586 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



longer period of sun work than this. If Dr. CroU, of Glasgow, whose results Sir 

 Charles Lyell accepted, has rightly estimated the amount of work so done on the 

 earth, it can not represent less than one hundred millions of years of sun work. 

 How can we explain the discrepancy ? Prof. Young accepts the sun's evidence 

 as it stands, making only the provision that if in past ages the sun was exposed to 

 some violent shock, as by collision with another sun, more heat would have been 

 generated. Dr. Croll takes the earth's evidence alone, and considers that there 

 must have been such collision. For my own part, I consider it clearly proved in 

 other ways (and it comes in well to remove this particular difficulty) that the sun's 

 real globe is very much smaller than the globe we see. In other words, the 

 process of contraction has gone on further than, judging from the sun's apparent 

 size, we should suppose it to have done, and therefore represents more sun work. 

 According to this view, however, the sun's future would last many millions of 

 years less than it would if his apparent size is not far from his real size. But the 

 Hmited allowance of future work we should assign to him — a few millions of years' 

 work at the outside— is estimated on the assumption that only such densities as we 

 recognize in terrestrial substances can be attained within the sun's mass. It may 

 well be that under the conditions there existing, matter may attain densities far 

 greater than we find here. If so, the sun's duration as the life-giving center of a 

 family of worlds may be far greater than has hitherto been supposed. — New York 

 Tribune. 



SUN AND PLANETS FOR FEBRUARY, 1885. 



W. DAWSON, SPICELAND, IND. 



The Sun's R..A. at noon, February ist, is 2ih. 2m.; and Declination 16° 

 54' S. , making the day about fifty minutes longer than December 31st, when the 

 Sun's Declination was 23^^° S. Spots on the Sun were few and small in the 

 first half of January. Two pretty good-sized ones near east edge on the 17th. 



The planet Saturn occupies pretty nearly the same place among the stars 

 that it did in December and January — rather more west. Its retrograde motion 

 continues very slowly till the i6th, when it assumes the eastern, or direct, motion 

 of R. A. The ring is now about its widest and will continue so with little dimi- 

 nution for several months. It souths at 8:16 P. M. on the ist, and at 6:30 on 

 the 28th. 



Jupiter rises at 7:00 P. M. on the ist, some north of east. It is very bright 

 and can easily be known from any other star. Regulus in the Sickle is a few 

 degrees above this planet. They will be near together in latter part of March. 

 Jupiter will be in opposition to the Sun on the 19th of February, and its motion 

 is retrograde, which accounts for its approach to Regulus. 



Any person having a telescope, or even a spy-glass, will be interested in ob- 

 serving this great planet with its moons and belts, now it is so near us in the 



