, 1881-08-27
July Storms on the Sum.

June closed with peaceful skies after
( the tornadoes and thunder storms II the
middle of tie month. and July opened
with summer quieiude prevailing All
around the globe. The elements were at
peace upon the earth. But on the sun
there was different scene. Through the
still air on the afternoon Of July lst the
astronomer pointed his telescope at the
srea, fire globe that gives the earth high,
and life, and its rays fell upon the lenses
with perfect steadiness, and, bending
obcdiently To the focus of the instrument,
made an image ii the sun that, when
magnltied, was an exquisitely sharp and
clear as though carved IN gold by mas
ter jeweler Ii required bat a glance TO
show that the surface Of this splendid
! ball, which the astronomer knew was
lS6, ,oo0 miles in diameter. though IT hung
with room IL spare. in the circular field
Of the eye-liece. was wriukled and IItted
torn. tossed. and Eeavins under the stIajn
Of tempest forces There were vast
groups of spots. individual members Of
which covered more square miles than all
the continents Of the earth; there were
small specks hardly visible when greatly
magnified, and around all were the
crinkled lines Of faculse brighter than the
rest of the surface, and crowded together
in places, resembling a sea of flames seen
from above Ii required but short
time 10 show that changes were going on
under the eye Of the observer, slight COM
pared with the vast extent Of the spots,
yet involving motI"ns that have n" par
allel ON the earth The astronomer had
only to apply a spectroscope To see that
all around the sun We're enormous hery
pr0tuberanceS thrown ont Ike Jets from
a geyser to a height Of thousands and tens
If thousands Of miles and settling back in
clouds of glowing vapor. 30 through the
calm ui summer afternoon, and at the
safe dIstancenf ninety-two millions fmIiss
he could watch the storms on the sun,
trace the course 81 iiery cyclones blowing
hundred miles second, and study and
micrometrically measure the visible effects
Of forces that would shatter and vapor-
lze the earth Yet the enormous distance
that separates the earth from the sun Is
not IN all respects So safe as II seems.
sun storms certainly have Il powerful
effect upon the electrical condition of the
earth, and it is suspected that they may
affect the earth S weather
The sun was storm swept through the
whole m5nth The clear air that rInsed
the earth on the first was soon after filled
with clouds and thunder storms, and was
SWirled here and there into death dealing
tornadoes, so that the astronomers tele-
scope became useless But IN all the In
tervals Of fair weather IT showed the suns
face yet spotted and wrinkled and rimmcd
with eruptions of flaming gas In the
middle If the month some of the spots or
holes, We're Of enormous magnitude, and
of wonderful complexity IN shape and de
tail Again at the close of the month
huge groups and rows Of spots were
stretched across the disk, and the vleS
with high magnitiers Was startling and
exceedingly impressive.
The most that astronomers are able 10
say with confidence abuut these spots II
that they are holes "f size and depth
almost beyond relief; that they are pro
duced by disturbances IN the glowing
matter of the sun, aid that they are gov
erncd by some law that causes them to
WAY and wane IN number in a period 6f
about eleven years There were no spots
to speak oi i'll 1873. they began toappear
frequently in 1850; III 1885 they will be
most numerous, and IN 1854 the sun will
again be free from them.