The Fremont County record., 1881-03-05
SATURDAY, MARCH 3. 1881.
Superstition siIenced.
Prof SWIM to Rochester, tN. ", Heralt

Prof. Swift to Rochester, CN. Y.,) Herald.
For the last two years the popular
mind has been excited to an unusual
degree over the statements made by a
few visionary enthusiasts, who, with
great flourish of apparent wisdom,
have spread before the world the pre-
diction that, owing to the simultane-
Gus arrival of the major planets to
their perihelia during the present
year, the most dreadful calamities
ever recorded in history are to occur,
such as earthquakes on vast and de-
structive scale, devastating torna-
does, wide spread pcstilence, great loss
oflife by shipwrecks famine and wars,
and thousand other things too dread
full to contemplate. In all commune
ties there is certain class who will
give listening ear to anything, no
matter how absurd, that partakes
largely of marvelousness hence this
belief, which has not particle of
evidence to support it. is widespread
i'll all civilized countries.
| am constantly receiving letters
asking when the planets will sever
ally be in perihelion (nearest the sun,
and when we are to look for a full
fillment of these predictions that
will make the year 1881 famous for
all coming time. These questions
convince me that the delusion still
exists, and has sunk deep in the
minds of men, and that perhaps it
would be advisable to prepare state
nent setting forth the facts as they
exist, and, with slight variations,
will continue to exist as long as time
lasts.
All planets move in orbits or
paths more or less eliptical, the sun
occupying the common focus of them
all. 1t therefore necessarily follows
that planet is sometimes nearer the
sun than at others. In our age (but it
will not always be SOY the earth is
about 3,000,O00 miles nearer the sun on
the 1st of January than Oh the ed day
of July. On January l, therefore,
the earth is in perihelion, and of
course is in that situation once a year
Every planet is in perihelion once
during the year.
Mercury, the planet nearest the sun,
has smaller orbit than ours, and
its year is correspondingly shorter,
being only eight of our days, and
must therefore be in perihelion every
lightweight days. On the contrary
Neptune, the most distant planet
known, has year equal in length to
one hundred and siXty-four and one
half of ours, and is consequently
only once in perihelion during that
time. 1t follows that the time must
come W hen all the eight planets will
be in perihelion at once. 1t is only
question of simple arithmetic how
often this will happen.
1t has been stated and insisted upon
that this rare event. which, probably,
has not occurred since the Mosaic
creation, would take place during the
present year. That this is not the
case, the following table will show.
Mercury. Feb. 2I, May 20, Aug. l6 Nov. is,ISsl
Venus March ., Octoberl6 ISL
tprth anuary l. 1851
Mars 70, ISol
Jupiter .....S pteInber =, iSSg
Saturn-...-.--........ ugust -, iSS5
Uranus. arch -, iSs2
Neptune.... ......October 23, 1852
1t is not denied that this is close
agreement, when IT is considered how
long some of the periods of rcvolu-
ton are. But what of it? Who
has ever proved or presented evidence
that has any semblancc of proof that
planets arriving at their perihelion
points have the least perceptible in
tluence ON either the sun or the earth
or any of the planets?
Each planet, even the giant Jupiter,
is a pigmy compared to the sun III
fact, he will outweigh all of them
combined by more than 700 times.
What effect, then, can the simple di-
ference In distance of any single
planet, say of Jupiter, have on the
heat and light and spots, etc, on the
sun, almost 5OO,OOO,O 900 miles distant?
The planet Mercury is compara-
lively near the sun, and almost as
dense as lead, and the cccentricity of
his orbit is SO great that he is over
29,000,000 miles nearer the sun al
perihelion, but has any one ever per-
ceived any changes on the sun once in
lightweight days? Has any recur-
renee of magnetic storms, earth
quakes, plaques, or an excess OF Ca
larnities of any kind ever been no.
ticed during his perihelion passages
If not, then it is safe TO say that none
exists, and the subject may be classed
with the thousand other delusions
which exists in the minds of men and
for which no remedy is known save
thorough and universal education
of all classes of society.