84 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS. 
ROMANCE OF ASTRONOMY. 
Synopsis of a lecture delivered before the Astronomical Section 
of the Hamilton Scientific Association 
BY REV. G. F. SALTON. 
‘The lecturer gave a general definition of the word power. 
The waters of Niagara were brought great distances and car- 
ried over the Falls. This was accomplished by some great 
power. If the sun were a solid mass of coal it would burn out 
in 5,000 years. Yet it went on blazing for millions of years. 
The sun was the active power of Him who said, “ Let there be 
light.” The sun is the centre of our solar system; around it 
all the other bodies revolve. In travelling on railways we 
might turn in many circles, but would not know this without 
the aid of the compass. This was so on the earth, but we did 
not know whether man would last long enough to see the com- 
pass make one complete circle. He showed how we were mov- 
ing from some stars and going nearer others, and explained the 
development of photographs of the heavens taken at night. 
Some of the most important discoveries that had been made 
were accomplished by poor telescopes and amateur observers, 
The speaker then took his audience on a travel among the heav- 
enly bodies, starting at the sun and touching Mercury, Venus, 
the Earth and Mars, and then into space, giving statistics of the 
great distances between each planet. 
He said it would require a very powerful telescope to pene- 
trate the milky way in the heavens, but when it was penetrated 
vast multitudes of stars were beheld. To give an example of 
the distances apart of some of the planets, he said that if on cer- 
tain planets they could perceive through the telescope the bat 
tle of Waterloo, they would just be beholding it now. He gave 
a description of temporary and runaway stars, their actions in 
the heavens, and how some of the most t brilliant stars came into 
view and faded away. 
The lecture was illustrated by splendid views. 
