4: . THE OPEN SKY 



We know how brilliant the light of a match appears in a 

 dark room, and how a light of this kind seems to fade out 

 when it is brought into the presence of a strong electric light. 

 It would seem quite probable that the vast light of the sun 

 might have the same effect upon the light of the stars. This 

 supposition is also supported by the fact that when the sun 

 is covered in an eclipse the stars begin to appear as in the 



SUN SPOTS 



The furiously whirling areas shown in this picture are thousands of 

 miles in diameter. 



evening. Astronomers all agree that if it were not for the 

 greater brilliancy of the sun we should see the heavens full 

 of stars all the time. 



If we carefully observe these myriads of bright points 

 which dot the sky at night, we shall see that almost all 

 of them shine with a twinkling light. There are, how- 

 ever, three of the brightest of them which give a steady light 

 like that of the moon. When the positions of these three 

 bodies are carefully observed for weeks or months, it will be 



