger than the sun itself should be consumed every ten years in maintaining its wonderful brilliancy; and its atmosphere, if pure oxygen, would be expended before a few days in supporting so great a conflagration. An illumination on so vast a scale could be kept up only by the inexhaustible magazine of ether disseminated through space, and ever ready to manifest its luciferous properties on large spheres, whose attraction renders it sufficiently dense for the play of chemical affinity. Accordingly suns derive the power of shedding perpetual light, not from their chemical constitution, but from their immense mass and their superior attractive power.”

PLANETOIDS.

Name.	Date of Discovery.	Discoverer.	Place of Discovery.	No. discovered by each astronomer.
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Earth, Saturn	Known to the ancients.	...	...	—
Uranus	1781, March 13	W. Herschel	Bath	—
Neptune[59]	1846, Sept. 23	Galle	Berlin	—
1 Ceres	1801, Jan. 1	Piazzi	Palermo	1
2 Pallas	1802, March 28	Olbers	Bremen	1
3 Juno	1804, Sept. 1	Harding	Lilienthal	1
4 Vesta	1807, March 29	Olbers	Bremen	2
5 Astræa	1845, Dec. 8	Encke	Driesen	1
6 Hebe	1847, July 1	Encke	Driesen	2
7 Iris	1847, August 13	Hind	London	1
8 Flora	1847, Oct. 18	Hind	London	2
9 Metis	1848, April 25	Graham	Markree	1
10 Hygeia	1849, April 12	Gasperis	Naples	1
11 Parthenope	1850, May 11	Gasperis	Naples	2
12 Victoria	1850, Sept. 13	Hind	London	3
13 Egeria	1850, Nov. 2	Gasperis	Naples	3
14 Irene	1851, May 19	Hind	London	4
15 Eunomia	1851, July 29	Gasperis	Naples	4
16 Psyche	1852, March 17	Gasperis	Naples	5
17 Thetis	1852, April 17	Luther	Bilk	1
18 Melpomene	1852, June 24	Hind	London	5
19 Fortuna	1852, August 22	Hind	London	6
20 Massilia	1852, Sept. 19	Gasperis	Naples	6
21 Lutetia	1852, Nov. 15	Goldschmidt	Paris	1
22 Calliope	1852, Nov. 16	Hind	London	7
23 Thalia	1852, Dec. 15	Hind	London	8
24 Themis	1853, April 5	Gasperis	Naples	7
25 Phocea	1853, April 6	Chacornac	Marseilles	1
26 Proserpine	1853, May 5	Luther	Bilk	2
27 Euterpe	1853, Nov. 8	Hind	London	9
28 Bellona	1854, March 1	Luther	Bilk	3
29 Amphitrite	1854, March 1	Marth	London	1
30 Urania	1854, July 22	Hind	London	10
31 Euphrosyne	1854, Sept. 1	Furguson	Washington	1
32 Pomona	1854, Oct. 26	Goldschmidt	Paris	2
33 Polyhymnia	1854, Oct. 28	Chacornac	Paris	2
34 Circe	1855, April 6	Chacornac	Paris	3
35 Leucothea	1855, April 19	Luther	Bilk	4
36 Atalante	1855, Oct. 5	Goldschmidt	Paris	3
37 Fides	1855, Oct. 5	Luther	Bilk	5
38 Leda	1856, Jan. 12	Chacornac	Paris	4
39 Lætitia	1856, Feb. 8	Chacornac	Paris	5
40 Harmonia	1856, March 31	Goldschmidt	Paris	4
41 Daphne	1856, May 22	Goldschmidt	Paris	5
42 Isis	1856, May 23	Pogson	Oxford	1
43 Ariadne	1857, April 15	Pogson	Oxford	2
44 Nysa	1857, May 27	Goldschmidt	Paris	6
45 Eugenia	1857, June 28	Goldschmidt	Paris	7
46 Hastia	1857, August 16	Pogson	Oxford	3
47 Aglaia	1857, Sept. 15	Luther	Bilk	6
48 Doris	1857, Sept. 19	Goldschmidt	Paris	8
49 Pales	1857, Sept. 19	Goldschmidt	Paris	9
50 Virginia	1857, Oct. 4	Furguson	Washington	2
51 Nemausa	1858, Jan. 22	Laurent	Nismes	1
52 Europa	1858, Feb. 6	Goldschmidt	Paris	10
53 Calypso	1858, April 8	Luther	Bilk	7
54 Alexandra	1858, Sept. 11	Goldschmidt	Paris	11
55 (Not named)	1858, Sept. 11	Searle	Albany	1

THE COMET OF DONATI.

While this sheet was passing through the press, the attention of astronomers, and of the public generally, was drawn to the fact of the above Comet passing (on Oct. 18) within nine millions of miles of the planet Venus, or less than 9/100ths of the earth’s distance from the Sun. “And (says Mr. Hind, the astronomer), it is obvious that if the comet had reached its least distance from the sun a few days earlier than it has done, the planet might have passed through it; and I am very far from thinking that close proximity to a comet of this description would be unattended with danger. The inhabitants of Venus will witness a cometary spectacle far superior to that which has recently attracted so much attention here, inasmuch as the tail will doubtless appear twice as long from that planet as from the earth, and the nucleus proportionally more brilliant.”

This Comet was first discovered by Dr. G. B. Donati, astronomer at the Museum of Florence, on the evening of the 2d of June, in right ascension 141° 18′, and north declination 23° 47′, corresponding to a position near the star Leonis. Previous to this date we had no knowledge of its existence, and therefore it was not a predicted comet; neither is it the one last observed in 1556. At the date of discovery it was distant from the earth 228,000,000 of miles, and was an excessively faint object in the largest telescopes.