Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 167, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1914 — STILL AN UNKNOWN REGION [ARTICLE]

STILL AN UNKNOWN REGION

Atmosphere at Extreme Point Above - th®‘Earth Has Never-Been Determined.

Except for a narrow layer of air the atmosphere above us is practically unexplored. The most daring balloonists have only penetrated to a point seven miles above the earth. In thia first stratum are found the clouds and the moisture and here the storms are formed. * The second layer has been penetrated by pilot baloons carrying meteorological instruments to a distance twenty miles above the earth. The thermometers carried through this stratum show practically nd change of temperature. At an altitude, of 50 miles the atmosphere consists almost entirely of hydrogen and this marks the upper limit of twilight. Clouds of fine volcanic dust sometimes rise to this height, which may be seen by reflected light, but this is the only solid matter found in this region. It is believed that hydrogen is replaced by some unknown gas of extreme lightness above this stratum, but as a matter of fact nothing is definitely known. The most daring scientists scarcely dare guess what is to be found at a height beyond a point 125 miles above the earth’s surface.