The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-06-30
HEAT Of THE Sun
IS NOT CONSTANT
VARIATIONS ONE OF. THE RECENT
DISCOVERIES OF SCIENTISTS
of THE SMITHSONIAN.
OF USE IN CENTURIES
AFTER SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS
OF OBSERVATIONS, TO PREDICT
THE WEATHER CONDITIONS
MANY MONTHS AHEAD.

There is no such thing as the solar
constant. This will be crushing news
to many people who had implicitly
believed that the solar constant was
a thing like death and taxes on which
they could absolutely rely. But 1t is
not The sun has been proved to be
a variable star. So instead of a solar
constant there is what might be called
d solar inconstant. How much the
sun varies cannot yet be said outside
narrow limits. There liz a variation
about every ten days Of practically
the same amount as the variation of
the pole star. But the record of the
variations has not yet been kept long
enough to base long range weather
forecasts en- 1t.
Now that the Inconsistency of the
sun has been divulged there Is
chance that in the course of few
thousand or possible a few hundred
yeers ,ne may be able to forecast the
weather with reasonable accuracy
months IN advance OF the crop
seasons This would be great ad-
vantage, as any idTIuei "bA AFctA~S'
Possibly in q few thousand years
Macaulay's New Zealander, looking
down from the ruins OF London
bridge. may remember that the
meteor ,logists back home are about
ready to get out the seasons weather
forecast
Put Blame on Ancients.
The scientists of the Smithsonian
who made the discovery say also that
If the Greeks in the time of Aristotle
or better still. that Babylonian mon
arch who first popularized the dairy
lunch had possessed instruments or
Sufficient precision to make the obser-
vations that are being made now we
might at the present time be able TO
make use OF the suns variation IN
forecasting the weather. Unfortnn-
atelv the observations have been GO
ing on only about decade and IT Is
only within the last year or so that
the sun was identified as variable
star.
This discovery was the work of Dr.
Charles G. Abbott. in charge OF the
astrophysical laboratory. Observa-
lions were commenced here in 1903
and in 1905 were carried to Mount
Wilson Cal, where the atmosphere
are much better. 1t was
thought at first that there was con-
slant radiation of heat from the sun
and that the temperature of the earth
was affected only by local atmospheric
1t was felt, however. that
the radiation Of the sun varied within
about ten degrees and the astro-
physical laboratory thereupon estao-
lished station in nothern Algeria
where simultaneous observations were
made with those at Mount wilson. III
was found that the variation in redia-
4 trnf hA
two places.
Sun Spots Increase Heat.
II was found that sun spots IN
creased the amount of heat given of
from the sun This was rather sur
prisng at first. because when the sun
is most spotted 1t might be assumed
that its heat would be most oh
scured 1t IS explained. however. that
sun spots probably. like poking fire,
merely tend to bring more heat to the
surface.
Another thing that has been dis
covered .s that volcanic disturbances
on the earth tend to lower the amount
Of radiation received from the sun.
There have been a number Of heavy
volcanic outbreaks since the ohserva-
tions have been In progress and this
has always been accompanied by a
reduction in heat. The explanation
given for this Is that the cloud of vol
canic dust reflects the radiation ana
prevents its reaching the earth,
An attempt has been made TO fnd
whether weather bureau observations.
over a long period of years would
throw any light on the changing tenn
perature that is derived from the sun
itself. These ~Sservations have been
compiled. giving the average OF the
world for thirty years. and to the sur
prise of every one Interested IT was
found that the variations in average
temperature was only half a degree
Fahrenheit between the beginning and
end of these observations. although
in the interval there had been mark
ed changes in temperature owing 10
sun spots and volcanic disturbances