登陆注册
5302100000030

第30章 BOOK II.(6)

Much of the material was like slag from a furnace,having evidently been partly fused.Whether this heat was the result of collision or of its near approach to the sun at perihelion,they could not tell,though the latter explanation seemed most simple and probable.When at about the centre of the nucleus they were in semi-darkness--not twilight,for any ray that succeeded in penetrating was dazzlingly brilliant,and the shadows,their own included,were inky black.As they approached the farther side and the sunlight decreased,they found that a diffused luminosity pervaded everything.It was sufficiently bright to enable them to see the dark side of the meteoric masses,and,on emerging from the nucleus in total darkness,they found the shadow stretching thousands of miles before them into space.

"I now understand,"said Bearwarden,"why stars of the sixth and seventh magnitude can be seen through thousands of miles of a comet's tail.It is simply because there is nothing in it.The reason ANY stars are obscured is because the light in the tail,however faint,is brighter than they,and that light is all that the caudal appendage consists of,though what produces it Iconfess I am unable to explain.I also see why the tail always stretches away from the sun,because near by it is overwhelmed by the more powerful light;in fact,I suspect it is principally in the comet's shadow that the tail is visible.It is strange that no one ever thought of that before,or that any one feared the earth's passing through the tail of a comet.It is obvious to me now that if there were any material substance,any gas,however rarefied,in this hairlike[1]accompaniment,it would immediately fall to the comparatively heavy head,and surround that as a centre."[1]Comet means literally a hair.

"How,then,"asked Cortlandt,"do you account for the spaces between those stones?However slight gravitation might be between some of the grains,if it existed at all,or was unopposed by some other force,with sufficient time--and they have eternity--every comet would come together like a planet into one solid mass.Perhaps some similar force maintains gases in the distended tail,though I know of no such,or even any analogous manifestation on earth.If the law on which we have been brought up,that 'every atom in the universe attracts every other atom,'were without exceptions or modifications,that comet could not continue to exist in its present form.Until we get some additional illustration,however,we shall be short of data with which to formulate any iconoclastic hypothesis.The source of the light,I must admit,also puzzles me greatly.There is certainly no heat to which we can attribute it."Having gone beyond the fragments,they applied a strong repulsion charge to the comet,creating thereby a perfect whirlpool among its particles,and quickly left it.Half an hour later they again shut off the current,as the Callisto's speed was sufficient.

For some time they had been in the belt of asteroids,but as yet they had seen none near.The morning following their experience with the comet,however,they went to their observatory after breakfast as usual,and,on pointing their glasses forward,espied a comparatively large body before them,a little to their right.

"That must be Pallas,"said Cortlandt,scrutinizing it closely.

"It was discovered by Olbers,in 1802,and was the second asteroid found,Ceres having been the first,in 1801.It has a diameter of about three hundred miles,being one of the largest of these small planets.The most wonderful thing about it is the inclination of its orbit--thirty-five degrees--to the plane of the ecliptic;which means that at each revolution in its orbit,it swings that much above and below the imaginary plane cutting the sun at its equator,from which the earth and other larger planets vary but little.This no doubt is due to the near approach and disturbing attraction of some large comet,or else it was flung above or below the ordinary plane in the catastrophe that we think befell the large planet that doubtless formerly existed where we now find this swarm.You can see that its path makes a considerable angle to the plane of the ecliptic,and that it is now about crossing the line."It soon presented the phase of a half moon,but the waviness of the straight line,as in the case of Venus and Mercury,showed that the size of the mountains must be tremendous compared with the mass of the body,some of them being obviously fifteen miles high.The intense blackness of the shadows,as on the moon,convinced them there was no trace of atmosphere.

"There being no air,"said Cortlandt,"it is safe to assume there is no water,which helps to account for the great inequalities on the body's surface,since the mountains will seem higher when surrounded by dry ocean-bottom than they would if water came halfway up their sides.Undoubtedly,however,the main cause of their height is the slight effect of gravitation on an asteroid,and the fact that the shrinking of the interior,and consequent folding of the crust in ridges,may have continued for a time after there was no longer water on the surface to cut them down.

同类推荐
  • 丹霞澹归禅师语录

    丹霞澹归禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Men of Iron

    Men of Iron

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 旧杂譬喻经

    旧杂譬喻经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 道德经注释

    道德经注释

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说得道梯隥锡杖经

    佛说得道梯隥锡杖经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 世界中小企业经营案例大集

    世界中小企业经营案例大集

    本书汇集了大量中小企业的经营案例,收录了包括英特尔、联想、松下、上海主人印刷厂等多家企业的经营故事。通过本书,您能了解到中小企业领域的发展实践,您既可体验鲜活而精彩的中小企业案例,聆听专家对中小企业难点问题的解答,又可掌握实用工具,并紧扣前沿,与广大经理人和精英切磋中小企业经营之道。
  • 张恨水经典作品系列:五子登科

    张恨水经典作品系列:五子登科

    《五子登科》1947年8月17日连载于北平《新民报》的“画刊”,作者因病未写完,1956年将书续完。小说描写了日本投降后,接收大员到北平,贪污、舞弊,过着花天酒地的生活。揭露了“五子登科”的“劫收”秘闻。所谓“五子”即:金子、女子、车子、房子、馆子。
  • 强宠霸爱:傲娇少爷请走开

    强宠霸爱:傲娇少爷请走开

    为了调查父亲死亡的真相,杜问初觉得,自己什么都可以牺牲。可当她被迫和这个男人住到一起的时候,她的心,还是痛了。多年以后,她才明白。原以为他欺她辱她。却原来,他早已宠她入骨。--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 豪门攻略

    豪门攻略

    一别三年,新的人生,重生为职场女精英,健康检查让她发现自己不能再生育。思子心切时,重遇当年的他,步步为营设计要回孩子,却不知步步深陷,早已进入他爱情的圈套。她只要夺回孩子:“你以为人心,也可以用钱来买吗?”他欣然一笑,孩子女人都要:“你的心只属于我,我干嘛要用钱买?”
  • On Being and Essence

    On Being and Essence

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 香港小学体育教师的专业生涯

    香港小学体育教师的专业生涯

    本书主要探索香港小学体育教师的专业生涯。由于教育及课程改革所致,书中集中讨论香港体育教师工作生活中明显过重的工作量及多元角色所带来的问题。
  • 百度总裁李彦宏给员工的内部邮件

    百度总裁李彦宏给员工的内部邮件

    百度CEO李彦宏发给员工的一封内部邮件。犀利的观念引发了业内的广泛讨论。如果单单从字面上看,“鼓励狼性,淘汰小资”确实有多种不同的解读角度。但倘若跟随本书,将之还原到李彦宏说出此语的大背景之中,细究前因后果阅读分析,或许我们除了立场鲜明地赞同与反对外,还能多读出一些感悟、多给出一些理解。
  • 三生缘:绝色将军

    三生缘:绝色将军

    朋友妻,不可欺!那么,妹妹呢?!他是龙族逃婚少主,前有老娘逼娶侍女,后有真爱投怀送温暖!可国仇家恨在身,他岂能深陷温柔乡?忍辱负重,爱情和仇恨是他活着的理由,穷途末路,可大仇未报,偶遇仙缘,看他如何逆转乾坤......
  • 踏歌天下

    踏歌天下

    流落雪夜身世神秘的贵公子,持剑走江湖的天真少年,侠义与命运到底该如何抉择,阴谋阳谋,杀人诛心,讲一段少年英雄的传奇,尽在踏歌天下...
  • 婚了再爱不太晚

    婚了再爱不太晚

    【全本】她被人打晕送到他房间,两月之后媒体爆出她怀孕的消息,两人被迫结婚,而他仅有的一点怜惜也在婚礼当天消失殆尽。婚后,他时常夜不归宿流连花丛,而她唯一的寄托只有肚里的孩子。他夜夜笙歌纸醉金迷,她每晚在冷清的别墅里独守空房形单影只。她天真地以为孩子出生后,她的婚姻会有一缕阳光,可是这天……“我……肚子好痛,我好像要生了……”她拿着电话,痛得战栗。“这种小事就不用来烦我了,我很忙。”他挂断前的一秒,她听到电话里传来女人异样的声音……他为小三庆生,她却在夜雨中的小巷里早产……他乘兴而归,刚踏进家门,她抱着孱弱的早产儿跪在他面前:“不爱我,就放我走。”“离婚可以,孩子必须留下。”男人的冷漠无情粉碎了她最后的眷恋。“想要分开我和孩子?除非……我死!”她眼中的决绝,是他从未见过的寒芒……****某天,她抱着纸箱站在他家门口,笑颜如花:“先生,这是您要的货,请签收。”男人眯起危险的眸子,冷不防把她拽进门内:“你负责验货!”“混蛋,每次你都用强!”“怎么,心里不平衡?那这次换你来……”他邪肆地将她往怀中一带……“……”【结婚半年,她在雨中早产】【郑重声明:本故事纯属虚构,如有雷同,纯属巧合!】