Curiosities of the Sky by Garrett P. (Garrett Putman) Serviss
page 74 of 165 (44%)
page 74 of 165 (44%)
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different, and the forces in operation may be equally different. A
hill may have been built up by a glacier, while a mountain may be the product of volcanic forces or of the upheaval of the strata of the planet. The Banners of the Sun As all the world knows, the sun, a blinding globe pouring forth an inconceivable quantity of light and heat, whose daily passage through the sky is caused by the earth's rotation on its axis, constitutes the most important phenomenon of terrestial existence. Viewed with a dark glass to take off the glare, or with a telescope, its rim is seen to be a sharp and smooth circle, and nothing but dark sky is visible around it. Except for the interference of the moon, we should probably never have known that there is any more of the sun than our eyes ordinarily see. But when an eclipse of the sun occurs, caused by the interposition of the opaque globe of the moon, we see its immediate surroundings, which in some respects are more wonderful than the glowing central orb. These surroundings, although not in the sense in which we apply the term to the gaseous envelope of the earth, may be called the sun's atmosphere. They consist of two very different parts -- first, the red ``prominences,'' which resemble tongues of flame ascending thousands of miles above the sun's surface; and, second, the ``corona,'' which extends to distances of millions of miles from the sun, and shines with a soft, glowing light. The two combined, when well seen, make a spectacle without parallel among the marvels of the sky. Although many attempts have been made to render the corona visible when there is no eclipse, all have failed, and it is to the moon alone that we owe its |
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