Omaha daily bee., 1922-04-30
DO You Knoi0


10 there were = layer OF Ice Ssi
feet thick eomplstsB surrounding
the sun. the suns rays shining on il
continuously a. figh. angles only one
year. could melt il and thus siys up
as many heat units as the burning oi
800, 200, 200, 900, oae, ,o60. .eoo. 900 tons
of anthracite, These were figures
announced b. DIR, c, q, Abbat, as.
sislsht secretary Of the Smithsonian a
institution as the result OF 20 years
OF observations on the solar constant
of radiation,
since iscs tbaut s,ooe obserya,
tions OF the suns heat have been
made At eight widely separated
places, and the final result has been
i,ss Galleries per square eentimetsg
per minute. This 10 the scientific
statement Of amount Of heat that IN
q year would melt the Ssa-foot layer
of Ice. which, II IL were around the
sun, would weigh "a. 900. .ooo. |. .ooo. .ooo.-
600 ,ooo, ! ,oeo, goo tons,
This IL a measure OF the suns
yearly output OF radiation" said DR.,
Abbot, In presenting his conclusions
Jointly with y, Y, fowis and L. u,
Aldrleh, "it can be compared 1000
or 10000 years hence with the vai-
ues which prevail then. IL In the
meantime our records are preserved
as faithfully for pasterity as the
Habyionian clay tablets have pre-.
served for us the records OF the past.
How unfortunate that the Rabyloni-
ans did not observe the solar con.
slant"
when DR., Abbal's work was he.
gun in 1909 the hest instruments for
observing the solar heat nj the sur.
face OF the earth differed by nj least
80 per cent In their indications, and
the values OF the suns heat as Il II
outside the atmosphere. published IN
the best textbooks. ranged from
i.1s 10 80 calories per square cent?
meter per minute. Nothing was
known M 10 the limits OF the solar
variability. Now largo mass OF
data on the fickienes Of the sun has
been obtained.
sour observations have shown
that the sun does not vary 40 much
ns many Of the other stars" DIR.
Abbot said. Its range OF variation
within the last 20 years has appnr-
emily not exceeded IL per cent. On
the other hand. fluctuations from
to per cent appear to occur fire.
quently nt irregular intervals with
irregular ranges OF variation. For
instance. Mt the time of the great
sun spot group of March 81. 1920. a
fall Of solar radiation OF about s per
cent occurred. corresponding TO the
passage OF the sun spota across the
center OF the sun. There II q long
period solar variation attending the
changes OF solar activity revealed by
sun spots. prominenccs. and other
visible solar phenomena, so that
high values OF solar variation occur
at times OF high solar activity. The
range Is about per cent for 100
Wolf sun spot numbers.
Clearly, II the sun is thus varia-
BILE. the planets which shine by re-
Elected light must vary correspond
ingly. but not necessarily at the same
instant as the earth. since the earth
and the other planets may lie in DIFF
ferent directions in the heavens as
seen from the sun. A, few highly
ness Of the Berlin -Babelsberg OBJ
gervatory. have been compared with
the solar observations Of the Smith
sonian institution. 1t Is found that
per cent change in the sun appears
TO produce l per cent change in
Saturn. due allowance being made
for the rate of rotation OF the sun
which carries the rays Of variable
intensity around at the rate Of one
revolution In about ~ days.