The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1881-03-24
No fear Of Planetary Disaster

No EeaF Of Planetary DisAsteI-
In response to the subject of absorb
ing interest now under discussion by
scientists as % the simultaneous arrival
of all the major planets TO their periheha,
inf1icting dire results and bringing about
the most fearful cala1nities known to
history and resulting in the most de-
vastating disaster to men and beasts,
Professor Lewis Swift has written Il let
| ter to the Rochester Her0ld, i'll which
| he says:
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 prediction
| that, owing to the simultaneous arrival
| of the major planets to their perlhella
| during the present year, the most dread
| full calamities ever recorded in history
are to occur, such as earthquakes on
vast and destructive scale, devastating
| tornadoes, widespread pestilence, great
| loss of life by shipwrecks, famine and
wars and a thousand other things too
| dreadful to contemplate. In all COM
| munities there is a certain class who
| will give a listening ear to anything. no
matter how absurd. that partakes large
| ly of maryelousBess; hence this belief.
| which has not a particle of evidence TO
/ support il. is widespread in all civilized
countries.
l am constantly receiving letters ask
| ing when the planets will severally be
| in perihelion (neareSt- the sum- and
| when we are ID LOOK for fulfillment 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
ment setting forth the facts as they eX-
| ist, and. with slight variations, will con-
| tinue to exist as long as time lasts.
All planets move in orbits or paths
more or less eiptical. the sun occupy
| ing the common focus of them all. 1t
therefore necessarily follows that Il
| planet is sometimes nearer the sun than
at others In our age (but it will not
always be sol the earth is about three
million miles nearer the sun on the 1st
of January than on the I'd day of July.
On January ], therefore, the earth is
in perihelion, and of course is in that
situation once a year. Every planet is
in perihelion once during its year.
| Mercury, the planet nearest the sun,
has smaller orbit than ours. and hence
its year is correspondingly shorter. be-
ing only eighty-eight of our days and
must therefore be in perihelion every
eighty-eieht days. On the contrary
Neptune, the most distant planet known
has a year equal in length to one hun
dred 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 when all the
eight planets will be in perihelion at
once. 1t is only a question in 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 crea-
ton, would take place during the pres
ent year. That this is uot the case the
', following table shows:
Mercury. FEB. q, May -, Aug. III. Nov. Il, lss
Venus March IT, Oct Iii, lss
Earth Jan l. lsSl
Mars May 36, 1881
Jupiter er-....-..........-.... ......Sept. % i8St
Saturn. Aug 20 lSSJ
Uranus. .......-.................. March q. 1872
Neptune ....-......... Oct. -, io1
1t is not denied that this is clos,
. agreement when it is considered how
, long some of the periods of revolution
are. But what of itp Who has ever
proved or presented evidence that has
any semblance of proof that planets ar
irving at their perihelion points have
. the least perceptible influence on either
the sun or earth or any of the othe
planetsp
+ Each planet, even the giant Jupiter
. is pig1ny compared to the sun; il
fact he will ontwcight all of them com
bined by m'Te than 700 times. Hha
! effect then can the simple difference il
distance of any single planet, say O
Jupiter, have on the heat, and light
and spots, ETC., on.the sun, almost 500,
600, 600 miles Distant
The planet Mercury is comparativea,
, near the sun and almost as dense a
h lead, and the eccentricity of his orbit
n so great that he is over 29.0oD. 900 miH
@ nearer the sun at perIhelOn than 6
q aphelbon, but has any one ever pei
ceived any changes on the sun once il
) eighty-eight days? Has any recurrenc
:. of magnetic storms. earthquakes
v plaques, or an excess of calamities c
: any kind ever been noticed during hi
!, perihelion passages9 If not, then it
e safe to say none exists and the subjet
q may be classed with the thousand othe
o delusions which exist in the minds
n men, and for which no remedy is know
Il save thorough and universal educ;
r ton of all classes of society.