Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1900-04-13
The Moon and the Weather.

A belief that the moon has potent
influence on weather changes is we'll
nigh universal. The moons appear
ance goes through such marked
changes each month that 1t would be
very natural to attribute weather
changes to these. In this way un-
doubtedly such sayings as these have
arisen: 1.-THE weather won't change
till the moon changes" IF the moon
lies so that the water cannot run out
we shall have a drought" "a wet
moon is one upon which huntsman
can hang his horn" etc. Diligent in
quiry, at one time, as to the popular
belief regarding this question, brought
out the view more persistent than any
other, that more rain will occur at the
new moon than at the full moon. Sim
gularly enough, in Connecticut,on Long
Island Sound, there does seem to be
such a law, but 1t does not hold in
the interior Of the country, and test
on the Pacific coast showed, If any
thing, exactly the opposite. At Lon
made for more than century, care
full computation for the whole period
has shown no effect. If we reflect
that the moon Is dead and does not
have any air, even, up on 1t, that It
always shows the same face to tho
earth, that its changes are simply due
to changes in q position as respects
the earth and sun, and that Its vary
ing appearances are all borrowed, we
see how absurd the notion Is that the
moon does influence our weather.
There is, however, another argument,
that appears quite valid at first
sight. If the moon can raise tide Of
sixty feet in the ocean, why may t
not raise tremendous tide in the
extremely tenuous air, 800 times light
er than water, or tide of about 49,
0O0 feet, and If so, 1t seems easy to see
that such a commotion would affect
/ cur weather enormously. The tide Of
sixty feet, (the highest in the world)
is experienced only in the Bay of Fun
dy, and Is due to the configuration of
the Atlantic coast. In the open Pa
cific the tide is only little over one
foot. Most careful observations of a
lunar atmospheric tide have been made
at St. Helena in mid-ocean and haze
inch. Since ordinary weather changes
affect the pressure thousand times as
much, we see how extremely insignifi-
cant the moons total effect must be.
There is a common saying, "The full
moon has power to drive away Clouds"
and some computations seem to bear
out this idea. II any one will look to
the east as the rising full moon shines
through the clouds, he will often see
the clouds disappear. There is nat
ural explanation for this, however,
and in no wise dependent upon the
moon. A long series of observations
have shown a diurnal range Of cloudi-
ness with a minimum point, or time
of least clouds, from to p. M, hence
we see that as the full moon rises and
advances in the sky during this period,
there will often appear diminution Of
clouds. Lord Rose turned his big
rejecting telescope ESQ big that tall
man walking erect in 1t could carry a
spread umbrella) toward the moon and
found that if anything, the earth re-
ceived a little chilling from the full
moon. More recently the bolometer,
en- instrument which can measure less
than one-millionth of degree Of tenn
peiature change, has shown that the
Sam receives tiny bit of heat from