New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-08-16
STNSPOTS IND TORN1DOES.

SENSPOJS JND IOhh
Apropos Of the disaster in Louisville last March'
H. was pointed out in these columns at that 'ih"
that during the sinspot cycle tSIs- WI JuS'
ended tornadocs had been more frequent Ill TIC
,.ui,ed States in the years when solar storms were
most numerous and less so in the years Of ie"esC
solar disturbances Professor Ii. Alien Hazcn 81
the Signal Service, in the August America"
Meteorological Journal" coroborates this stale
ncnt, although employing somewhat different u'''
than The Tribunes to illustrate the fact fro-
fcssor Ia7cn calls it. " a most remarkable coihci-
dcucc and the more singular as 1t was en-
,irclv urcxnectcdn: but he holds that >" 1t VIII
rcouire more than n single cycle Of spots 10 es-
toblish this relation beyond question. gen
cral yearly parallel, however, Is separate matter
from n relation between individual spots ana
spccinl terrestrial disturbances, such ms Henry -
Maine DIR NJ 4 Vecdcr ana few others believe
9, cxist OF course if the latter could he demon
s,ro,ed the former would follow So that ~ miSho
rot rcoulrc ten or twelve years more 10 $40"
| ,chc,hcr the interesting coincidence rcicrreu "
were accidental or significant
This question of the specific luiniencc OF sun
s,o,s ar spot-qroups In breciin tornadoes ''''-
medintelv has also been investigated by PROFESSOR
uozcn. who took the seven months beginning
with March tthc general tornado season. LOT ',o
wears is9O-'e6 Comparing these da'" WIZ" ",
jGrccnwich Observatory daily photographs VI
tho sun. he found 46 spots with 'or'"""'''
,r6 spots without tornadoes, ana 3o3 'oi"au'oo
| uitbont spo,s; the spots. however, being looke"
| for onlv near the eastern limb Of the sun ~
| ,riden;np out the time limit 10 three uaHs III
| stead Of one thc dav on when Inc Sl'' nav
fairly appeared by the suns rotation, INC '"S
| Lat,ro and the day AFTER and restricting 'hr
.,udv 20 the years 1925. aud TO tie months
| Nov-Auuust better showing was o"'dihc"'
1herp were a. condolences, 80 spo'-gro"pS WIN
out tornad3es. and - tornado groups "I'"""'
snots: or 2s per cent in favor oi the hyPo'he7i'
This Is far from n convincing pfop"r'loh' IN
thc ease stands the chances ARE Only - 10 u'o
tornado will occur somewhere IN me Oh',e'
| States cast Of the Rocky Mountains on tnr u'S
ON which spot appears well ar"un" ~" ''
edpe Of the san, or on the day before VI nay
after: not a very helpful ration 10 n I"r''"s"''
| investigators Of this subJrct, however NV
,ocn somewhat slow TO recognize that the presence
| and size Of n spot or spot-grOup. on any give"
doy. are imperfect signs Of The activity Oh 'He
evnlo.ive force which produced the phenomenon
| AMI which is by the sunspot mcte0r0logls's p'-
| ucved ~ 10 ,hr potent agency IN crea'lhg o'p
,,orus spot lasts days. weeks. ana even
| ,uouths after thc generating cause has apparently
|
| ce,sc1 70 opcrafe A soldier behind rampant
| JodOinr cannou-bnlls from an enomys battery
| ,yould not witch Tie smoke, which hngeih MN
| n,cs or hours after the discharge, but The hash
| and report surprising the missile hs'li 10 DC Al
| visible While. therefore. The Spots nave some
| vain. in a study of this kind there are otIer
| marc immediate manifestations OF ernptlVc ac-
| tiou ON Tie sun DR.. Nccicr attaches great value
| "a tive f,culae or white patches as does aiso NJ
! Maine. ~tll better guides. perhaps w'I" or
| those enormous CcyscrS OF glowing hydrogen an"
| metal IN gaseous state, winch are s'm'''""'
| driven inward from the suns surface nhh"Ir"'
| If thousands OF miles in Few minu'"S' WIN 4"
mo-, that they are not easily dSc'khloe 'N,'P'
ON the suns cdcc, nor 50 pcrnorent as t' i"cu''c
On many accounts the magnetic needle Is a
hotter reporter OF solar disturbance than Spots
ncnh. or promincuccs It - cxqnl'ii"N srh'i-
,iyc SENS To- work inst4ntaucously hbors day
and night. in clear weather and clondy. ana WIN
nroncr npDaratus attached, gives n continuous
| record Tie astronomer can watch the sun onN
, fc,y hour, out Of the twenty -four, and only OF
| fair DAYS And one who trusts To photographs
| for his data has only the situation OF spot> ana
| facuIac NJ a single instant out Of each cay, ana
| with no hint rs TO solar promincn'rS. NJ N''
and DR.. Vccdcr are watching tbs magnetic signal
man. therefore, closely powadoys: ana the i'"r
gentleman has made some comparisons oil mag
nciic and weather records to discover their pos
sbe relations Professor Balfonr Stewart, long
i'm charge of the Kew observatory. believed Ill the
| existence of some such connection; ana oth"r
reputable astronomers have had suspicious to tins
effect for many years. But the notion does not
| yet find wide acceptance among mei"or0logis's OF
high standing, because no one has offered a
Demonstration of the theory So far. whoever
undertakes 10 do 50 finds som" surprising eNcep-
tons 10 Ne supposed law. Thus, the eN'Faor-
binary development Of sixty tornadoes III The
United States in day, February 10, los4-
thc greatest record of the Kind we haVe-"'S not
attended nor Immediately preceded, nor closely
| followed by any but the most triflins agitation oil
the magnets in the Toronto observatory.