The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-08
MAKING AN ALMANAC.
.rzrERIEs OF SUN, MOON AND
d STARS AND THE WEATHER.

Operaudi Of Compiling the house
"a companion That Every Family
L. The Noon the Worst Thing the
---onomers Have to Deal With
ma suns and Earth's Movements
.-,n,1ting Eclipses Years Ahead-A
c-sat Eclipse Coming in 1900.
,.slnanac is such a common, everyday
80 a publication so frequently seen and
- -S,sn referred to for casual information
"a dates, references and astronomical
s..omana. that few of the hundreds of
ipL,r,snds OF people who consult this famil-
.biact almost daily ever give thought
.So manner in which it is made, and
- nothing of the work attending the
,,,,stion of the rising and setting of the
the changes of the moon, the ebb and
60 Of the tides for every day in the year.
". tney expect to fad all this information
10 great deal mere exact to the very
..i1nts. and that, too, in book which is
niran away free of charge and considered
r. many TO be only method OF advertising.
grLa york of the almanac maker requires
,bd b;obest scientific skill and the closest APP
HLg,ation In fact, the work is OF such q
Pno-acter that there are only few in this
s1nntrv VINO undertake it.
AN ALMANAC MAKER
Tau raonle in Savannah know that they
&c an isslmanac maker" among them, vet
Lon is the case. Mr.. Otis Ashmore, pro-
s.Ssor of natural science at the Chatham
soodamv has been making the calculations
a. Griers almanac, published at Macon,
Tar the last ten years, and probably Will
continue making them to the end of his
davs His uncle, 7. P. Ashmore of Lincoln
connty. made the calculations for the same
almanac fifty years ago At his death Prof.
Asbmore, who had assisted ms uncle in his
Tork was prevailed upon to take
q mn. He did not care To do so,
hut he publishers were unable to find any,
one willing to undertake the work, and he
was at length prevailed upon to accept it.
prof Ashmore is one of the few men who
NATE calculations of astronomical phe-
nonena for almanacs in this country, and
nrohably the only one in the south
A BOOK THE PEOPLE GO BY.
Grier's almanac is undoubtedly better
tnown IN this country than any other
nnblication, It has been published re-
pularly since 1880, and has gained a hold
mon the people, especially the agricultural
nonulation, that is not to be broken. 1t is
narts of the lares and penstes of the south
ern farmers household. and there is many
a family whose library consists of Bible,
COPY of Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress and
a Grier's almanac. Their confidence in it
is mistaken, and they will take no other.
The almanacs are usually given away by
the druggists and seedsmen, but frequently,
when the supply runs short, the farmers
have been known to pay from 10 to %
cents apiece for them, even when other
smanacs can be had free.
A story is told, and 1t is probably true
one, of farmer who gave a new patent
medicine almanac and bushel of corn in
exchange for one Of Grier's almanacs.
ONE OF THE FAMILY.
As regularly as the year rolls in the
farmers, on coming to town, ask their mer-
chants for Grier's almanac. The country
merchant who does not keep a stock on
hand is sure to lose a good portion of his
trade. The almanac secured, it is taken
home, string run through the end and
hung upon the wall, where it hangs ready
for reference upon all subjects, from the
fulling Of the moon TO the birthday OF Wash
ington.
A MORNING NEWS reporter asked Prof.
Ashnore, the other day, to explain the
manner Of making these calculations.
ut is little hard to express, except In
technical and scientific TERMS" he replied,
"but will try to give it to you so it can
be easily understood. Making the astro-
nomical calculations for an almanac is a
work Of great difficulty, involving as it
does thorough knowledge Of the highest
branches of mathematical and astronomical
science. All the methods and terms em-
ployed are Of such a scientific and technical
character that 1t would be difficult to ex~
plain to the unprofessional reader just how
the work is done; still a general outline
might not prove embarrassing.
THE ASTRONOMERS STARTING POINT.
First of all some central point is chosen,
whose latitude and longitude are accurately
determlned, upon which the computations
are based, for it must be known that an
almanac is of but little practical value to
one living very great distance from this
assumed basis. In the case Of Grier's al
maaac two such central points are assumed
IN the south; namely, Macon Ca, and Aus
TIN, Tex, the geographical position of the
suthern states being such that these two
points Will practically serve for this entire
Section.
Corresponding to the latitude and Iongi-
tqde OF this assumed point the moons
phases or the changes ca the moon are com
puted. This is done by the aid of astrono-
mlcal tables and knowledge Of the known
motions OF The moon and the various dis
Vurolng forces that affect its motion in its
ofolt. The moon is the dread of the prac-
tical astronomer. The forces that determine
is motion are so variable and complex
mat the finest skill and the NEST untiring
PaCleace are required to predict its position
anu determine its path in space.
ne conJuncions and oppositions of the
principal heavenly bodies are next COM
puted. The planets revolving around the
sua at different distances and at different
rates OFTEN pass each other, Just as several
men walking at different rates around a
circular pond of water would overtake and
pass each other. When one heavenly body
ovsrtakes another in its journey the phe-
40 Is called conjunction, and when
one Two bodies are on opposite sides of their
orolIs, or loO' from each other. the phenom-
enon Is called an opposition. Now we know
t tho aOes OF motion of all these bodies, and
YIN. .Ils MAKES 1t possible for us to compute,
with great precision, the times of their con
Junction ana opposition. 1t must be remem-
iDered, however, that these motions. too
IKE that of the moon, are continually vary
lug, ana the problem, after all, involves
thinker. N''-
THE MOON BAD JOB.
Inc rising and setting of the moon are
Uue VI the most tedious portions of the
80 n. Inc usual method is to determine
r. eacn day in the year the exact time
mat the moon crosses the meridian. and
11uo,"lng the latitude of the place and the
ue s: Of the moon, the time of the
nng or setting can be calculated by the
nometrv. 0pS- -S''A "a AS0-
The column of high tides is next filled