The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-19
ABIa VOLCANO ON TIE SUN.
Four Billion Square Miles Covered
BY the Vapor From the Crater.

Four Billion Square Miles Covered
By the Vapor From the Crater.
Correspondence of the Globe Democrat.
Strange things have happened on the
face Of the sun since the article in q recent
issue Of the Globe Democrat was written, In
which the readers were told of facuIae and
sun spots.
A volcano, putting great volumes Of
vapor, burst in the immediate neighborhood
of an active group Of spots nearly at the
edge OF the sun. For almost two hours the
men with long telescopes wore unable to
see the blotches or shadow. This volcano
was OF enormous size, and the vapor which
it threw out covered an area OF 1900, 200, 900
square miles, according TO measurement.
Perhaps the story of the volcano is best
told by Prof. Hale of the Kenwood observa-
tory in Chicago. Prof. Hale took the only
photographs made anywhere OF the phe-
nomenon with his recently invented spec
tro-helograph. Nothing of like character
has ever been recorded. The photographs
taken were made part of an important rec
ord
1.-THE particular disturbance which
occurred in these spots that Friday" said
Prof Hale, twas shown by the spectre
Photograph. The first was taken at IL :0l a.
M, and shows the spots in normal condi-
ton, almost off the edge of the sun, and
all The next was taken at 11:13 O'Clock,
and at this time there had appeared a great
hook shaped streamer. which hid from view
| the GLOVER black spot Of the two. The pho
tographs were not being developed rapidly,
as the pictures were being taken in the or
binary record OF the day, and he knew
nothing OF tina disturbance until IL was
practically over. 80 it happened that No.
3 was not taken for twenty-seven minutes
afterward, at II. 40 o'clock By this time
the entire spot was hidden from view, and
the mass that hoated over it was brilliant
in the extreme. Il covered, according to
our measurement, fully 4,000, 900, 900 OF
square miles in area. An hour la5er the
eruption had settled down, the vapors had
passed away and the group OF spots looked
as 1t did before the eruption took place.
1--WE are convinced by the disappearance
and temperance of the spot group that
the matter we saw was above the surface OF
the sun, though the volcano was probably
hidden pretty snugly under the edge of the
northern spot. Pne result should have been
felt all over the world at the same time but
50 far as We have been able to learn the first
molestation OF the local elements was on the
next day. when the great electrical storm
occurred, follow by one OF the most brill
liant euroras that was ever witnessed in
this latitude.
IAN exactly parallel case has never been
RECORDED, though somewhat similar one
was noted by Darlington, Sept. /, 1859. He
was Watching sun spot when he saw two
brilliant objects shaped like half moons
move from one side Of the group to the
group 70 the other. These were compare
lively small. for the area covered was only
about 30 900 square miles. Again, in 1891,
Trouvelot saw an outbreak near the edge of
the sun from his observatory near Paris
Nothing was obscured, however, and the
extent Of the eruption was only conjecture.
I'm the phenomenon Just noted we were
able TO tell not only its magnitude, but
what the matter was made Of It was
mostly calcium vapor and hydrogen gas.
Napors Of magnesium, sodium and probably
iron we're mingled more or less with the
erupted mass that hoated away across the
spots. At the time we were looking down
into the crater on the sun, much as We
might look into Vesuvius in active opera
ticn were we TO take balloon and float
above the volcano. The difference, Of
course, being that instead OF seeing gases
We would look at red-hot liquid and ashes
that later would settle back to the surface
of the earth in lava and dust So in the sun
the vapors settled down and we were per-
United to see the spots again"