Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-07-22
NO BEARINGS TO DISCOVER.
III MN Ever Reaches the North POLE
he VIII BE Lost.

If any one really got to the pole, ne
would, in common parlance be utterly
"at sea-, simply because at the pole
there is no possibility Of ascertainlng
ones whereabouts. A person arriving
there would find an altogether different
world before him. Like blind man,
be would grope about ard vainly en-
deavor TO get back whence he came
This by no means enviable situation Is
calculated to destroy the illusions which
he may have cherished when starting
on his polar expedition. His completely
changed situation would be accounted
for by the fact that when stationed az
the pole the direction OF the north
would 10 found to coincide with the
line of the zenith-that is to say, the
point exactly above us. The opposite
point-yiz, the nadir-would coincide
with the direction to the south. The
longitudinal circles and hence also the
meridian Of the locality, would coincide
with the circles of latitude; an equator
would coincide with the horizon. Hence
an astronomical determination Of the
locality, according to latitude and longl-
tude, is precluded.
The same may be said as regards de-
termining ones bearings in any direc-
ton The compass, too, will fail there
because its horizontal intensity is So
slight as to preclude the possibility OF
its action. The only criterion for judg-
ing that one has arrived at the pole is
that the observed latitude Of the sun,
after having been corrected to altitude
above the true horizon, is found TO coin
eide 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 60 or more degrees q.
of cold, such as mostly exist there, will
enhance the difficulties Of observation
to such an extent that it can only be a
question of approximate estimates Such
conditions are by no means enviable and
are scarcely calculated to induce us to
long for them with all our hearts.
But these are not the only things
which are likely TO make a sojourn 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 below
the horizon. As the earth revolyes
around its axis in "a hours, the sun APP
parently describes during the same in
terval circuit of 800 degrees around
the sky. being visible at an altitude
equal to the declination whenever
declination is of the same name as the
pole at which the observer is stationed.
The numerous attempts hitherto made
to reach the pole have, as 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
navigable, and hence are liable to be
carried away by air currents in any di-
rection that may accidentally prevail
and in the most unlikely event only to
the pole, no one possessed of but mod
crate amount Of common sense will com.
prehend how success could have been
expected from such an enterprise. More
over, determinations Of locality cannot
possibly be made from balloon with
any approximate degree Of accuracy
Nautical Magazine.