The light of a fire, or of a candle, or gas, travels with the same velocity as the light of the sun,—a velocity which would convey light eight times round the world while a person could count "one."
547. At what rate of velocity does the light of the stars travel?
At the same velocity as all other light. And yet there are stars so distant that, although the light of the sun reaches the earth in eight minutes and a half, it requires hundreds of years to bring their light to us.
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?"—Psalm viii.
548. What is the relative intensity of primary and reflected light?
The intensity of a reflection depends upon the power of the reflecting surface. But, taking the sun and moon as the great examples of primary and reflected light, the intensity of the sun's light is 801,072 times greater than that of the moon.