New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1884-11-05
THE RED SUNSET.
IL tho Volcanic Theory the True Explana-
tion of the Wonderful Appearance
Of the Sky?


The COnlptvs Reasclals recently COM
tanned two papers read before the
French Academy of Sciences, which
seem to have an important bearing on
the question of the red sunsets that
have been witnessed here and have ex-
hibited an increase in brilliancy since q
month ago.
NJ. Forrel observed the sun several
times during last July and August
from attitudes of 1000 to 1000 feet
above the sea level during his journey
among the Alps. At the greatest heights
he repeatedly saw a well marked coro-
ma around the sun, and observed that
the ruddy color became less percepti-
BILE as he descended into the valleys,
while it's distinctness was increased as
he again assembled the mountains. He
noted, too, that this corona did not de-
pend on the meteorological conditions Of
the lower air strata, which varied
through a wide range during his stay
in Switzerland, the air-currents coming
successfully from every point of the
compass. Yet the phenomena was al
ways observable when the sky was
''serein.'' He concludes that there ex-
lists cloud of dust suspended in the
upper regions of the atmosphere (alD
over Central Europe. He does not pre-
sumo to judge the character of this
dust cloud
M. l.. Thollon says that from the
close of last autumn to the beginning
OF July he was observing the sun from
his station near Nice Mount Gros), and
did not once see the sun without an
aureole; the coloring being always fine
in proportion to the clearness of the at
mosphere. He thinks there is no room
to doubt that, at least in the neighbor-
hood of Nice, there is a notable change
in the atmosphere, which appears to
be permanent.
There can be no reasonable doubt
that this coronal exhibition to observ-
ers in the mountain region of Europe,
and the red sunsets seen at these lesser
attitudes in the United States, are both
due to the existence of highly commin-
uted matter in the higher strata of our
atmosphere, and that such impalpable
dust was not there previous to last
year. It has been stated in the scien-
tific periodicals that this matter was
probably thrown up by the earthquake
in Java in 1888; but the persistence Of
the phenomena for SO long time after
that event may we'll raise a doubt in
the mind of the ordinary reader. He will
find it difficult to conceive that an erup-
tive force at the earth's surface could
be powerful enough to eject volume
OF dust to a distance of more than a
few miles above the sea-level, or that
it would not have settled back to the
ground long ere this. The difficulty is
somewhat lessened if we remember
that Java lies in the track of the sys-
tenn of trade winds, which form an as
cending current at their area of meet
ing in the neighborhood of the equator.
The dust would be carried up by this
agency to much greater height than
it could be carried by any mere ex-
pulsive force, and would then Aow
out latterly toward the poles. But,
remembering also how quickly dust
settles within a few hundred yards of
the earth's surface, and that higher up
the greater rarity of the air gives It
still less of sustaining power, one may.
well wonder that the effect should be
still visible, with so little loss of dis.
tinctness from that Of last autumn. It
is almost enough to make one doubt
that the volcanic explanation is not the
true one after all, especially if we con-
slider that the overflow of the trade air,
as explained by the meteorologists,
should have distributed the dust most
copiously in the southern hemisphere,
and also that we have no proof that the
uprush referred to extends to so great
an altitude as the dust even now APP
pears to occupy. One may even feel
tempted to suspect that the phenomena
in question are perhaps due to the pas
sage of the earth through cloud of
cosmic dust, portion of which re-.
manned in our upper atmosphere at q
height far greater than that reached by
our trade wind system. OF course It
would be heresy to urge this view Of
the case in opposition to the high sci.
entific authority which has v0uchsafed
the volcanic theory as an explanation
OF the wonderful appearance Of the sky
about the time Of sunset. We there
fore present it to our readers as q mat
ter for thought only -not as something