The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-12-03
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GREAT DISASTER
FOR THIS MONTH
Some People Alarmed at Po-
sition of Six Planets In J
December
WILD PREDICTIONS
| ARE DISCOUNTED
Authorities Do Not Expect Disastrous
Sun Spots - -Four Comets Visible By
Telescope = Brightest Stars Visible
In Evening.

BOSTON, Dec. "a great deal of
interest has been aroused by the an
nouncement of tremendous world
catastrophe" TO occur on or about the
nth of this month This prediction, at.
tributed to 3; Professor Porta," is /,
based on the fact that six of the plan
ets-Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter,
Saturn and Neptune will then be
grouped together in the morning sky.
The planet Uranus will be directly OPP
posite.
We are told that the magnetic cur
rents between Uranus and the six plan
cts viii pierce the sun like a mighty
spear. - There will result, according TO
this prediction, 1.-The hugest sun.spot
on record-a sun-spot that will he Wis
ible to The naked eye. " The electro
magnetic energy given forth by this
sun spot will. we are assured. produce
on the earth hurricanes, lightning,
| colossal rains and floods, gigantic lava
eruptions. great earthquakes and fear
full cold. -
W HIit tHC grouping ln4o
month is unusual. ii is by no means I'M
precedented. Many times in the past
similar groupings have taken place
without any remarkable results, and
there is no reason to expect anything
out of the ordinary this time. Careful
observation of sunspots, extending over
many wears. has shown that these. spots
| attain maximum frequency at Intervals
of about IL years. The last maxirnhni
: occurred some two years ago and solar
activity il now on the decrease. -
The best evidence available teiefs Il
. show that sun-spot is.n disturbance il
: the solar atmosphere similar to ter
restrial tornado. 1t is probably pro
dueed by an eruption of gases from
within the sun. The gaseous columi
moves at first upward. then along tn
g surface, with .whirling motion rs i,
$ a tornado. Many attempts have beer
S made to trace some connection between
= these spots and occurrences on tn
r. earth. The only relationship discovered
so far is between sun.spots and terres
trial magnetism. 1t has been foun,
that magnetic storms. accompanied b.
!. | displays Of the aurora boreaiis, are mos
J. frequent when sun-Spots are in eyi
: denee. Thus, even if huge sun-spo
should appear, nothing in the way of
+ world catastrophe would result Will
}, the chances are decidedly against I'll
appearance of such n spot at this tim
= -Four comets are now under observe
I ton, although none of them. are brigl
enough to be visible without the al
of a telescope.
4 The sun begins the month over
! degrees south of the equator and reacl
| es it's position farthest south on Il
| 22d, ut 427 p. m, at which time wint'
. begins At this time, in our iatitud
I: the day is the shortest of the year, b
! ing over six hours shorter than IL
longest day in June. After the 92d Il
sun will move northward again aud Il
days will begin to lengtheh. H !.
= The moon will be full on the eth,
Or, 5.04 4. m. in the last quarter on Il
IL 14th, at l.02 n. m, new on the 22d,
ce 5.55 a. m, and in first quarter on L
n 30th, at 1925 a. IN. 1t will be in pc,
ss gee on the 9Th and in Apogee on t
10Th. 1t will run high on the eth al
id low on the 2lst, crossing the equat
es, on the 1st, 18th and 2sth.
ct. The brightest stars visible at 9
st. m. on the lst or 8 p. m. on the 18th a
* Sirius, just rising in the southea
N, Vega setting in the northwest, Capel
lie in the northeast, Rigel and Bctelgeu
SO in Orion in the. east. Proeyon Just r
ing in the east. Affair just setting
- the west; Aldebaran in Taurus il
! above Orion in the east, Castor and P,
I lux rising just north of east, Deneb
. the head of the Northern Cross in Cy
nus. setting in the northwest and Fl
malhaut low in the southwest s WI
4 this brilliant array Of first IN agaitu
stars i'll view the spectacle is an i
u posing one The Milky Way, stretch
across the sky from a point just sou