The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Great Round World and What Is Going On
In It, Vol. 1, No. 60, December 30, 1897, by Various

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 60, December 30, 1897
A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls

Author: Various

Editor: Julia Truitt Bishop

Release Date: August 22, 2005 [EBook #16580]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT ROUND WORLD AND ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.(www.pgdp.net)

[Illustration: THE GREAT ROUND
WORLD
AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT.]

VOL. 1 DECEMBER 30, 1897. NO. 60

=Copyright, 1897, by THE GREAT ROUND WORLD Publishing Company.=

* * * * *

The heavens are affording us an interesting study just now.

Our kind old friend, the sun, it is who is giving us this benefit.

One of the largest sun-spots which has ever been observed is now to be
seen.

So large is this spot that it is not necessary to look through a
telescope to see it. By using a smoked glass, to dim the intense light
of the sun, any one can look at the spot for himself.

Nowadays, when all persons connected with the daily papers are on the
lookout for some startling fact that shall sell their newspapers, such
an occurrence as the enormous increase in the size of a sun-spot is too
good to be let slip by them.

Extra editions about the sun-spot were issued by some of the most
enterprising journals, which contained sensational pictures, and
statements that the sun-spot was in fact a new world which was about to
burst forth from the body of the sun. According to these accounts, the
new world was to be sent whirling through space, hurled, as it were, at
our earth, which was to be shattered to pieces by it.

Except that such stories serve to call the attention of unscientific
people to scientific facts, and teach them to observe the wonders of the
universe, it really seems a shame that such marvels should be used as
bogies to scare the ignorant and superstitious.

As a matter of fact, very little is known about these sun-spots. They