Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/226

 Equally dependent are the seven other planets which, with the earth, whirl in elliptical orbits about this source of heat and light.

The planets are sometimes called the "family" of the sun, although his family also includes the retinue of each planet, which in the case of six of them at least, consists of from one to ten moons. Our sun is no different than thousands of other stars in the sky; is it likely that our star alone of all the countless millions which shine in our universe, should be the only one to possess this additional charm of maturity? One looks far out in the darkness to the hosts of radiant stars—then wonders—how many stars have flocks of planets—how many travel alone?

Compared to a point of starlight, the disk of our "day star" looks most exceedingly huge, and this at a distance of 93,000,000 miles. One is therefore not quite so surprised to learn that this great sunball, which rests like the hub of a wheel in the center of the solar system, has a diameter of 886,000 miles. The 8000 miles which measures across the earth seems quite inconspicuous when compared with such a diameter as this.

Completely covering the sun's surface is a mass of intensely hot crimson gases. These gases are like a turbulent upper atmosphere with a depth of 5000 to 10,000 miles. Raging and seething in long tongues of flame, they swirl up for thousands of miles above the surface, or are thrown far above it in titanic explosions. Formerly, these burning gases could only be seen at the time of total