New-York tribune., 1906-04-03
SOLAR RADIATION AND WEATHER.

A Washington dispatch to The Tribune printed
this morning confirms the opinion which we
expressed q few days ago about the charac-
ter of the proposed long range forecasts or
the United States Weather Bureau. Professor
Moore declares that they will not give indica-
tiOns for particular days in the period to which
they relate, but will merely hint at the gen.
eral conditions that may be expected to pre-
vail. With commendable good sense, the chief
OF the Weather Bureau announces that the prof.
ect will not be carried into execution until tha
principles underlying it have been thoroughly
tested. He evidently realizes how unfortunate
premature action would be- and is determined
that the valuable extension OF the service which
he has in view shall not be undertaken until
he Is sure of holding his ground. DESTROYS as
the country is TO get the benefit Of this work,
it cannot but admire the caution and self-con-
troll thus manifested.
1t is no secret that Professor Moore hopes
that the solar observations now being made
on Mount Weather will prove fruitful in fore
casting. The suspicion has long been enter
tanned by few meteorOlogists that relation
exists between disturbances on the sun and
certain changes which the earth's atmosphere
( undergoes. To begin with, there is a large
amount Of evidence of uncertain value that
the amount of solar heat emitted huctuates but
until recently 1t has not been possible TO as
certain the truth In a convincing fashion. The
use OF Langleys bolometer now makes it FEAST
BILE to do so. Again, there is an indisputab BILE
correspondence between the cycles of sunspots
and terrestrial magnetism. This is shown by
the fact that the microscopic diurnal swing Of
observatory magnets is always greater at
maximum stage OF spottedness than at mini
mum. However, the suggestion that electric or
magnetic energy, transmitted from the sun to
the earth, undergoes obscure transformations
and operates on the weather itself has usually
been received with skeptcism. Faith In that
possibility has waxed and waned, and Just now
appears to be waxing once more. Almost con-
tinuous study Of the question has been In prog
ress under the auspices of the United States
Weather Bureau for about fifteen years. The
results were imperfect at first, and were Sc
verely criticised often by men who examined
the work specifically. But he laughs best who
laughs last. If this elaborate investigation has
really supplied one Of the needed keys to me-
teorOlogical mysteries, Professor Frank H Bige-
low, who conducted it, Will be handsomely vim
dicated.
In such inquiry it is sufficient at first
to rely on data, several months or several
years old, collected from representative and
widely distributed places. If however, any
thing like a significant coincidence is detected
between solar outbreaks. magnetic phenomena
and weather eccentric!ties, another step must
be taken. Provision should be made for obser-
vations that can be utilized Immediately. For
their possible bearing On the business OF his
bureau Professor Moore has been securing these
in an experimental way for more than year.
Inasmuch as there is q chance that he may be
able to turn them to practical account before
many months, a temporary abstinence from i'll
natured filings at the Mount Weather Observa-
tory would seem to be in order.