The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-25
NEWS FROM The Sun.
A Great Electric Storm Now Dis
turbing Old Sol.
HOW THE SMITHsoNI 0BSER-
yING THE MANIFESTATIONS.

Period of the Sun Spots-Period Of the
Sun spots-vastness of the Great Orb of
the Universe-Mr. Longley and His
Methods.
News from the sun just now is of es-
are being received constantly by tele-
graph, so to speak, It is the latest and
freshest news too, for happenings on the
sun are recorded here in ten minutes
after their occurrence. The news just
now is that there has been a great COM
motion on the face of the sun for two or
three days, a mighty electrical storm, SO
vast in extent that its influence is proba-
bly, felt throughout the solar. system.
The news is interesting, but not more
interesting than the manner in which 1t
was brought to the earth and the way In
which record is made and kept Of the
changing intensityeof the Storm
The Smithsonian Observatory
There is little frame building south
If the Smithsonian building fitted up
py Secretary Langley's direction as an
,stro-physical observatory. ltSls not an
ordinary astronomical observatory where
scientists watch the movementssof the
stars as they troop across the zenith and
keep record of the flight of time as it is
marked off on the great dial of the heav-
ems 1t is dark room, into which only
a ray of sunshine enters where the Smith
sonian assistants bring the sun down, SO
TO speak, into their laboratory and study
it's physical constitution. They are striv-
ing to master it's secrets, to learn the
cources of it's energy. Already much has
been accomplished in the study OF solar
physics along lines of investigation in
which Mr.. Longley has led the way and
much of what has been accomplished has
been done right here in the unpretentlouS
little building in the Smithsonian
grounds.
Most every one knows that through the
solar spectrum, with its brilliant rain bow
colors and it's dark lines physicists have
learned something of the constitution
of the sun. Each ray of light brings
with it a record of the vapors or gases
through which it passed on leaving the
sun. It was discovered long ago that the
colors and lines that become visible when
ray of sunlight is passed through a
prism reveal only a part of the story,
how small part has not yet been de-
termined For beyond the field of colors
there is an invisible spectrum, and to
make this, become visible and yield its
secrets is one of the objects for which
Mr.. Langley is working
An Eye that Sees the Invisible.
When one thinks how vast the sun is,
and thatAa body as large as the earth
would appear to observers here mere
speck on it's surface, there is, something
almost humorous in the idea of studying
itwith an instrument SO tiny that hair
would hide it, or so delicate that it has
to be installed on stone foundation laid
deem in the earth in order that it may
not be disturbed by the footballs of pass
ing people. But it must be remembered
that all the physicist needs for his work
is one ray of light, and to handle it and
study it he must use the most delicate
apparatus. Mr.. Langley has perfected
what he laughingly spoke of to a Star
1 vissibl set spectrum a 4 prism made Of salt
as clear as the finest glass is used to
refract the light, and the refracted rays
fall upon an instrument called a bOlOme-
fer. This is minute and highly sensitive
thermometer about the size of a bristle.
TT has an electrical connection with
galvanometer in an adjoining apartment,
and the wire through which the connec-
ton is made Mr.. Langley i'm explaining
the apparatus to the Star reporter, spoke
of as the optic nerve. Outside the build
ING is a flat, round reflector, more than
a foot in diameter, made of the most per-
feet glass, and ground to the most perfect
fairness
Holding the Sun Fast.
The frame holding the reflector is in a
carriage with very ingeniously con-
structed machine, SO adjusted that when
it is in operation it keeps the reflector
moving SO as to exactly overcome the
effect of the earth's revolution. In other
words, it catches the sun and fastens it
SO that it can be studied at leisure, The
reflected rays pass through an aperture
into the observatory, where they can be
thrown at will upon screen forming
an image of the sun, an image which
remains fixed and immovable because of
the nice adjustment of the apparatus
that controls the reflector. just now the
image of the sun is interesting because
it shows the sun spots which are attract
ing SO much attention. A ray of the sun
caught on the reflector is passed through
the prism and observations made with
the bolometer When dark line in the
spectrum is upon the tiny therm ometer
it feels the change in temperature or
experiences chill.
The observer, however, probably could
not detect this if it were not for the con-
nection with the galvanometer and it's
delicate magnetic needle This needle
is ONLY one sixteenth of an inch in length.
n is detected in response to the move
ments of the bolometer. Its variations,
however, could not easily be observed
directly. so attached to it is device by
means of which the slightest movement
is detected at once and makes a perma-
nent record. AS small as the needle is it
has a tiny mirror on it's end, mirror
no larger than the point of PIN A ray
of light is trained by reflectors 50 as to
fall upon this mirror. In turn the ray
is reflected so as to make it just little
point or spot of light on screen a few
feet away. If the needle merely trem-
bles the angular movement OF the reflect
ed ray is SO great as to make the spot OF
light move perceptibly on the screen.
If the needle is DETECTED to an apprecia-
BILE extent the spot of light will make