The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-10-27
SUN.BORN TORNADOEs.
Looking into the Black Depths OF Fright
ful Whirlpools.
Mar York San.

The astronomer was intenly studying
sun spots, and occasionally removing his
eye from the telescope to wipe the sweat
from bis brow, when the reporter called
vest sterdny afternoon.
"lretty warm for the end of Septem-
bcr," we said. "Is there anything hap.
pencd on the sun to account for this clear
weather? ?"
| well, said the astronomer, carefully
dusting speck of dirt off the eye piece,
that's hardly n fair question Just now,
because men of science are hard nj work
upon that very subject, and they have
not yet completed the investigation.
However, think may venture, proyis-
ionaliy, to answer your question in the
affirmative. Certainly there are lively
times on tho sun. There arc tornadocs
there that make the recent hurricane in
Quincy seem insignificant enough. Look
for yourself"
The reporter placed his eye at the telc-
scope, and there hung the great globe of
the sun, perfectly round and sharp in
outline. Its surface was dotted with n
number of dark spots that looked like
pits or holes in the glowing ball. Two
| OF them, one near tho centre aud the
other just passing around the edge, were
large enough, the astronomer said, to
swallow up the earth. In several places
the surface was ridged and wrinklcd with
intensely white lines, showing the erup-
| ton OF vast masses of flaming hydrogen
| from the interior. These would shortly
be followed, the astronomer explained,
by the formation af tremendous fiery
whirlpools, whose black depths even the
bulk of q planet would not suffice to fill.
The reporter could not help uttering
an exclamation Of astonishment when
the meaning ofwhat he saw was explained
| to him.
That is not very far fetched idea
which some people entertain, that hell is
located in the sum-" 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 suns fires are
not eternal. BY and by q crust will form
| over the surface and the fires will die
out. BY by and by mean anywhere
| between 100000 and 1S,000,000 years.
| Then, again, somebody has recently ad-
vanced the theory that there is no fire in
the sun; that the earth and sun nrc huge
magnets, and that heat and light aud 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 don't believe it. It
seems to me not much better than the
theory that found in newspaper and
pasted in the back of my Burritt's Geog-
raphy of the Heavens when | was n boy
that the sun is ball of ice which acts rs
a lens, condensing the rays of igh! that
come from the Creator upon the eafin.
"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 interest.
ing this year, since we have had, and are
having, most extraordinary weather.
Unfortunately it is only recently that
men of science have treated the subject
seriously, and the observations do not 60
back far enough to give definite answer
to the question. 1t is known that the
sun spots appear according to some law
the time from maximum to maximum
again being between eleven and twelve
years. But the observations Of the cor
responding periods, not having been
taken with distinct view to the solution
of this question, give discordant results,
and it may be many years before we get
from such observations proof that the
suns condition does or docs not directly
affect tile weather.
"There is, however, another road to the
solution OF the question. 1t is settled
that the sun affects the earth's electrical
conditions. A few days ago the sun con-
talncd an interesting account of the
effects Of magnetic storm upon the tel
egraph wires, and especially upon the
Atlantic cable. On the night ofSeptem-
bel, 18th cable messages were delayed,
and the wires i'll various places refased to
work. On the same night there was an
extraordinary display Of the northern
lights. 1t could not be we'll seen in this
city ON account Of the gas lights, but 1
have accounts of it's appearance in Cen
trail New York, where tho inhabitants
were astonished to sec vast aud beautiful
arches of light spanning the shy, and the
long streamers and curtains of the au-
rora mysterously waving to and fro in
the northern heavens. Well, the sun was
responsible for it. There was an out.
break of electrical force upon his surface
which was quickly responded to by the
earth. Whenever sun spots are most
numerous, or, in other -vd.ls, Whenever
the sun is in state almost constant
and extraordinary agitation, the earth
shows its effect by displays of the aurora
borealis and electrical storms. There is
a famous storm of this kind on record, at
the beginning of which two English as.
| tronomers happened to be watching the
sun. 1t was September |, 1859. Sud
l.denly they perceived two brilliant points
| CLEAN out upon the sun. Almost at the
same instant telegraph wires all over
| England, in America, in the furthest
parts of Europe refused to work. Strange
electrical phenomena were observed ; q
flame of fire followed Bain's electric pen
in Boston; telegraph operator in Nor.
way was partly stunned, and the appara-
| tus set on fire; in several other places
the telegraph operators received severe
| shocks. There are other we'll known in
| stances of the effect of solar outbursts
upon lie earth.
| "Now, since the storms on the sun
thus affect the earth's electricity and
magnetism, l think it can fairly be said
that they affect our weather, for the elec-
trical condition of the atmosphere is not
the least among the causes that govern
terrestrial storms. Itwould ofcourse, be
too fanciful - assert that the tornadoes
that racked Quincy on Saturday, and
Elmira on Sunday, started from the sun !:
and yet you see, such statement would
NOT be all untrue, for the SUMS heat alone
acting with local causes, Is sufficient 10
set the atmosphere ia mad whirl.s The
whole subject is an unsettled, state, but
if some of the theories that have been
advanced are TO be trusted, those cities
may have o sun spot to thank foritheir
ill-luck.n ~