Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-11-24
The Electric Storm.

The storm on Friday, the 18th Of No
vember which seems to have prevailed
throughout this country and most OF Eu-
rope, was what is called an electric storm
"a condition which produces great cleo
trical disturbances; but the true eXplana-
ton and full understanding of these cleo
trio storms has not yet been reached.
That the disturbance comes direc tly, and
almost instantly, from the sun, there is
little or no remaining doubt among the
best informed philosophers who have
studied these things. There is also
pretty well substantiated theory that these
sO-called Eselectric storms" on earth are
produced by what are called magnet
ic storms" on the sun. They are
believed to be the cause of the strange
looking appearances, so often seen on the
solar disc, called ''sun spots" These are
found, by telescope study, to be vast
clOud-like whOrls, or rather WhirlpoOls,
sometimes as large as the earth, and lndl-
eating always tremendous disturbance,
as far transcending in its power and
sweep any terrestrial elemental or earth
quake disturbances as the sun transcends
our puny world in magnitude. Their
motion is in many instances astOundingly
swift, not only in the whirl or rotation of
the individual ''spOt," but in the progress
of the spots, themselves, across the enor-
nous disc of the sun. That that great tOun-
tain of light and heat is also the fount Of all
the electric and magnetic forces known
in the solar system there cannot be much
doubt, The impressive fact has been re-
ferred to in these columns that great
flash, of intense light, was once simulta-
neously observed on the sun by two as
tronOmers, widely separated, and that
both, fortunately, after ascertalning that
the eye-screen was not broken, turned in-
stantly to the magnetic needle, and i'll
both cases this was found to be violently
and surprisingly agitated. This indicates
that vast and sudden Outburst Of cleo
trical force on the sun was almost in
stantly felt, here in our world, ninety
three millions Of miles distant. There
is some reason for believing that
the sO-called ''earth-currents' of magnet
ism pass out at the northern pole, and
in those boreal skies form fine, and prob
ably beautiful, though possibly (even
were there Observers not always visible,
streams and currents of magnetic and
electric substance, bearing a direct rela-
ton to, and connection with, the ceaseless
emanatiOns from the great fOunt and
stOrehOuse of light and life itself. The
further we extend our knowledge the
clearer becomes the perception of the
beautiful and harmonious revelations and
workings of the universe of worlds, of
which ours constitutes So insignificant a
part,
This "elecuie storm" of November II,
1882, not only prevailed in both hemis-
pheres, interrupting the ordinary methods
of telegraphing on both sides of the At
lantic, but produced some striking and
impressive exhibitions of the still but lit
tie understood ''aurOral lights" in the noe
turnal skies. A marked electrical dis
turbance has prevailed for several days,
eliminating in the display of last night.
bic &c lpI 90 nd ND Il
cidedly new, IN some respects, in diff
ferent localities of the United States,
especially the exhibitions that
were shown last night. In some
places the streamers were blOod-red,
in others silvery, gray, and even black,
So impressive have been the phases of this
latter form of the phenomenon that the
class of Unbalanced people who go about
seeking for a sign and imagining some
great thing ''from God'> is about to end
our world are reported to have been
more than usually excited. That
there is in progress one of those great
disturbances on the sun which occasion
ally occur there seems to be little doubt.
A vast black solar ''spOt" has been visi-
bic, and visibly growing and moving, for
several days: and aurOras, also, have for
some days been frequent. A sharp and
early setting in Of winter was indicated
this morning, after the passing away of
the electric storm; three inches of snow
lay on the ground at Albany, and at Hart
ford the ground was white, the trees load
ed, and a mid-winter air prevailed,
One curious fact of this electric storm
was the ability Of the telegraph operators,
in the midst of the interruption of their
customary methods, by the occurrence Of
powerful earth currents, to send mes
sage from Bangor to New Sidney, Cape
Breton, a distance of 700 miles with a
battery, Wires were also successfully
worked without a battery, from Cincin-
natl to st, Louis, The chief operator at
Washington gives it as his belief that the
earth, and not the atmosphere, was the
source of the disturbance. Relatively, no
doubt, it was, but the earth-demonstra-
tions, in their turn, come directly from
the sun.
AT all points the storm appears to have
cleared off cold.