St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-02-18
BIG sun SPOTS MAKE
COLD WEATHER

l Nv A"e 'o'Ny OUoSI S1NOI
was informed by the Pos:-Dls
patch. Friday, that a large su,
spot had been discovered bya Chi
cago astronomer, he expressed BIZ
willingness of making an lmmedl
observation ito verify the state
ment. Friday was too cloudy .fol
the attempt, but Saturday morning
the jesuit astronomer pointed hi.
telescope at the sun and saw the
largest sunspot group that he has
observed in his forty years Of astro.
nomical work. -
'tThere was only one Other
group" he said, Saturday after
noon, IN discussing big observa.
tons, ':that l remember, which
could be compared with this. Tha,
wastwenty.two years ago, when l
observed cluster of spots fully
10000 miles across. This group
Is more than 1000 miles, and one
of its spots has a dlameter0f'.. 70. ).
600. However, this is not the larx
est single sun spot that l have
seen. A year ago last OCTOBER
observed d. ! single sun spot with "a
d,ameter:of $4,000 miles There
is = possibility that this present
group NAV come together and Ne
solve itself ihto one large spot
which would be larger than any on
record.
PRAISES BEAUTY OF GROUP.
"But even if this does not hap
pen, the group will still be remark
able. The penumbra-the gray,sh
fringe which surrounds. the umbra
or center of the spot-ls more ex-
tended than any l have ever oh.
sery ed. Generally the penumbra
is not as wide as the umbra, but in
this case 1t Is nearly twice as great.
II 's, moreover, very beautiful IN
its structure. The long drawn out
filaments are curved IN fantastic
fashion, and in the beauty of Its
general designs l know of none to
compare with it, with the possible
exception of the great sun spot of
1870, and even that had much
less extended and more regulcr pc
numbra."
Discussing the cause of this phe
nomena, he continued:
"1'he cause OF sun spots Is one
of the things that science has not
yet been able to explain. All that
we know about sun spots is, when
they come, what they look like,
and what other occurrences happen
about the same time and"seem to
have some sort of connection with
them. Of course we speculate and
form our theories. We are pretty
certain that the sun ls simply a
ball of intensely hot, very dense
gas, with nothing solid or concrete
about it, except perhaps the cen
trail portion, about which we have
no knowledge whatsoever.
SHOW for some reason or other
. certain section of this gas becomes
inaamed, and being hotter than the
surrounding gases it projects itself
upward with great violence into
The chromosphere that is the al
nospbere which surrounds the sun,
Just as the eartb's atmosphere sur.
'ounds us. This atmosphere, being
comparatively cool, condenses the
gas, and it falls pell NELL back IN
o the vapors of the sun, forming
he snn spot, which, on account OF
is condensation, appears black as
nix.
The falling IN Of this gas causes a |
,reat commotion IN the sun. A |
errific cyclone, as it were. takes
lace, which Is evident from the |
act that the shape of a sun spot Is
onti nually and rapidly changing.
When this cyclone hae spent it's
trength, the different gases gradu
lily come back to their normal
and the sun spot dis.
ppears. This Is the theory gen.
rally accepted to explain the pbe
omena of sun spots.
IT'S INFLUENCE ON THE EARTH.
Talking of the influence the
IN spots group has upon the earth.
'ather Charropin said:
sit has undoubtedly been the
ause of this continued cold. A