The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-14
DIFFICULTIES ToeREAcH THE POLE
Situation in Which Man Would BE
Placed on Gaining the Goal.

Placed on Gaining the Goal.
From the Nautical Magazine.
Just as the magnet always turns to the
pole, so human endeavor for centuries past
has been similarly directed. Whether at
any future time it will be vouchsafed to
mortals to reach the police is a matter as to
which, for various reasons, considerable
doubt may be entertained. But would such
an achievement be desirable? | asesrt the
contrary quite seriously.
If any one really got to the pole he
would, in common parlance, be utterly "at
sea- simply because at the pole there
is no possibility of ascertaining one S
| whereabouts. A person arriving there
would find an altogether different world
| before him. Like blind man he would
grope about and vainly endeavor to get
back 10 whence he came. This is by no
means enviable situation is calculated to
/ thoroughly destroy the illusions which he
may have cherised when starting on his
| polar expedition His completely changed
| situation would be accounted for by the
| fact that when stationed at the police the
| direction to the north would be found to
| coincide with the line to the zenith-that
| is TO say, the point exactly above us The
! opposite point-viz, the nadir-would coin
! eide with the direction to the south. The
! longitudinal circles, and hence also the
| meridian of the locality, would coincide
with the circle of latitude; an equator
would coincide with the horizon Hence
| an astronomical determination of the 10
| cality, according to latitude and longi-
tude is altogether precluded.
The same may be said as regards deter
| mining ones bearing in any direction.
The compass, too, will fail there, because
| it's horizontal intensity is so slight as to
preclude the possibility of its action The
eI,r,
arrived at the pole is that the observed
altitude of the sun, after having been cor
rected to altitude above the true horizon,
is found to coincide with the value of the
declination of the sun for the day in
question Moreover, in those regions there
is scarcely a day on which dense fogs do
not prevail, and sixty or more degrees c.
of gold. such as mostly exist there. will
enhance the difficulties of observation to
such an extent that it can only be a ques-
ton of approximate estimates. Such con-
ditions are by no means enviable, and are
scarcely calculated to induce us to long
for them with all our heart
But these are not the only things which
are likely to make a sojourn at the pole
neVer-ending torment. Worse than all the
rest one cannot count the passing hours
there; in other words, there is no criterion
for determining the time of day. During
a period of six months the sun will neither
rise nor set, out during the WnOle OF TINS
time wall always remain either above or
below the horizon. As the earth revolves
round its axis is twenty-four hours, the
sun apparently describes, during the same
interval, a circle of 800 degrees round the
sky, being visible at an altitude equal to
the declnation whenever declination is of
the same name as the pole at which the
observer bs stationed.
The numerous attempts hitherto made to
reach the pole have, as a matter of
course. been by water-that Is to say, by
ships and sledges. The idea that one
might get there by an aerial passage has
not gained ground until recently, but If
we consider that balloons are not naviga-
BILE, and hence are liable to be carried
away In any direction by any air currents
that may accidentally prevail, and in the
most unlikely event only to the pole no
one possessed of but a moderate allowance
of common sense will comprehend how
| success could have been expected from
such an enterprise. Moreover, determi-
nations of locality cannot possibly be
made from a balloon with any approx
mate degree of accuracy.