The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-09-19


suffering telegraph and teletype
machines recently gave another
demonstra Of the long arm Of
the sun reaching across SO million
miles of space into mans every
day affairs. Sun spots were Gre
dited with the disturbances.
Such dramatic demonstrations of
the suns power come only now
and then, sometimes unseen, some
times along it'll the flashing col
ored lights of the aurora, says
a bulletin from the National Geog-
raphic Society. But day in and
day out, as everyone knows but
often forgets, the sun has COM
pletely dominated the earth and
its life for some hundreds of mil
lions of years.
1t is the earth's lighting plant,
its heating system, and its power
source. 1t dishes up all weather.
With its gravitational pull-as real
as if it depended on gigantic steel
cables-the sun holds the earth
captive and swings it along its
oval path, clocking off the years.
Most vital, and at the same time
one of the most mysterious effects
Of the distant sun on the earth
is the process by which sunlight
is transformed into food. This is
known as photosynthesis: light
put-together." When sunlight shines
on the green coloring matter in
plant leaves and in the tiny float
ing algae of the sea it operates in
some magic way to turn dead"
water and other chemical COM
pounds into living" food. Since
all animals live on plants or on
other plant-sustained animals, SUM-
light is literally mama from hea-
ven which feeds all living things.
Another hidden effect of the sun
discovered only in recent decades
is the creation of the radio-re-
fleeing layers of the upper at
mosphere. Because of these lion
lied layers radio signals and
broadcasts are sent throughout the
world; without such reflection ra-
dio would not reach much beyond
the horizon.
The layers are formed chiefly
by ultra violet sunlight blowing
through the gases of the air. The
very short light waves collide
with billions of molecules of the
air gases, chipping" parts of the
molecules off. That process leaves
the incomplete molecules electri-
fled. Concentrated at fairly de-
finite levels in layers many miles
thick, the electrified mass turns
radio waves of certain lengths
back to the earth.
Sun spots do not have an every-
day effect on the earth as does
the unceasing flow of light and heat
from the White-hot surface TO the
sun. Much is yet to be learned
about the spots; but some facts
cleaned by telescopes and photo
graphic plates, and some theory
have been pieced together to ex-
plain them plausibly. They seem
dark, but in reality are only a lit
tie less bright than the rest of
the flaming orb. They are presum-
ably made up of whirling gases
that spin holes into the suns glow
ing surface, reaching down toward
the denser material. Some of these
spots or holes or craters are vast
having diameters many times
greater than that of the earth.
Frequently when the spot-craters
are pointed directly at the earth
radlo interference, auroras. and
magnetic storms follow. But some
tlmes when the spots draw
oeao On our planet, nothing I'M
usual happens. On other occasions
wheh no visible spot is pointed
our way the familiar "sun snot
effects" occur.
nppafently, the craters pour out
silS parucles at intervals. 1t is only
when they are shot out violently
enousn' while the crater is pro-
pelIy aimed" that they reach the
earth. Some observers believe that
aeuve craters sometimes exist
Deneam the surface as blind