The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-04-02
SPOTS ON THE sun
May Mark the Beginning of the
End of Our Solar System.
THEIR ORIGIN IS A MYSTERY.
What Causes Them and Why They
Move In Cycles Are Problems That
Science Is Trying Hard to Solve.
Their Influence Upon Our Planet.

Science is Trying Tiafd TO oolVe'
Their Influence Upon Our Planet.
The periodicity Of sun spots is one Of
the most interesting and most puzzling
facts concerning them, says Isabel NJ
Lewis of the nautical almanac Office OF
the United States naval >-Sseryatory.
Within period whose average length
is about eleven years sun spots go
through cycle Of maximum and mini
mum appearance. At the time of maxi
mum spottedness the suns surface is
never free from spots. AT the mini
mum weeks may pass without the APP
pearance of single spot.
Although the average cycle is eleven
years, individual periods may vary
greatly, running from seven to seven
teen years in duration. Attempts have
been made to show that larger pc
Rod of thirty-three and one-thi1d years
exist, of which the smaller periods are
subdivisions. When we know the cause
of the sun spot cycle we shall have adj
yaneed far in the solution of the mys-
terry OF sun spots and all their numer-
ous allied phenomena.
Sun spot spectra have been extern
sively studied, and much has been
learned from this means of investi-
cation. They show the presence of
strong magnetic fields as well as a
marked cooling of everything gases, and
the presence within spots of such com
pounds us titanium oxide and calcium
and magnesium hydride. These COM
pounds could form only at compare
lively low temperature, and it Is as
sumed that sun spots are regions OF
cooler solar temperature at about $500
degrees {. as compared with G,OO0 de
grees c. for the remainder Of the pho
tosphere.
The presence of the compounds above
mentioned gives the sun spot spectra
their peculiar futed appearance, which
Is also seen in the red type OF stars.
This is very significant when we con
slider that the red stars are the older
and @ooler stars. Are sun spots then
one OF the signs of the suns advanc-
ing age? And will they increase in
size and Importance as the sun grows
olderH Do they herald the doom of
our solar SYSTEM
Sun spots, it is now believed, are
manifestations of some deep lying dis
turbance that Is of farreaching impor-
lance. Many phenomena 20 through
cycles OF change in keeping With the
sun spot cycle. Among these.are mag
netic storms and magnetic DISTURBANCES
rpon the earth which, are closely His-
pendentiipon the sun spot period.sSSe-
we're magnetic storms upon the earth
occur at time when the suns face Is
strongly spotted, and the display or
northern and southern lights is abspj
eral surface air temperature of the
earth is lower by about a degree at the
time of maximum spottedness OF the
sun.
One of the most marked effects of
the sun spot cycle Is the form of the
solar corona, which is visible only az
the time OF the total solar eclipge. AT
the time Of maximum sun spot period
the corona is an evenly developed halo
surrounding the sun. AT the sun spot
minimum it shows equatorial stream
ers that often extend two or three
times the suns diameter. while on ell
Their side of the solar poles only short
filaments of light appear. SO decided
are these changes In the form of the
corona with the change in the sun spot
of as 1.-THE sun spot maximum corona
and 1.-The sun spot minimum corona"
As to what causes these periodic out.
breaks upon the solar surface we are
still in the dark. Some astronomers
believe they are caused by external in
iluences, such as periodic returns OF
swarms of meteors or returns of Ger.
tain planetary CONGREGATIONS. Careful
and long continued observations seem
to show that sun spots are the result
of internal disturbances. which cause
transference of solar matter from
within outward in cyclonic motion,
which has been compared in form to
that Of whirling waterspouts at sea.
The central stem forms the umbra
and the outspreading gases the penum-
bra. There is n tendency to form a
vacuum in the center Of the whirl, and
into this are drawn the everything gases.
mostly of hydrogen.
The rapid expansion of gases as
they approach the solar surface from
within causes great cooling, which
accounts for the comparatively low
In spots aud the forma- I
ton of such solids as titanium oxide
aud the hydrides of calcium and mag
nesium. These dissimilar substances,
It is believed, give rise to the mag
letic field, which Is known to be
feature of sun spots.
1t is hoped that continued solar re
search will make known in time the
'ause of these peculiar periodic dis.
that are so farreachng In
heir effect. York Sun.
nak4Io of G1tJo. nan