Smyrna times., 1881-10-05
Sun 1'ornadoes.
HOW THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO AFFECT THE
EARTH

EARTH
The astronomer was intently studying
sun spots and occasionally removing his
eye from the telescope to wipe the sweat
from his brow when we called yesterday
afternoon.
Pretty warm for the cnd of Scptem-
ber," we said SIS there ANYTHING ham
happening on the sun to account for this
queer weather."
Well" said the astronomer, carefully
busting a speck of dust off his eye-piece.
that's hardly fair question Just now,
because men of science are hard at work
upon that very subject, and they have not
yet completed the investigation. How
ever, think may answer your question
IN the affirmative. Certainly these are
lively times on the sun. There are torna-
dies there that make the recent hurricane
Ill Quincy seem insignificant enough.
Look for yourself"
The reporter placed his eve at the tele-
scope, and there hung the great globe Of
the sun, perfectly round and sharp in out
line. Its surface was dotted with num-
Der of dark spots that looked like pits or
holes in the glowing ball. Two of them,
one near the center and the other lust
passing around the edge, were large
enough, the astronomer said, to swallow
up the earth. In several places the sur
face was ridged and wrinkled with in
tensely white lines, showing the eruption
OF vast masses of flaming hydrogen from
the interior, These would shortly be
followed, the astronomer explained, by
the formation of tremendous fiery whirl-
pools, whose black depths even the bulk
of planet would not suffice to fill.
The reporter could not help uttering an
exclamation of astonishment when the
meaning of what he saw was explained to
him.
That Is not very far-fetched idea
which some people entertain, that hell is
located in the sun, )" said the astronomer.
"YOu see it is big enough and hot enough
to satisfy the most orthodox. But there
Is one objection, which they probably
have not thought of. The SUMS fires are
not eternal. By-and-by crust will form
over his surface and the fires will die out.
By 'by-and-by.' I mean anywhere be-
tween 100000 and 100000 years.
Then again somebody has recently ad-
vanced the theory that there is 10 fire in
the sun; that the earth and sun are huge
magnets, and that heat and light and all
the other phenomena of the solar system
are due merely to the play of magnetic
forces. According to this view the sun is
as cool and agreeable place of abode as
the earth. But l don't believe it. It
seems to me not much better than the
theory that ! found in q newspaper and
pasted in the back of my Burritt's Geog-
raphy of the Heavens when was boy,
that the sun is a ball of ice which acts
like lens, condensing the rays of light
that come from the Creator upon the
earth.
But this is all aside from the question
Have sun spots anything to do with the
earth's weather? The answer to that
question would be particularly interesting
this year, since we have had, and are hav-
ing, most extraordinary weather. Unfor-
tunately it is only recently that men of
science have treated the subject seriously,
by closely watching the sun, so the observa-
tions do not go back far enough to give a
definite answer to the question. 1t is
known that the sun spots appear and dis
appear according to some law, the time
from maximum to maximum again being
between eleven and twelve years. But
the observations of the weather during
corresponding periods, not having been
taken with a distinct view to the solution
of this question, give discordant results,
and it may be many years before we get
from such observations satisfactory proof
that the suns condition does or does not
directly affect the weather.
There is, however, another road to the
solution of the question. 1t is settled that
the sun affects the earth's electrical con-
ditions. A few days ago the Sun contained
an interesting account of the effects of a
magnetic storm npen the telegraph wires,
and especially upon the Atlantic cable.
Gn the night of September 10Th cable mes
sages were delayed, and the wires in va
rious places refused to work On the
same night there was an extraordinary
display of the northern lights. 1t could
not be well seen in the city on account of
the gaslights, but have accounts of its
appearance in Central New York and
Delaware, where the inhabitants were
astonished to see vast and beautiful arches
of light spanniag the sky, and the long
streamers and curtains of the aurora mys-
teriously waving to and fro in the northern
heavens. Well, the sun was responsible
for it. There was an outbreak of electric
forces upon his surface which was quickly
responded to by the earth. Whenever
sun spots are most numerous, or, in other
words, whenever the sun is in state Of
almost constant and extraordinary agita-
ton, the earth shows its effect by displays
of the aurora borealis and electrical
stoylns. There is famous storm of this
kind on record, at the beginning of which
two English astronomers happened to be
watching the sun. II was on September
II ], 1859. Suddenly they perceived two
brilliant points CLEAN out upon the sun,
Almost at the same instant the telegraph
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