The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1903-12-25
Sun SPOT THEORIES.
Some That Are Startling Are With
out Foundation.
The solar Phenomena Have No In
hueace on the Affairs of Man.
Say Scientists Curious
Condolences.

Sun spots may come and sun spots
| may 20. bur despite the numerous GER
( rifying theories advanced and partly
I supported during the last half century.
II is the opinion Of the best-known
/ modern astronomers-such men, among
others. as Prof C. a. Young. OF Prince
! ton: Prof S F. Langley the we'll
known American authority on solar
physics: or Prof Pickering. director
of the Harvard astronomical observa-
tory-that human affairs 90 on forever
without much if any reference 10 them.
/ The group of sun spots that has recent
/ ly attracted SO much general attention
is therefore. SO far as anything is
definitely known about it, a solar
curiosity rather than any visible
/ prophet of approaching evils.
Meantime il has been shown that
| there is a certain degree OF regularity
ia their appearances and disappear
Rnces. that there is an apparent con-
nection. whether real or merely coinci-
( dental. between the sun spots and cuI
/ terrestrial magnetic disturbances. and
J.
( tween their appearance on the sun and
I the weather. commercial panics, wars
OF other disturbances thar affect the
/ everyday existence Of average mOrtals.
In appearance the typical sun spots.
/ as seen through a powerful telescope.
! suggest great chasms in the sun. so
! large indeed that our own earth could
be dropped into one of them easily
! and might even get out of sight before
touching the bottom. Such a hole. of
/ course. would be a mere incident on the
/ suns surface. as readily appears when
/ one remembers that If the sun were
| considered as hollow sphere our own
/ planet. together with the moon. could
! be placed inside of il without disturb
/ ins The distance that ordinarily separ-
I ates them
IL is only by the exercise of consid-
cradle ingenuity that the bulk of these
( relations have been maintained. even
in theory. The foundation of such the
cries lies obviously enough in the ques-
ton as 10 whether the presence of spots
on the sun detracts from the heat and
light ordinarily emanating from that
body and SO Immediately influences the
weather and crops of our own planet
Such an influence could only be shown
by a series Of deadly parallels. in a
very literal sense. between the pres
ence Of spots on the sun and the oc-
currence of bad harvests. panics. ship
wrecks. suicides and other disastrous
what not on orr own planet. some
thing over g9.0OO.0O0 miles distant.
In the first place. without going into
the scientific details there are Tires
distinct opinions regarding the sun
spots and the heat and light Of the
sun: first that the spots show great
activity in the sun and therefore in
creased heat-emitiins power; second
that they decrease the amount of heat
available for radiation and so diminish
the heat rays: third. that the effect OF
the spots is counteracfed by other
ca1ses arising at the same time. and
therefore, so far as any change in the
amount of heat received by the earth
is concerned. they produce no effect
Whatever
Granting however. that they do az
feet the heat OF the earth. there has
been evolved no completely convincing
parallel between the sun spots and on
own weather and crops A. IN the case
of Sir William Herschel's famous com
parison between the sun spots and the
price Of wheat during certain period
there have been many curious CO.
iucidences, which. however. are er-
identity more coIncidental than real
in view of the fact that the
great number ot other causes az
fcctins life conditions make II I'M
poss. BE 10 place any definite respousi-
hility on the sun and The Observers
themselves have turned M conflicting
evidence As one astronomer has re-
Gently said f. would be cutie nossible.
given sufficient slvdy 10 establish IN
apparent connection between the
planets and the rise and fall of any
given railroad stock. the relative nnm-
bers of democratic and republican con-
sressmen from year TO year. or almost
anything else with which the heavenly
bodies have rs little TO do. Sun spots
and bad harvests. sun spots and ship
wrecks. sun spots and commercial
crises. sun spots and wars or even sun
spots and race suicde may therefore
be relegated to the subjects that are at
present Of primary interest only TO the
ingenious.