Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-05
Separate From the Head.


the dust particles were a part of the
shaft of light.
Separate From the Head.
''The gaseous particles observed in the
tails of comets are not repulsed from the
head. They are separate from the comet
and set in motion by the effect on
them OF solar energy condensed and
transmitted through and around the coma.
They show that comets do disturb that
normal condition Of the cosmic gases,
not only by the rapid passage of the
comets head through them. hut also by
the effect OF the sweeping force of di-
verted solar energy, which sets in motion
what may be called cosrnic, tides. 1t is
the impact of the waves OF these cosmic
tides on the outer layers of the earth's
atmosphere that is causing the present
unusual weather. And the mix-up Of
warm. hot. cool and cold Is merely the
manifestation OF the effort of the great
ocean Of air which surrounds the earth
to adjust itself 10 the disturbance.
Humanity lives a the bottom OF
great ocean, aerial. it is true but just
as elastic as the water ocean and as
amenable to variation of pressure on II
as the water ocean Is amenable to the
pressure of the ocean of air which rests
on it. This aerial ocean has tides and
eddies of high and low pressure. The
major ones consist of great ridges of
hemispheres, at about latitude So in the
north hemisphere and 80 in the south
hemisphere. From this ridge the pres
sure falls away toward the equator and
the outline of either hemisphere it would
appear as probate spheroid cut in
half, not unlike the appearance of top,
the head of the top being at the equator.
the swell at latitude 30 and the peg at
the constantly shifting pole of the light
air lies at the peg and the warm air
al the swell and top. 1t is the constant
change OF warm air flowing upward
from the tropics and arcticward and the
consequent rushing. Of the cool and cold
air from the arctic. combined with the
change of the vertical rays of the sun.
that causes all our weather. Now. let
us assume that on the outer surface Of
this ocean of air there has been beating
for some time irregular waves of energy
displaced by the passage of the head
and the sweeping of the tail of the
comet. 1t is quite clear that the surface
of our aerial ocean would be disturbed
by such influences as that the surface
into waves by the influence of high
winds. The lighter air is at the sur
face of our aerial ocean. the heavier at
the bottom, or the surface of the earth.
1t would take some time for the effect
of disturbance on the surface to reach
the bottom, and that is the reason we
are now feeling the effects of the comets
passage, even if il is now outside the
orbit Of the earth.
Directly Due to Halley's Comet.
Even during the passing we suffered
from unusual weather conditions May
was one of the strangest months noted in
the annals of the weather bureau, and its
vagaries weer only equaled by those OF
similarly affected by the passage of two
comets. An examination of the weather
conditions at the time of passage of
other comets also shows unusual condi-
tons. notably in 1882 l do not mean
to charge all the vagaries of the weather
TO the passage of visible invisible
comets, but l do assert that the present
conditions are the direct result of the
passing of .Halley's comet.
1T Is not necessary to go into detail.
One can readily reason for ones self just
how a change in cOSmic pressure would
force cold arctic air to the south and
warm tropic air to the north, and since
these currents would not follow regular
paths. but would be affected by many
conditions outside of the revolution OF
the earth and the difference in diurnal
speed between the equator and the poles.
We would have irregular and confused
weather One of the most striking evil
dences of this was one day in May when
in the middle Of a perfect calm in Ohio
ore of the WriShtS made a record high
fight. while at the same hour a tornado
300 miles south of him, was tearing
county to pieces.
The great masses of loose ice that are
now filing the Bering sea and which
will later this summer fill the south At
| lantic arc not due to the effect of this
comet but to the effect of the comet of
| May last year. since the arctic ice is two
years in coming out. We shall have re-
ports of icebergs very far south this sum
mer and next. and / am quite certain
that a polar expedition which would reach
! the polar regions this summer would find
the ice greatly broken and one next year
would probably find open water around
| the pole itself. Amundsen in the north
and Scott in the south will have some in
tereSting stories to tell about weather
and ice conditions this year.
Effects, Not Causes.
! In any investigation in'o the cause of
natural phenomena we must go back and
| back to the primal cause. Cyclonic and
! anticyclonic areas are not causes. they
are effects. They are causal of other con-
| ditions. but are themselves the results of
| causes antecedent to them. while even
| these antecedent causes are the results of
| still more remote causes. If We estimate
the height OF the air to be only thirty
mites IT would weigh twenty millions of
| millions of tons, and we can form some
/ idea of the dynamite power of even SO di-
aphanous a body as comet when it is
| able to disturb the stability Of this great
weight.
/ III all these disturbances of weather
were merely local we would have to be
content with a local cause, but they are
| worldwide We hear more Of those in the
| North American continent but the same
| conditions obtain generally as shown by
reports from Australia, South America
| and Africa. Europe got hers earlier. The
| freakiness will last for fortnight or
| more yet and We have season of fog
still TO come