The New York herald., 1921-12-30
EARTH'S AXES SHIFT,
CHANGING LATITUDE
Movement NOrthward of Our
Planet at Foot a Year
Is Detected.

SwARTHMoRE. Pa, Dec. 80 (Associated
Press) ).-Contributions to the mass of
astronomical research, representing in
vestigations of year by scientists
throughout the United States, were pre-
sented to-day to members of the Ameri-
can Astronomical Society at their yearly
meeting In Sproul Observatory at
Swarthmore College.
Papers read had to do mostly with
methods of observation work and means
of eliminating or at least discovering
errors that constantly hinder advance
ment of the science.
w. S. Eichelberger, director of the
Naval Observatory in Washington. d..
c.. with the aid of series of lantern
slides presented figures giving deduc-
tions from almost hourly observations
and clock corrections for the last two
decades
Great interest was shown by the
sixty members OF the society attending
the meeting in the paper read by Walter
ID. Lambert. mathematician OF the
United States Coast and Geodetic Sur
vey, and attached to the Ukiah Obser-
vatory, California.
Latitude Change Noted.
His discussion related to earth move
!iients revealed, he declared, by obser-
vations at Ukiah that unmistakably in
fa ol, in, Loft rba a,-th
he believes. is shifting toward the north.
Computed in terms of time and space
the Ukiah Observatory has been moving
north at the rate of foot year during
the period from 1900 to 1917
Interest was displayed by the astron-
omers as to the causes of this phenom-
onon. Whether it Is local movement
of the crust of the earth or due to a
shifting of the North Pole to the south,
caused much speculation. Some believed
the apparent movement of the earth
northward was attributable to errors Of
observation in large part, but were
ready to belive, whatever the cause and
whatever the rate, that the axes of the
earth may have shifted slightly, caus-
ing the changes in latitude.
Study of the movement Of the poles
showed, according to Mr.. Lambert that
the earth does not always revolve per-
rendicularly on it's axes, put that the
nead of a pole describes an ellipse, NOV
Ing at times as much as sixty feet from
its course.
Pole Not in Right Place.
Position of the North Pole, he de-
clared, Is determined by computing the
center Of the line between the highest
and lowest points of the Polar Star.
Sometimes, he explained, the pole is not
there, and 1t was this shifting of posi-
ton that held the greatest interest OF
the scientists to-day.
Red stars, their color revealing their
extreme age, were discussed by Ralph
Z. Wilson of the Dudley Observatory,
Albany, N. y, who has studied 156 of
the "old fellows" Their rates of space
velocity. he declared, are very slow.
BY study of spectra about certain
stars, DR.. Harlow Shapley, director o!
Harvard College Observatory, said he
had discovered new substance, which
has been called 'nebulum." The dis
cuvery, he added. was made through
photographs which showed spectrum
not known to exist on any other body
stars. he explained, ordinarily are made
up Of the same substances that are
known to exist on the earth. The study
of "nebulum," he declared, opens new
possibilities for the astronomer.