Florence Armstrong Grondal

“ Although Jupiter is the largest planet and Mars the most interesting planet, the planet Saturn, as seen through a large telescope, is the most uniquely beautiful creation that man has ever beheld. The spectacle of a huge silvery ball surrounded by an equally huge and silvery ring suddenly disclosed in the midst of the darkness, is such an astounding surprise that one can never forget the strange sensations experienced when first beholding it. ”

“ This star glowed as brightly as the planet Venus, which outshines every star in the sky. It was so bright that it was even visible in the daytime! This brilliancy then commenced to diminish, the star growing fainter and fainter until in about a year and a half it had completely disappeared.
While new stars have been noted during the course of centuries, the appearance of one is always so unusual that it stands out against the background of the sky with almost a disquieting effect. ”

“ Viewed through the window of the earth's cold and icy atmosphere, the stars seen during the winter part of the journey seem to scintillate with particular brilliancy. Since we are then passing by the most colorful stars and the most spectacular star groups the gorgeousness of these scenes is unequaled. During the summer the stars are more demure and tranquil in their light but their soft fires gleam with the gold of romance which the ancient people cast about them in journeys of the past. ”

“ WE have just obtained a close view of one of the stars of the Galaxy,—the nearest star, our own sun,—and have gazed in admiration at the pearly setting of its corona, the turbulent waves of its crimson atmosphere, its black spots and moving belts, and our admiration increases as we visualize in our mind's eye, the eight fine planets which swing unceasingly around in its beautiful light. ”

“ Aratus, the Greek poet, claims that the sparkles of light which twinkle in this vicinity are particles of dust which the hero stirred up in his haste to rescue Andromeda.
"His giant strides the blue vault climb and move
A cloud of dust in heaven." What a charming picture to impress upon the sky!
But now in the twentieth century we analyze this dust which the ancients claim their Perseus raised—and what do we find? Every particle in that misty path is a mighty sun, suspended amidst multitudes of other mighty suns, massed in one long strip of splendor across the sky. ”

“ And even more, for stretched from horizon to horizon of that black dome, even though the sun shines brightly, is the misty arch of the Milky Way glowing in a glory quite unknown to mortals on earth. All this would happen for the simple reason that the moon has no appreciable amount of atmosphere to diffuse the sun's rays, make the sky seem blue and render the stars invisible. ”

“ After the long journey from the east across the dimly lighted heavens, this was a hardship difficult to endure, yet to this day, since a god's decree may never be changed, the two Bears turn as they approach the ocean and dare not even linger to sniff the spray. While all the other constellations immerse their stars beneath the waves, these poor creatures again ascend the steep slope of the sky and repeat the big circle about the pole of the heavens with never a rest—nor a bath. ”

“ Heroes, semi-divine, swept the earth of its monsters, while gods in golden chariots attended to the welfare of mankind. So deeply sincere was this mythological faith that great temples and beautiful shrines were built in honor of the gods, and one can scarce find a spot in all of Greece, or in all the sky that hangs over Greece, that is not hallowed by some wonderful legend. ”

“ Apollo was horrified, but Phæthon persisted and at last he gave his reluctant consent. The headstrong youth then jumped into the chariot, grasped the reins of the celestial steeds and started along the zodiac. Ancient poets assert that the Earth looked up and trembled as she watched the snow-white horses of the Sun-god tear wildly up the steep slope in the east. The constellations shook with terror as they swerved from the beaten pathway, the Serpent twined about the icy Pole grew warm and began to writhe, and the Bear's stars fluttered and "wished to dip in the forbidden sea." ”

“ Traveling backward in imagination on the circle that our pole has taken 25,000 years to describe in the sky, and again imagining the star which we now see as our Pole Star as the Pole Star of that by-gone era, what a difference we find in the appearance of the earth! Herds of strange and savage animals are scattered here instead of thriving villages and cities, and man, in equally savage state, wanders about the hills and plains alone or in straggling bands. ”

“ After once recognizing a few of these constellations or beholding through a telescope the glories of a double star or the face of a distant world, one will never again fail through indifference to raise his eyes to the heavens. There is one thing certain—if all the wondrous phenomena of visible stars could be seen on but one of the nights of our long ride about the sun, the civilized world would spend its last cent on glasses and sit up until dawn to feast its eyes on the sublimity of the spectacle. ”

“ Aurora, the Dawn-goddess, up bright and early to open the sun gates for Apollo, saw the handsome hunter on the sky slope decked with red and white and yellow lights of stars. Like Diana, she loved him immediately, but, in the words of the poets, he pales before her colorful radiance as she reaches upward to announce the coming of the sun. Because dawn takes away the stars, Orion is said to have been carried away by this goddess and even yet this story may be seen enacted when watching the glory of Orion captured by Aurora as she flashes rosy-tinted in the east. ”

“ The planets are sometimes called the "family" of the sun, although his family also includes the retinue of each planet, which in the case of six of them at least, consists of from one to ten moons. Our sun is no different than thousands of other stars in the sky; is it likely that our star alone of all the countless millions which shine in our universe, should be the only one to possess this additional charm of maturity? One looks far out in the darkness to the hosts of radiant stars—then wonders—how many stars have flocks of planets—how many travel alone? ”

“ Another disk, as black as ink, creeps in front of it and little by little invades it entirely. The atmosphere takes on a wan, sepulchral hue; astonished nature is hushed in profound silence; an immense veil of sadness spreads over the world. Night comes on suddenly, and the stars shine out in the Heavens. It seems as though by some mysterious cataclysm the Sun had disappeared forever."
Professor Moulton in his "Astronomy" gives another splendid description:
"It always occurs precisely at new moon, and consequently the moon is invisible until it begins to obscure the sun. ”

“ MERCURY, the smallest and fleetest and hottest of the planets, shines as a star of the first magnitude. It lies closer to the sun than any other planet, which increases the difficulty of studying it. Most of the time it is either hidden behind the sun or is passing between us and the sun, and the only time when it is observable is when it is to the east or the west of the sun. Indeed it is so often hidden or lost in the brightness of the sun that it is rarely seen except by a professional astronomer. ”

“ The poor African people fared even worse, for while gazing bewildered at the wild antics of the sun, their faces were scorched and their bodies were scorched and they transmitted forever after to all succeeding generations the scourge of being hopelessly black! As a memorial of this famous adventure, the name of the river Eridanus, into which Phæthon had fallen, was given to one of the star groups in the sky. ”

“ THE ROMANCE OF THE STARS IN the vividness of their fancy, intensified by glorious scenery and sunny skies, the ancient Greeks believed that the gods dwelt on the summit of Mount Olympus and that queer and lovely beings roamed about the land. They heard the raging of the Wind-gods, the dancing feet of wood nymphs, the trip, trip, trip of satyrs and the music of Pandean pipes as this merry god went skipping over hill and lea. ”

“ The seeds, relieved of weight, burst their coverings, and the hills became green with foliage and the meadows brilliant with flowers. The world was now beautiful, and Heaven looked down on the colorful earth, and Earth looked up into the starry eyes of Heaven, and love grew, and the Earth became the Heaven's bride.
In the course of time, Uranus began to seriously consider his numerous and somewhat fearful progeny, for the huge Titans, the one-eyed Cyclops and the hundred-handed giants were here and there and everywhere about the land. ”

“ In those days, the earth was supposed to hang like a disk in the great hollow globe of the world, its land divided into two parts by the Mediterranean Sea and its edges washed by the turbulent river of the ocean. The upper part of this globe was illuminated by the sun, moon and stars and was called Heaven, but the lower part extended below the earth-disk and formed a terrifying pit of utter darkness. The Milky Way was a road which led to the home of the gods, but this pit was a place of dire punishment. ”

“ There is one star, however, that lies so near that when it is in the sky its light blots out that of all the other stars. This sun, which classic poets call our "day star," lies only 93,000,000 miles away; the next nearest star is over 200,000 times as far. This distance of 93,000,000 miles is close enough to enable us to examine the face of such a star as ours with comparative ease, indeed, it is close enough to enable us to feel the warmth of the fierce fires which rage upon its surface.
It is not at all a difficult matter to realize the distance from our earth to the sun. ”

“ All the natural laws of Nature were explained in some such naïve manner by the ancient peoples; the imagery of the Greeks is especially interesting, for they impressed shadowy figures on the very stars. These figures have given names to the constellations, or groups of stars, and to the student of Nature, the legends of these heroes traced in the sky add to the charm of the stars in the same manner that the delicate aroma of the rose enhances its loveliness. ”

“ Day by day, the Morning Star increases in brilliance just as did the Evening Star until it appears at the highest point above the horizon; then its light gradually declines as each day its stay becomes shorter and shorter, until finally it pales in the morning light and is immersed in the rays of the sun.
Venus passes through its period of greatest brilliance every eighth year. This last occurred in 1921 and will next occur in 1929. At such a time the planet is so bright that it may be seen in daylight, if one knows where to look for it. ”

“ THE dome of the heavens with its constellations of stars turns westward at the rate of about 15 degrees an hour.
Thus the stars, in unchanging order, rise majestically above the horizon in the east, wend their way across the great expanse of sky above our heads, and disappear below the horizon in the west. It is only necessary to note the position of a particularly bright star or a conspicuous constellation lying near the horizon and then return after several hours have elapsed and again note its position in the sky to prove this general movement toward the west. ”

“ Once again with the astronomer, we gaze out on the huge planets of the solar system,—the groups and great galaxies of stars. Does the earth really seem so insignificant in its smallness?
The beautiful little earth-ball, with its precious freight of human beings, softly flies about the sun. Amply protected in a transparent case of atmosphere, it completes its tremendous journey of 576,000,000 miles once every year. During this year its temperature is varied by four seasons which are caused by the earth being inclined 231⁄2 degrees on its axis. ”

“ However, no matter which 'human' this long-necked bird is supposed to represent, we see its gigantic, graceful outlines sketched with star-like lightness beyond the stars of the Cross, and we see his snow-white wings extended and the orange light of Albireo shining on his beak, as he flies softly, head downward, along the misty river of stars. ”

“ The eagle flying in the face of the sun is as naught to the audacity of man poised on a speck in space, marshalling the heavenly host about him and calling them by name across an abyss of space that may take years, hundreds of years, thousands and possibly millions of years for light to cross. ”

“ Our thoughts, now half stunned, fly back across unthinkable starless intervals, back like a magnet to the phosphorescent gleam which is ours in the boundless ocean in which a universe is but a gleam. Nearer—nearer—nearer—the gleam has softened to a touch of mist, the mist has expanded to a definite shape studded with stars which are brightening, and widening apart. Now the shape has become an ethereal form, and before us rises a marvelous creation. As seen from this outer point, our Galaxy is neither a ring nor a wreath but is formed of huge spirals which reach far outward into the heavens. ”

“ The general impression gained is that the tiny planet is barren, rough and mountainous, bleak, seared and desolate, with one side sweltering in terrific heat and the other numbed with dark and cold. Since there is no appreciable atmosphere on Mercury, there must be no wind—no warm currents of air to flow from the hot side to the cold side, nor from the cold side to the hot side,—thus making what is already drear seem motionless and dead. ”

“ When in 1610, Galileo turned his telescope on Venus and beheld the beautiful little crescent, the followers of the ancient system of Ptolemy—who claimed that the earth was the central body around which the sun and planets revolved—were, for the first time, silenced, for they saw that the orbit of the earth must enclose the orbit of Venus, and that they must both revolve around the sun. Even a small telescope will show the phases of Venus, the crescent being far more beautiful than one would imagine. ”

“ The other planets that have been studied are too far away, too close to the sun, or are obscured by too cloudy atmospheres to permit detailed observations. The great planet Jupiter forms a magnificent picture, his broad face striped by colored bands which occasionally vary. This planet may be seen to turn completely around in 9 hours and 50 minutes, while four of its moons revolve about it in close attendance. Saturn is even more superbly magnificent than Jupiter, for the great, flat, shining ring which encircles this planet is the wonder of the whole solar system. ”

“ Still another legend relates that when the gods and the earth-born giants waged their mighty war to gain possession of Olympus, a huge crawling monster had the audacity to anger the Goddess Minerva who seized it and hurled it far into the heavens where it caught on the axis of the world, and froze into immobility before it had time to unwind its contortions. The only time on record that this dragon ever revived from its stupid torpor was when Phæthon, son of Apollo, lost control of the steeds of his sun-chariot and the heated vehicle swerved northward from the beaten path. ”