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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



v 



Fig. 4. 



made its appearance at about the time the great comet was in perihe- 

 lion, in September last, and broke out on the portion of the solar globe 

 which was nearest to the comet at that time, has been fancifully called 

 the " black eye that the comet gave the sun." There were other spots 

 visible at the same time and they also were ascribed by some to the 



influence of the comet. Some plau- 

 sible reasons have been shown in 

 favor of this view, and Professor 

 Kirkwood's opinion that the great 

 sun-spots of June, 1843, were caused 

 by the large comet of that year has 

 been freely quoted in support of it. 

 Of course, the question whether this 

 particular spot and its companions 

 originated in some disturbance 

 caused by the comet, whether by 

 the fall of meteoric masses follow- 

 ing in the comet's track or other- 

 wise, can not be settled either way 

 by positive evidence at present. But, 

 while there are improbabilities in 

 the way of the hypothesis, it may, 

 at least, be said that, if any comet 

 could produce a sun-spot without actually tumbling into the sun itself, 

 the comet of last year ought to have been able to do it, for, as is 

 known, it almost brushed the sun in its perihelion swing. 



This great spot, however, is interesting on another account. The 

 cut represents its appearance on October 1st, when it had reached 

 about its greatest development. On October 2d there was a magnetic 

 storm which was felt principally m Europe. The storm was very 

 much less severe in its effects upon the telegraphs than those of April 

 and November, but it was accompanied by the appearance through- 

 out England, Scotland, and Western Europe of a most beautiful 

 aurora. 



In conclusion, it may be said that, while the evidence furnished by 

 the great magnetic storms of last year was hardly needed to complete 

 the chain of proof of the intimate connection between solar outbursts 

 and the magnetic conditions prevailing upon our globe, yet this evi- 

 dence was of such a striking character that it must rank among the 

 most interesting of all that bears upon this question. It is, perhaps, 

 worthy of remark that the period of sun-spot maximum through 

 which we have just been passing has also furnished a good deal of evi- 

 dence in favor of the views of those who think a connection can be 

 traced between sun-spots and the weather. It is only necessary to 

 point to the facts that 1881 and 1882, as well as the beginning of 1883, 

 have been remarkable for cyclones, tornadoes, storms, and floods, and 



