THE NEW ASTRONOMY.
[Sidenote: The laws of the motions of the heavenly bodies have been
learned very slowly.]
From the dawn of written history, when the first men, watching through
the nights, observed the regular motions of the moon and stars,
humanity has been striving to obtain a correct understanding of the
relation of the earth to the. First it was believed that the sun,
moon, and stars revolved in circles around the earth (which for a time
was supposed to be flat instead of spherical). The great Greek
philosopher, Hipparchus, after observing the movements of the heavenly
bodies, suggested that the earth was not exactly in the middle of the
circles. Three hundred years later, Ptolemy discovered a number of
facts concerning the movements of the sun, moon and planets, which
were unknown to Hipparchus, and which led him to suggest that the sun
and moon move in circles around the earth, but that the planets move
around the earth in circles, whose centres again move around the
earth. This somewhat complex theory explained very well what was known
of astronomy in the days of the ancients. In fact, the views of
Ptolemy were quite generally accepted for 1300 years.
About 1500, A. D., Copernicus, a Dutch astronomer, having still more
facts in his possession than had Ptolemy, concluded that the simplest
manner in which the apparent movements of the sun, moon, and planets
could be explained, was to assume that the sun is the center of the
planetary system, and that the earth, with the moon and planets,
revolves according to definite laws around the sun. This theory,
supported by numerous confirmatory observations, was generally
accepted by astronomers, and really did explain very simply and
clearly many of the facts of planetary motion.
Fifty years after the death of Copernicus, the celebrated astronomer,
Kepler, proposed extensions and improvements of the Copernican
doctrine, which made the theory that the planets revolve about the sun
more probable than ever before. He suggested first that the planets
move around the sun in closed curves, resembling flattened circles,
and known as ellipses. By assuming this to be true, and assisted by
other discoveries, he was also able to state the times required by the
planets for their revolutions around the sun, and the velocity of
their motions at different times of the year. Later investigations
have proved the great laws proposed by Copernicus and Kepler to be
true; and from their days is dated the birth of modern astronomy.
[Sidenote: The law of gravitation is universal and explains many of
the motions of celestial bodies.]
After the laws of the motions of the planets had been determined, it
was only natural that men should ask themselves what forces were
concerned in these motions. The ancient philosophers had proposed the
idea that the sun attracts all heavenly bodies, but the suggestion had
not been accepted by the world at large. However, after the
discoveries of Kepler, the English, philosopher Newton advanced the
theory that there is in the universe an attractive force which
influences all matter, beyond the limits of known space. He further
proved that the intensity of this force varies directly with the
product of the attractive masses, and inversely, with the square of
the distances between them--that is, the greater the bodies the
greater the attraction; the greater the distance between them, the
smaller the attraction. This law of gravitation has been verified by
repeated experiments, and, taken in connection with the astronomical
theories of Copernicus and Kepler, has made celestial mechanics what
they are today.
By the aid of the law of gravitation, many astronomical predictions
have been fulfilled. Among the most famous is the following incident:
In the early part of the last century, astronomers noticed that the
motions of the planet Uranus did not agree with those derived from
calculations based upon the law of gravitation. About 1846, two
investigators, M. Leverrier, of France, and Mr. Adams of England,
stated, as their opinion, that the discordance between theory and
observation in the case of the motions of Uranus, was due to the
attraction of a planet, not yet known, and they calculated by means of
the law of gravitation, the size and orbit of the unknown planet. In
the fall of 1846, this planet was actually discovered and named
Neptune. It was found to harmonize with the predictions made by the
astronomers before its discovery.
During the days of Newton, the question was raised if the celestial
bodies outside of the solar system obey the law of gravitation. Among
the stars, there are some which are called double stars, and which
consist of two stars so near to each other that the telescope alone
can separate them to the eye. In 1803, after twenty years of
observation, William Herschel discovered that some of these couples
were revolving around each other with various angular velocities. The
son of William Herschel continued this work, and many years later, he
discovered that the laws of motion of these double stars are the same
as those that prevail in the the solar system.[A] This result
indicated not only the universality of the law of gravitation, but
also the probability that all heavenly bodies are in motion.
[Footnote A: History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd ed. Vol.
I, pp. 467-469.]
[Sidenote: The invention of the spectroscope laid the foundation of
the new astronomy.]
Then, early in the nineteenth century, a new method of research began
to be developed, which was destined to form a new science of
astronomy. It had long been known that white light when passed through
a glass prism is broken into a colored spectrum, with colors similar
to those observed in the rainbow. Now it was discovered that when
white light passes through vapors of certain composition, dark lines
appear in the spectrum, and that the position of the lines varies with
the chemical composition of the vapors. By the application of these
principles, it was shown, towards the middle of the last century, that
the chemical composition of the heavenly bodies may be determined.
Later,it was discovered that by noting the positions of the dark lines
in the spectrum, it could be known when a star or any heavenly body is
moving, as also the direction and amount of its motion. These
unexpected discoveries led to a study of the heavens from the
spectroscopic point of view, which has resulted in a marvelous advance
in the science of astronomy.
[Sidenote: All heavenly bodies are in motion.]
It has been determined that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and
that their velocities are great compared with our ordinary conceptions
of motion. Most of the stars move at the rate of about seven miles per
second, though some have a velocity of forty-five miles, or more, per
second. Many stars, formerly thought to be single, have been resolved
into two or more components. The rings of Saturn have been proved to
consist of small bodies revolving about the planet in obedience to
Kepler's law.[A] Clusters of stars have been found that move through
space as one body, as possible counterparts of the planetary
system.[B] It has been demonstrated, further, that the sun itself,
with its planets, is moving through space at a very rapid rate.
Professor Simon Newcomb, perhaps the greatest astronomer of the day,
says, "The sun, and the whole solar system with it, have been speeding
their way toward the star of which I speak (Alpha Lyrae) on a journey
of which we know neither the beginning nor the end. During every
clock-beat through which humanity has existed, it has moved on this
journey by an amount which we cannot specify more exactly than to say
that it is probably between five and nine miles per second. The
conclusion seems unavoidable that a number of stars are moving with a
speed such that the attraction of all the bodies of the universe could
never stop them."[C] In brief, the new astronomy holds that all
heavenly bodies are in motion, and that the planetary system is but a
small cluster of stars among the host of heaven. Further, it has
weighed the stars, measured the intensity of their light, and
determined their chemical composition, and it affirms that there are
suns in the heavens, far excelling our sun in size and lustre, though
built of approximately the same elements.
[Footnote A: See C. G. Abbott, Report of Smithsonian Institution, for
1901, pp. 153-155.]
[Footnote B: Light Science for Leisure Hours, Proctor, pp. 42-52.]
[Footnote C: The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb, Science, May 21,
1897.]
[Sidenote: The solar system is only one of many.]
Sir Robert Ball expresses his views as follows: "The group to which
our sun belongs is a limited one. This must be so, even though the
group included all the stars in the milky way. This unnumbered host is
still only a cluster, occupying, comparatively speaking, an
expressibly small extent in the ocean of infinite space. The
imagination will carry us further still--it will show us that our star
cluster may be but a unit in a cluster of an order still higher, so
that a yet higher possibility of movement is suggested for our
astonishment."[A]
[Footnote A: The Story of the Sun, R. S. Ball, pp. 360, 361.]
Another eminent astronomer expresses the same idea briefly but
eloquently: "It is true that from the highest point of view the sun is
only one of a multitude--a single star among millions--thousands of
which, most likely, exceed him in brightness, magnitude and power. He
is only a private in the host of heaven."[A]
[Footnote A: The Sun, C. A. Young, p. 11.]
And still another student of the stars propounds the following
questions: "Does there exist a central sun of the universe? Do the
worlds of Infinitude gravitate as a hierarchy round a divine focus?
Some day the astronomers of the planets which gravitate in the light
of Hercules (towards which constellation the solar system is moving)
will see a little star appear in their sky. This will be our sun,
carrying us along in its rays; perhaps at this very moment we are
visible dust of a sidereal hurricane, in a milky way, the transformer
of our destinies. We are mere playthings in the immensity of
Infinitude."[A]
[Footnote A: Popular Astronomy, C. Flammarion, p. 309.]
[Sidenote: Scientists believe that heavenly bodies are inhabited by
living, thinking beings.]
It is not strange that men who have learned to look at the universe in
this lofty manner should go a step farther, beyond the actually known,
and suggest that some of these countless heavenly bodies must be
inhabited by living, thinking beings. Sober, thoughtful truthseekers,
who never advance needlessly a new theory, have suggested, in all
seriousness, that other worlds than ours are peopled. For instance,
"What sort of life, spiritual and intellectual, exists in distant
worlds? We can not for a moment suppose that our little planet is the
only one throughout the whole universe on which may be found the
fruits of civilization, warm firesides, friendship, the desire to
penetrate the mysteries of creation."[A]
[Footnote A: The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb.]
Such, then, is in very general terms the view of modern astronomy with
reference to the constitution of the universe. Most of the information
upon which this view rests has been gathered during the last fifty
years.
[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that all heavenly bodies are in
motion.]
Joseph Smith was doubtlessly impressed with the beauty of the starry
heavens, and, in common with all men of poetical nature, allowed his
thoughts to wander into the immensity of space. However, he had no
known opportunity of studying the principles of astronomy, or of
becoming familiar with the astronomical questions that were agitating
the thinkers of his day. Naturally, very little is said in his
writings that bears upon the planetary and stellar constitution of the
universe; yet enough to prove that he was in perfect harmony with the
astronomical views developed since his day.
First, he believed that stellar bodies are distributed throughout
space. "And worlds without number have I created."[A] "And there are
many kingdoms; for there is no space in which there is no kingdom."[B]
He is further in harmony with modern views in that he claims that
stars may be destroyed, and new ones formed. "For, behold, there are
many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power."[C] "And as
one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall
another come."[D]
[Footnote A: Book of Moses, 1:33.]
[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:37.]
[Footnote C: Book of Moses, 1:35.]
[Footnote D: Doctrine and Covenants, 1:38.]
At the time that Joseph Smith wrote, there was considerable discussion
as to whether the laws of the solar system were effective with the
stars. The Prophet had no doubts on that score, for he wrote, "And
unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are
certain bounds also and conditions."[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:38.]
Likewise, his opinions concerning the motions of celestial objects
were very definite and clear. "He hath given a law unto all things by
which they move in their times and seasons; and their courses are
fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend
the earth and all the planets. The earth rolls upon her wings, and the
sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night,
and the stars also giveth their light, as they roll upon their wings
in glory, in the midst of the power of God."[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:43, 45.]
In another place the same thought is expressed. "The sun, moon or
stars; all the times of their revolutions; all the appointed days,
months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years,
and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed."[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 121:30, 31.]
The two revelations from which these quotations are made, were given
to the Prophet in 1832 and 1839 respectively, many years before the
fact that all celestial bodies are in motion was understood and
accepted by the world of science.
[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that the solar system is only one of
many--in advance of the astronomers of his day.]
The accepted conception that groups or clusters of stars form systems
which revolve around some one point or powerful star, was also clearly
understood by Joseph Smith, for he speaks of stars of different orders
with controlling stars for each order. "And I saw the stars that they
were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of
God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it: and the
Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the
great one is Kolob because it is near unto me--I have set this one to
govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which
thou standest."[A] That the governing star, Kolob, is not the sun is
evident, since the statement is made later in the chapter that the
Lord showed Abraham "Shinehah, which is the sun." Kolob, therefore,
must be a mighty star governing more than the solar system; and is
possibly the central sun around which the sun with its attendant
planets is revolving. The other great stars near Kolob are also
governing stars, two of which are mentioned by name Oliblish and
Enish-go-ondosh, though nothing is said of the order or stars that
they control. The reading of the third chapter of the _Book of
Abraham_ leaves complete conviction that Joseph Smith taught that the
celestial bodies are in great groups, controlled (under gravitational
influence) by large suns. In this doctrine, he anticipated the world
of science by many years.
[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, chapter 3.]
[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that other worlds are inhabited.]
It is perhaps less surprising to find that Joseph Smith believed that
there are other peopled worlds than ours. For instance, "The reckoning
of God's time, angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time, is
according to the planet on which they reside,"[A] which distinctly
implies that other planets are inhabited. Another passage reads, "The
angels do not reside on a planet like this earth, but they reside in
the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire."[B]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 130:4.]
[Footnote B: Loc. cit., verses 6 and 7. See also 88:61.]
While the idea that the planets and stars may be inhabited is not at
all new, yet it is interesting to note that Joseph Smith taught as an
absolute truth that such is the case. Probably no other philosopher
has gone quite that far.
These brief quotations go to show that the doctrines of the Prophet of
the Latter-day Saints are in full accord with the views that
distinguish the new astronomy. It is also to be noted that in
advancing the theories of universal motion among the stars, and of
great stars or suns governing groups of stars, he anticipated by many
years the corresponding theories of professional astronomers.
In various sermons the Prophet dealt more fully with the doctrines
here set forth and showed more strongly than is done in his doctrinal
writings, that he understood perfectly the far reaching nature of his
astronomical teachings.
Did Joseph Smith teach these truths by chance? or, did he receive
inspiration from a higher power?