The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1901-08-30
HEAT OF sun SPOTS.
SCIENTISTS LOOK FOR LAW OF
WEATHER CHANGES.
nzay Bs Abis to Forecast weather for
Long Periods by study Of sun's Surface
connection Of Solar and Tsrrsstriai
MsteoroloEy.

A little over year ago Camille
Flammarlon, the famous French
scientist, observed the great sun spots.
including the one discovered by Able
Mareux. and predicted that the earth
was about to enter upon period OF
five years. the summers OF which
would be the hottest in It's history. He
was laughed at by scientists. but he
held 10 his prediction. Everyone will
remember the intense heat OF last sum.
mer. No one Is likely TO forget the
swelterlng days Of July Of this year
for a long time to come. Camille
Flammarlon bids fair to make good
his prophecy. Yet even now. meteor
ologists and astronomers refuse to be-
lioyo that he has established any d.
rect connection between terrestrial
weather and spots on the sun. Such
a connection has for long time been
suspected. but nothing definite in the
way OF law has been discovered.
That we shall soon be In a position to
forecast the seasons by means OF
study OF the chemical or physical con-
dition OF the sun seems likely. The
sun, far from being great star Of un-
varying physical characteristics, varies
very materially and Is very much hot
ter and brighter at certain periods
than Il Is at others. Its probable TEN.
perature at It's normal state is about
1888 degrees Fahrenheit. or 1000
centlgrade. but It's radiation OF heat
year by year is not even, 80 that 10
certain years the earth receives much
more heat than It does at others, and
In consequence important moteorologic
changes are set up. the precise nature
OF which science seems to be Just on
the edge OF unravelng. For instance.
the great British astronomer. Sir Nor
man Lockyer. has just announced his
conclusion that the seasonal rainfall
and great heats In India follow certain
changes In the sun and that the fam
Ines OF India, which bring such I'M
speakable misery and woe TO the teem-
ing millions Of this unfortunate coun-
try, can be forecast from known solar
changes. But as the weather OF India
Is not an Isolated phenomena. but is
interlocked with that OF Africa and
this In turn with that OF the western
hemisphere. weather cycle in one
country is unquesilonably duplicated
in others. At present, however. no ono
has worked out the data for the north
temperature zone sufficiently TO dis
cover what this cycllcal change In our
weather Is that follows the variation
OF the physical state OF the sun. Sir
Norman. however. believes wo shall
get at the law OF change before long
and will be able TO forecast weather
over long periods by a study OF tho
suns surface. For instance, huge
sun spot was observed In the sun re-
Gently which was OF such magnitude
rs TO cause much surprise among as
tronomers. since the sun is now at n
period when the sun spots are the least
frequent Conditions are. however,
shaping themselves for a period OF nu-
merous sun spots in 1904. OF which tho
huge spot observed this spring is n
forerunner. Sir Norman Lockyer
points out that the greater disturbance
OF certain zones OF solar latitude is
more influential than the amount OF
spotted area determined from spots in
various ATTITUDES. sun spots" no
said recently, may be only mlllionths
OF the area. but these prominences
form one-slxth OF the SUMS visible
hemisphere and with these In a state
OF disturbance the effects upon the
earth are very important. The sun
spots themselves are only a very feeble
indication OF the fierce activity OF tho
sun. We are observing those promi-
nences more carefully" he went on,
than we have been able 10 do In the
past We are taking advantage OF new
methods OF observation. and In n few
years we shall be In a much better DO
sition than we are now to study the
connection OF solar and terrestrial me-
teorology."
AS the situation shapes up today the
scientific world Is on the look out for
law OF causatlon that connects solar
changes with the great drouths. great
floods and excessive heat waves that
mark our weather at definite periods
And II looks as II some clever observer
would soon wrest the secret from the
sun spots and the vagarles OF Ameri-
can summer weather even n none Of
the suggested periods seem TO be re-
vealed in the actual recorded weather
data.