The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-09-15
COOK MISCALCULATED
Astronomer Figures Out Tnat Explorer
Erred by 316 Miles

Cleveland, Ohio Sept. 14.-One of
DR.. Frederick A. Cooks observations
in the arctic, which was made public
by him in his first narrative, has been
submitted to the scientific test which
all of them must meet before his
claim to the discovery of the north
pole will be accepted by scientists.
The result is the conclusion that DR..
Cook on April 7, 1908. was $50 miles
from the north pole instead of 234, as
he calculated
The test was made by Prof. John N.
Stockwell of this city, known by as
tronomers the world over as an as
Economical mathematician and inyes-
tigator He is the author of several
works that are based on involved cal
culations of the movements of the sun
and planets and has published articles
in American and foreign periodicals
based on such figuring.
In his original narrative DR. Cook
included few definite statements of
his observations. At one point how
ever, he said:
The night of April was made no
table by the swinging of the sun at
over the northern ice. Sun
burns and frost bites now were re-
corded on the same day, but the dou.
BILE days glitter infused quite an in
centive into ones life of shivers.
Our observations on April placed
the camp in latitude 1886 longitude
942
In a statement given out here Prof.
Stockwell says:
81 have taken the best information
| could secure as to DR.. Cooks data,
and | nave undertaken an analysis of
what his observations really show.
DIR. Cook tells us that the night of
April Z was made notable by the
swinging of the sun at midnight over
the northern ice,' as it marked the be-
ginning of the six months of Summer
at tne place. Now, if Cook was in the
latitude he claims to have been in ne
must have had a midnight sun as ear
" as April l. But we have no reason
to doubt Cooks statement that April
7 showed him his first midnight sun,
as so simple an observation as seeing
the sun itself would require neither
nor skill in using them,
and could as well be made by an I'M
tutored Eskimo as by the most intel |
igent waite man. Therefore we VIII |
accept April as the date of Cooks |
first midnight sun, and inquire what |
may be legitimately de- |
luced from it.
ION April Z, at midnight, the suns
leclination may be taken as north |
degrees 4 minutes, and this must be
added the suns semi-diameter, 10 min
ties, and refraction, 80 minutes, max
ng the declination degrees 80 min
ltes, in order that the whole sun
night appear above the horizon. III,
hen, the sun was in the horizon of
some place at midnight the place must
De as far from the pole as the sun was
rom the equator, and consequently
he polar distance must be equal to Z
legrees So minutes, or its latitude
must be 50 degrees 5 minutes.
DIR. Cock gives his latitude at the
anne time as sc degrees, 30 minutes.
There is, therefore a discrepancy
to degrees, SO minutes in
lis latitude to be accounted for In
ome way, and this discrepancy is
uuivalent to a linear distance OF BIG
niles in the place of the observer.
Therefore. If DIR. Cooks latitude on
lpril TIA was 50 degrees and min
ties he was $50 miles from the pole
instead of 234 miles as he believed,
nd to reach the pole April Fl would
ave had to travel thirty-nine miles
aiIv. His observations show dis
tenancy of 316 miles"