Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-02

What Would Happen II One shoul
Get There.

What Would Happen n One SHOULD
Get There.
From the Nautical Magazine
Just as the magnet always turns to tn.
pole, 80 human endeavor for centuries past
has been similarly directed. Whether at
any future time 1t will be vouchsafed 10
mortals to reach the pole is a matter as to
winch, for various reasons, consid .rahie
doubt May be entertained. But would such
an achievement be desirable? L assert the
contrary quite seriously.
III any one really got to the pole he would
IN common parlance, be utterly lat sea"
simply because at the pole there Is no pos
sibility OF ascertaining ones whereabou
Ierson arriving there would find an al
together different world before him. Like
a Diind man he would grope about and VAIN
ly endeavor to get back to whence he came
This by no means enyiable situation Is cal
culated to thoroughly destroy the illusions
which he may have cherished when start
ing on his polar expedition. His completely
changed situation would be accounted for
by the fact that when stationad at the pole
the direction to the north would be found
10 coincide with the line of the zenith-that
is TO say, the point exactly above us. Tho
opposite point-viz-, the nadir-would COIN
eide with the direction to the south The
longitudinal circles, and hence also the M
ridian OF the locality. would coincide with
the circles of latitude: an equator would CO.
tncije with the horizon. Hence an astro-
nomical determination of the locality, ac-
cording to latitude and longitude. is alto
gether precluded
The same may be sail as regards deter
mining ones bearings IN any direction
The compass, too, will fail there bee ause
Its horizontal intensity is 50 slight as to
preclude the possibility OF It's action. The
only criterion for judging that one has ar
rived at the pole is hat the observed al
titude OF the sun, after having BEEN cor
rected to altitude above the true horizon,
n enfn mol 10 until H.
declination Of the sun for the day in ques-
ton. Moreover. in those regions there Is
scarcely day on which dense fogs do not
prevail, and 90 or more degrees CO. OF cold.
such as mostly exist there. will enhance
the difficulties of observation to such an
extent that 1t can only b. 5. question of
approximate estimates. Such conditions are
by no means enviatle, AMI are scarcely cal
culafed to induce us to long for them with
all our hearts.
But these are not the only things which
are likely to make a sojoura at the pole a
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, but during the whole of the
time will always remain either above or be-
low the horizon. As the earth revolNes
around its axis in twenty-four hours, the
Sun apparently describes, during the same
interval circuit OF 800 degrees round the
sky, being visible at altitude equal 10
the declination whenever declination is Of
the same name as the pole at which the OBJ
server Is stationed.
The numerous attempts hitherto made 10
reach the pole have, as a matter Of course,
been by watsr-that is TO say. by ships and
sledges. The idea that one might get :here
by an aerial passage has not gained ground
until recently, but il We consider that hall
looms are not navigable, and hence are IL
able to be carried away in any direction by
any air currents that may accidentally pre-
LIT.
the pole, no one possessed of but a moder-
ats allowance of common sense will CON-
prehend how succ could have been ex-
pected from such an enterprise. Moreover,
determinations of locality cannot possibly
be made from balloon with any approx
mate degree of accuracy.