THE sun's journey THROUGH SPACE 



ill the rear close up behind us. The motions of the 

 individual stars lie in all possible directions, but when we 

 deal with them by thousands, the individual is lost in the 

 general and the prevailing drift appears." 



The exact spot in the heavens to which the solar 

 system is moving, according to the elder Herschel, is 

 situated in Right Ascension 260° 34' North Polar Distance 

 63® 43'. This is found to be situated in the constellation 

 of Herculis and close to a star of the 4tli magnitude, 

 known as Lambda Herculis. The more recent researches 

 of such illustrious astronomers as Argelander, Madler, 

 Struve, Airy, Dunkin and others all agree in placing the 

 direction of the solar motion very near to this point. A 

 totally independent confirmation has also been given to 

 the above conclusions from spectroscopic observations by 

 Sir William Huggins. If there was some excuse for one of 

 Shakespeare's characters to say three hundred years ago : 



" Doubt thou the stars are fire ; 

 Doubt that the sun doth move," 



the revelations of modern science has swept away the 

 clouds of uncertainty in the matter. 



After sifting all the intricate movements which pro- 

 duce what is known as star drift, it is possible to put our 

 finger with certainty upon so much of it which belongs 

 entirely to the speed of the sun. According to such high 

 authority as Sir Robert Ball, " ev^ery two days the solar 

 system accomplishes a stage of about a million miles in its 

 journey towards the constellation of Herculis." 



We have now reached that stage in our consideration 

 of solar motion which opens up the question whether there 

 is a central sun around which our own sun and others are 

 revolving. Let us say at once that here we are treading 

 on very uncertain ground, although the probabilities are 

 all in favor of such an arrangement from the present 

 knowledge we possess of the plan upon which the universe 

 has been built. The celebrated German astronomer, 



