The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-12-01
BY JOHN II. sToCkWELt. A. NJ.
PHI. p.

When a man announces to the world
that he has done some great thing, II
IN the province and duty or men OF
science to apply to his account OF his
deed all the tests provided by the
learning of mankind
In the matter of the north pole
science in many OF her departments
provides such tests. Astronomy Is :,
branch Of science that OF right must
be permitted to apply its tests 10 the
data furnished by DR.. Cook. Lieut.
Peary or any other man who may
claim to have discovered the geo.
graphical pole.
have taken the best information
I could secure as to DR.. Cooks data.
and | have undertaken an analysis OF
what his observations really show.
Annatoak 10 situated in 70 degrees
81 minutes OF north latitude. and IL
therefore IL degrees % minutes or
100 miles from the north pole. The
sun rose at this place on Feb. ~, 1SOS,
after having been below its horizon
during 116 days. or since the Gath Oh
the preceding October. II was from
this place that DR.. Cook started on
his polar expedition at sunrise Feb
10, 1908. He reports that on March
30 he was In latitude "a degrees AZ
minutes, which IL 8 degrees 10 min
utes or 362 miles from the pole.
"Night Of April 7 Made Notable"
On March 30, at midnight, the suns
declination was 4 degrees 0 minutes
north OF the equator, and II TO this we
add 35 minutes for refraction, We get
the apparent declination OF the
sun equal to degrees 80 min
utes north. Observing Cooks dis.
lance from the pole, or 5 degrees
10 minutes, we get 80 degrees
AZ minutes for the zenith distance of
the midnight sun in the latitude Cook
claimed to be In at that time. The
sun would therefore be 3S
OF degree below his horizon,
and would of course be invisible. But
the midnight sun was approaching
Cooks horizon at the rate OF 80 min
utes daily, and consequently must
have reached 1t on March 81 or April
at the latest.
But DR.. Cook tells US that the night
of April Z was made notable by the
swinging of the midnight sun over
the northern ice" as It marke dthe be-
ginning of the six months OF summer
at that place. Now, IL Cook was In
the latitude he claims to have been in.
he must have had a midnight sun as
early as April 1. But We have no rea-
son to doubt Cooks statement that
April showed him his first midnight
sun, as so simple an observation as
seeing the sun itself would require
neither instruments nor skill in using
them. and could as well be made by
an untutored Eskimo as by the most
intelligent whiteman. Therefore We
will accept April Z as the date Of
Cooks first midnight sun, and in.
quire what conclusions may be legiti.
mately deduced from H.
On April z, at midnight, the suns
declination may be taken as north Z
degrees minutes, and TO this must
be added the suns semi-diameter, IL
minutes, and refraction, 80 minutes,
making the declination degrees So
minutes, in order that the whole sun
might appear above the horizon. II
then, the sun was in the horizon of
some place at midnight. the place
must be as far from the pole as the
sun was from the equator, and conse.
quently the polar distance INST be
equal TO degrees So minutes, or it's
latitude must be 80 degrees minutes.
DR.. Cook gives his latitude al the same
time as SO degrees 80 minutes. There
Is, therefore, a discrepancy amounting
TO 4 degrees S3 minutes in his latitude
10 be accounted for in some way. and
this discrepancy Is equivalent TO q
linear distance OF 316 miles In the
place OF the observer.
Discrepancy Of 316 Miles.
II Dr. Cooks latitude on April Z was
only 80 degrees 5 minutes, he was
then $50 miles from the pole. and in
order to reach II on April 81, he must
have travelled 80 miles daily.
In his journey towards the pole
after April Z. nothing is related OF
special interest except the extreme
precision with which he gives his lati.
tude az determined by his sextant
namely. SO degrees So minutes &c sec.
onds, which would give his distance
from the pole equal to l,400 feet, OF
only so feet more than a quarter of a
mile. IL 10 perhaps superfuous TO add
that no portable transit instrument OF
sextant would be capable of givins
that degree or precision, even by a
long series OF observations.
In conclusion, II appears that DR.
Cooks observations show that he was
really 300 miles from the pole when
he claims to have been only 234 miles
from that point. His observations
therefore show a discrepancy Of GIG
miles.