THE WINTER SOLSTICE
IMMENSITY OF THE SUN AN ILLUMINATING COMPARISON The shortest day of this year will fall on Tuesday, June 22. Mr W. D. Anderson states that the sun will enter the zodiacal sign Cancer on Tuesday, reaching its most northerly point at 7.42 a.m., when it will begin to set a course southward once more. In considering the sun, how many realise the dominating position it occupies in point of size as compared with the rest of the solar system? Jupiter is called the giant planet, and so it is, being more than 1300 times bigger than the earth; but the sun is more than 1000 times bigger than Jupiter. The solar system comprises the sun, nine major planets, 26 satellites, about 2000 known minor planets, hundreds of comets and a vast amount of scattered material, some of which falls to earth and other planets as meteors. Of all this mass in the solar system 99 6-7 per cent, is represented by the sun, leaving only one-seventh of 1 per cent, for the rest of the system.
And the sun is just a yellow dwarf star, 865,000 miles in diameter.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 23221, 19 June 1937, Page 10
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192THE WINTER SOLSTICE Otago Daily Times, Issue 23221, 19 June 1937, Page 10
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