The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-02-24
)UVER WASHINGTON TERRITORY THURSDAY FEBRUARY "a 1881


In response to the subject of absorb
ing interest now under discussion by
scientists as to the simultaneous ar
rival of all the major planets to their
perihelia, infiicting dire results and
bringing about the most fearful calam-
tiles known to history, and resulting
in the most devastating disasters to
men and beasts, Prof. Lewis Swift
has written a letter to the Rochester
HeT0t0, in which he says:
For the last two years the popular
mind has been excited to an unusual
degree by the statements made by
few visionary enthusiasts, who, with
great flourish of apparent wisdom,
have spread before the world the pre-
diction that owing to the simultaneous
arrival of all the major planets to their
perihelia during the present year, the
most dreadful calamities eyer recorded
in history are to occur, sud as earth
quakes on a vast and destructive scale,
devastating tornadoes, widespread
pestilences, great loss of life by ship
wrecks, famine and wars, ana q thous-
and other things too fearful to con-
template. In all communities there
il Il certain class who will give lis
tenin2 ear to anything. no matter how
absurd, that partakes largely of mar
velousness; hence this belief, which
has not q particle of evidence to sup
port it, is widespread in all civilized
countries.
| am constantly receiving letters
asking whom the planets Will severally
be in perihelion (nearer the sum, and
When we are to look for fulliiliment
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 pre-
pare a statement setting forth the
facts as they exist. and with slight va
riations, viii continue TO last as long
as time lasts.
All planets move in orbits or paths
more or less clliptical, the sun occupy
ing the common focus OF them all. It
therefore necessarily follows that a
planet is sometimes nearer the sun
chan at others. In our age but it
will not always be So the earth is
about 10000 600 miles nearer the sun on
the first day of January than on the
second day of July. On January LIST,
therefore, the earth is in pcrihelion,
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 a smaller orbit than ours, and
hence her year is correspondingly
shorter, being only eighty eight of
our days, and must therefore be in
perihelion every eighty eight days.
"a
distant planet known, has year
equal in length to l644 of ours, and
consequently only once in perihelion
during that time. IL follows that the
time must coSle when all the eight
planets will be in perihelion at once.
1t is only IA question in simple arith-
metic how often this Will happen.
1t has been stated and insisted upon
that this rare event, which probably
has not occurred since the Mosaic Gre
alton. would take place during the
present wear. That this is not the
case the following table will show:
Mercury. . Feb. u, May 90, Aug. l6,
Nov. u, 1881.
Venus, March g. Oct. Is, 1851
Earth, Jan. !, 1881
Mars, May 26, 1881
q. Sept. 25, 1880
Saturn, Aug. 20. 1855
Uranus, March 25, lSS2
Neptune, Oct %, lsS2
1t is not denied that this is close
agreement, when it is considered how
long some of the periods of revolution
are. But what of it? Who has ever
proved or presented evidence that has
any semhlance of proof that planets
. rriving at their perihelion points
have the least perceptible influence on
either the sun or the earth, or on any
of the other planets?
Each planet, even the giant Jupiter,
i pigmy compared with the sun; in
fact, he will outweigh all of them
combined by more than 700 times.
What effect then can the simple diff
ference in distance of any single
planet, say Jupiter, have on the heat,
and light, and spots, etc, on the sun,
almost 100000, 900 miles distant?
The planet Mercury is compara-
lively near the sun, almost as dense
a. lead and the eccentricity of its
orbit is so great that he is over 29,000,-
600 miles nearer the sun at perhelion
than at apheliOn, but has any one ever
perceived any changes ON the sun
once in eighty-eight days? Has any
recurrence of magnetic storms, earth
quakes, plaques or an excess of calam-
ities of any kind ever been noticed
during his perihelion passages II
not, then 1t is safe TO say none exist,
and the subject may be classed with
the thousand other delusious which
exist in the minds Of men, and for
which no remedy Is known save
thorough and universal education OF
all classes Of society.