The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-07-06
SPOTS on THE sun
The Way They Affect Our Source
of Light and Heat.
POINT TO THE GRAND CLIMAX

take Our Planet and Smother 1t In
the Chill of Death--Their Effect Upon
Climatic and Weather Conditions.
The return of sun spots is a phenom-
enon that astronomers always regard
with great concern. They come flock
ing back once in about every eleven
years. 1t takes on the average four
and half years for them to reach a
is seen to be more or less speckled ev-
cry day, and six and half years to
decline again to minimum, when for
months in succession the suns face is
as clean as a polished mirror. Upon
the whole the heat on the earth, TAX
ing its entire surface into account and
basing the observation on the temper
ature of the atmosphere, is about ~
degrees Of the Fahrenheit scale lower
Mt sun spot maximum than at sun spot
minimum.
This cannot be wholly due to the
darkening of the sun caused by the
presence Of the spots, since, as Mr.. G.
G. Abbott of the Smithsonian institu-
ton has shown the amount by which
| the temperature is lowered is five
that way.
But there are other ways in which
| an invasion of horde of spots on the
sun makes it's effects felt upon our
| globe. The most conspicuous of these
is in connection with the earth's mag
netism.
| The earth is great magnet, and the
sun appears to exercise direct influ-
ence upon its magnetic state, that in
| fuence varying with the condition Of
I, the sun as to spottedness. When sun
| spots are at a maximum, magnetic
storms of great violence occur, during
which the electro magnetic excitement
of the earth Is vividly manifested--in
the atmosphere by imposing displays
Of the aurora borealis, and in the earth
itself by vagabond currents which in
terrupt telegraph and cable communi-
cation, and sometimes leap into visi-
bility In the form of cracking sparks
and electric flames playing about the
Instruments.
Occasionally it has been possible to
trace phenomena of this kind to the
influence of individual sun spots of I'M
usual magnitude and activity. 1t is
like the transmission of shock from
the sun to the EARTH across gap of
93,O0O.O0U miles, supposed to be filled
with nothing but the invisible and in
tangible ether.
Exactly how the forces that produce
spots upon the sun affect the earths
weather is an unsettled question
There Is u considerable amount Of evi
dence for saying that such storms as
our western tornadoes, the hurricanes
of the West Indies and the typhoOns OF
the China seas are far more numerous
during sun spot maxima, and especially
during the time that the spots are in
creasing In numbers. 1t has also beer
thought that wet and dry seasons are
connected in some way with the sur
spot cycle, but on this subject the evi
dence is contradictory. Some statistics
show that dry seasons accompany SUI
spots and others that wet seasons ac
company them.
But all of these things are really OF
little account in comparison with the
great question Of the effects produced
upon the sun itself. The earth is o
speck In the infinite vault of space
and we are animated atoms living fol
the fraction Of moment upon thai
insignificant speck. OF how great con
; sequence in the vast scheme Of the
; creation can the little questions that
relate to our ephemeral comforts be
If sun fame should lick us up oul
disappearance from the universe. phys
ically considered, would be Of less i'm
; portance than that of the minutes
drop Of water from the ocean. But i
: the sun should disappear there would
be star gone from heaven. A par
, Of the universe at least would notice
) its absence. Whatever threatens tn,
existence of the sun, then, has an ap
preciable Importance. The astronome
, finds that the sun spots are sympto
, matte of progressive changes whicl
will eventually bring the SUMS caree
to an end, and so he studies them no
) for the sake of finding out merely how
they may affect our petty affairs. bu
in order to trace for his intellectual
) satisfaction the grand phenomena o
the life and death of star. And II
doing that he is pursuing the onl!
course which can rescue man from oh
livion, offsetting his material insignifi
, canoe and nothingness with the rela
: tive greatness of his mind.-Garrett r
!; Serviss In Spokane Spokesman-Re
view.
:, The Blue Heron.