The Washington herald., 1908-08-20

plOrer leaves home for the North In
the warm days Of summer the ice fields
crack under the swell of the ocean and
breezes separate the foes
The SIN shining through the hours of
continual day melts the surface SHOWS
and dissolves smaller fields. leaving long
channels Of open sea through which the
venturesome ships force their way ever
northvard-
The geographical north pele IS the goal
Of these modern Vikings Tntn IL IS
found. says Anthony Fiola. in Tie Travel
Magazine its quest viii be a test OF
achievement. a badge Of that modern
knIghthood whose warriors crush with
mailed ships the barriers Of the Frost
King IN an endeavOr TO reach the hub ot
the earth
Il IS worth noting that il IS there. at
the center Of revolution, that 2 man
takes a day to turn around in once,
without leaving his place in space. while
his brother At the equator must travel
twenty-four hours al the rate Of a thou
sand miles an hour to do the same thing.
Not the Magnetic Pole.
The magnetic north pole should not be
confounded with the earth's axis The
former was discovered June /, 1s3l, by
Capt Ross. VINO located it IN the frozen
shore OF B3othia. north Of King Will
Jams Land. British North America. about
1-575 miles south Of the geographical
north pole.
Recently Amundsen. the Swedish ex-
plorer. relocated IT and spent several
years IN proving its position and in meas
uring its magnetic intensity.
While the discoverer Of the magnetic
pole could prove his position BY the verti-
cal swing OF his dip-compass needle. the
magnetized steel pointing directly down
toward the center Of the earth. the dis
coverer OF cEe EeoErs sphicai north pole
would have 20 prove his discovery by the
sun If the time were summer. OF by the
stars f. pe-chance, he should drift over
the pole curing the darkness ot tne
arctic night
At the geographical north pole the
compass needle points south toward the
magnetic pole nearly / 80 miles away 50
that the explorer travelling toward the
northern axis Of th- EARN rnds the sun
a better guide than The compass Il
hangs low In the sky and revolves Ike
clock
At the midnight hour the sun Is lowest
and directly north. while the noon hour
IS marked by its southern lirl-t- At
O'Clock In the morning Il IS east. and al
the same hour II the evening tOr Is
o'clocAa Il IS west
50 twice IN twenty-four hours the sun
Is on the meridian Of the observer. and
o5se-vations for latitude can be taken a;
H-- -.--H-H her
the explorer IS away from the pole The
shorter the season that the sun remains
above the horizon at midnight
At the pole there IS no north. no east
no west. every point of the compass IS
south and the sun swings around the
horizon in great parallel circles. Iluui-
mating a nocntime which is six months
long. Il makes its first appearance above
the horizon in the month Of March-just
the fiery little tip Of its upper edge
Each day il shows more OF its face,
gradually scuewing its way n great cir
Cles above the horizon until on June =
Z reaches its highest point Though sJiI
not many degrees above the horizon}.
The Black Polar Night.
This maximum altitude attained II be-
gins a descent once more. slowly circling
It's way down. until in the latter part OF
September its face disappears behind the
horizon
There IS a short period OF twilight and
then comes the blackHess OF the polar
night. relieved only by the fires of au-
rora and by the faint twinkle OF the
star-when storms are absent-save for
a few days monthly. when the moon
brightens the frozen area by the beams
OF her borrowed light
The explorer reaching p degrees north
IN the sumner could make sure OF his
position by waiting twelve hours between
his observations. taking a measure Of the
suns height from opposite points. Four
observations six hours apart would be
better a resulting latitude Of g degrees
from each observation would prove that
he was at the north pole
The operation OF finding latitude is a
simple one and there IS not much danger
Of great errors. but securing longitude IS
more difficult The modern mariner with
his two CT three almost perfect chro-
nometers safe in his cabin need not wor-
~ about errors Of longitude. In almost
every port re can set a time signal by
telegraph and thus verify the rating OF
his IiuepieCe-
Tells Time by the Stars-
The position Of a ship at sea as 70
east or west is merely a question OF
time from a given meridian. say Green
wich, England. OF Washington. L s. A
On board ship. the chronometers are
kept running at Greenwich time. The
captain makes observations OF the sun
or stars for the purpose Of securing
local or ship tine. the difference be-
tween that hour and the time al Green
wich al the same instant being the diff
ference in distance or longitude
The explorer Of the northern ice desert
is isolated from all time observatories
and Is obliged TO erect one himself i
near land OF use his ship as q station
for the observing OF the heavenly bodies
TO secure accurate time whereby 20 rate
his chronometers. When he leaves civlli-
zation he takes a teIegraphic time signal
al the last port
.Thelceforward through the long winter
he must depend upon a large JheoGoii-e
or astronomical transit IN observing me
stars for time. The chronCmeJer IS too
delicate an instrument 70 carry on me
sledge trip. so the explorer has TO con-
tent himself with a number OF good
watches These are tested and their
daily rate ascertained through the winter
by comparing them with the standard
chroROmeter.
Watches Are Uncertain.
With the return Of light in the spring
the final observations for time are made
while the party IS preparing TO leave FOR
the frozen sea No matter how well the
watch or pocket chronometer is con
s+r,rora5 II Is a,-a-v ant n ola7Va frs rata