SUN 



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SUNBURY 



nected with the presence of an unusual number 

 of sun spots. They are also said to influence 

 temperature and rainfall, though no direct 

 connection has yet been traced. Sun spots are 

 periodic in appearance, the average period being 

 11.1 years, but subject to variation. During the 

 times of the greatest number of sun spots, 

 called the maximum, from twenty-five to fifty 

 spots may be observed at once. Many weeks 

 and even months may pass, however, without 

 one being visible. 



Solar Photography. In solar observation, as 

 in all other branches of astronomy, photog- 

 raphy has proved of the utmost value. Special 

 appliances and lenses are, of course, necessary, 

 the photographs being taken instantaneously. 

 The pictures obtained are usually from two to 

 eight or ten inches in diameter, but some of 

 the best have been enlarged up to forty inches 

 in diameter. In observations of sun spots pho- 

 tographs are particularly valuable, as they re- 

 cord the position and shape of the spots ex- 

 actly as they were at the instant of exposure 

 and not as they might appear to the human 

 eye. 



The Corona. The corona, one of the most 

 remarkable of nature's phenomena, is visible 

 only during the total eclipses, and then only 

 for a very few minutes. It composes the outer 

 envelope, crown, or halo, of the sun. The inner 

 portion of the corona is intensely bright and 

 dazzling, tapering in the outer corona to a 

 soft, filmy, light with streamers spreading mil- 

 lions of miles into space. Astrophotography 

 has been the means of reproducing the corona 

 as it is, not as it might just appear for the short 

 time it is visible. 



The Sun in Literature. Literature of all ages 

 contains strongly-phrased reference to the sun 

 and sun worship, though poets have sung more 

 of the moon than of the sun. Among all sav- 

 age nations the sun has always been regarded 

 as a god and worshiped with great ceremony. 

 In the Teutonic language the sun is- feminine, 

 being spoken of as she, while the moon is he. 

 The Bible contains many allusions to the sun; 

 Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and 

 the moon to stay its course (Joshua X, 12). 

 Some of the kings of Judah and Israel favored 

 the worship of the sun, as practiced by the 

 heathen dwelling round about them (// Kings 

 23, 5 and 19). Sun worship is still adhered to 

 in India and China and has only recently been 

 abolished among the Indians of North America. 

 In the famous Bedouin Love Song by Bayard 

 Taylor the following lines occur: 



Till the sun grows cold 

 And the stars are old. 



Byron thus addresses the sun in virile figure of 

 speech : 



Thou material God ! 

 And representative of the Unknown 

 Who chose thee for his shadow. Thou chief star ! 



An expression that has become a classic of 

 brevity throughout the world is the practical 

 philosophy of Cervantes, author of Don Quix- 

 ote, who advises in homely figure to "make 

 hay while the sun shines." F.ST.A. 



Consult Giberne's Sun, Moon and Stars; Lock- 

 yer's The Sun's Place in Nature; Abbot's The 

 Sun. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes will give further information on 

 the subject of the sun : 



Astronomy 



Corona 



Earth 



Eclipse 



Ecliptic 



Equinox 



Gravitation 



Nebular Hypothesis 



Planet 



Precession of the 



Equinoxes 

 Satellite 

 Solar System 

 Solstice 

 Star 



Sun Dance 

 Sundial 

 Sunstroke 



SUN 'BIRD, a tiny, tropical bird of Asia and 

 Africa, with handsome plumage and long, 

 curved bill. It keeps strictly to trees, where it 

 seeks out larvae, spiders and insects for food. 

 It builds an exquisite, pear-shaped or oval nest 

 which it attaches to the end of a branch or the 

 under part of a large leaf, often roofing over 

 the entrance to keep out the wet. The eggs 

 are two in number, whitish in color, with a pro- 

 fusion of streaks and spots. In habits and ap- 

 pearance the sunbird resembles the humming 

 bird. 



SUNBURY, sun'beri, PA., the county seat 

 of Northumberland County, is a borough east 

 of the center of the state, fifty-four miles north 

 of Harrisburg, the state capital. It is on the 

 Susquehanna River and has transportation over 

 the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia & Read- 

 ing railroads and electric interurban lines. 

 Lumbering and coal mining are the supporting 

 industries of the surrounding section, and the 

 city has railroad shops, silk and woolen mills, 

 dye works, planing mills and flour mills. It is 

 the leading commercial center of the vicinity. 

 Sunbury was founded in 1772 near Fort Au- 

 gusta, which had been built in 1756 on the site 

 of the Indian village of Shamokin. It was first 

 incorporated as a borough in 1797. The Mary 

 M. Packer Hospital, the courthouse and the 

 municipal buildings are prominent features. In 

 1910 the population was 13,770; it was 16,260 in 



