Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-16
THAT RED SUN.
How Scientists Explain the Phenom-
 enon-Solar Eruptions.

Why Is the sun so red. and the
 moon so tinged with copper? More
 noticeable. perhaps, is the fact that
 the temperature and humidity are
 running peculiarly high for the sea
 son, while the days, as rule. are
 hazy and gloomy. It all is conducive to speculation, and is discussed
 among all classes with more or less
 enlightened intelligence. The expla-
 nat Ions closest at hand come from the
 astronomers and meteorologists and
 ory that the forest fires are contribu-
 tory to the unusual atmospheric con
 ditions. Astronomers, however,
 readily connect the situation with
 the present solar activity commonly
 referred to as sun spots of which the
 general public has seen evidence in
 an exceptional frequency and brill
 liancy of auroral displays.
 Northern lights have occurred so
 often in the last three weeks that
 they have attracted much attention,
 and even the layman has suspected
 some connection between them and
 the colored veil that seems to be
 drawn over the sun and tte moon. Of course there is no authority for assuming any relationship between these auroral displays and the forest fires, though the two may bear joint relation to the atmospheric condi- tions. Naturally the theory that the forest fires have created the, atmos- pheric composition which gives the heavenly bodies their unnatural col ors has it's strongest supporters in the office of the United States weather bureau, where 1t Is generally ac- cepted that dense volumes of smoke will rise high into the air and spread out so widely that even the western fires would be likely to contribute to the conditions now observed in New England. But New England has had great fires of her own in the last few weeks and certainly has sent up large proportion of the smoke that is in the air.
 Those who have taken an inter- est in this subject may remember the awful days in August, 1883, when the Krakatoa in the East Indies broke into its fiercest eruption and for a number of days was hurling Its in- terior into the air. The lavel dust | created then, fine as flour, was blown all over the world, and the only ex- planation found for the red sum- sets of those days. That dust had | the same general effect of interfer- Ing with the radiation of solar im- pulses as is attributed to smoke; hence 1t is to be expected that the smoke from the forest fires will cast it's veil oyer the sun and moon and give them the same appearance that hey sustained from laval dust.
 The sun spots are exerting their influence on the temperature and 1t s significant that the temperature s nigh all over the country at the present time. John Ritchie, Jr., 'f the Boston board of health has ,een a close observer of the phenom- ma of the last two or three weeks. ie says that two or three groups of pots were noticed by astronomers, hese spots representing tremendous disturbances on the sun, such as 'ome in cycles of eleven or twelve ears. In places favorable for ob- ervation the auroral display or lorthern lights usually attending the olar eruptions, have been particu- arly beautiful. The aurora borealis as been of the highest tint of red. liver and green and has been seen lere and in New Hampshire and 'ermont. At times 1t has been ob- erved to cover the whole horizon. uch displays are likely to be repeat d for some time.
 Shorn of the scientific reasoning trough which the astronomers come 9 their deductions, the explanation the existing heat wave, which ombines with the forest fire smoke 3 give strange color to the sun and loon, is that it is generated largely y the frequent solar eruptions into mich a planet of the size of the arth would sink like pebble in the cean. Somehow the activities cre- te an extra strata high up in the air nat influence radiation materially, the earth's atmosphere must be arm and gloomy; the sun and moon lust be red, and there must be au- oral diSplayS-BoSton Transcrint