206 Prof. Norton on Molecular Physics. 



the sun's surface that have a heliocentric longitude of about 163°, 

 and with a gradually decreasing intensity on both sides of that 

 point. The north pole of this system of currents, as developed 

 at any moment of time, will lie in the heliocentric latitude 33°, 

 and longitude 73°. In the course of one complete rotation of 

 the sun (25 days) , this pole will be carried around the parallel of 

 latitude which contains that point. The resultant of the cur- 

 rents thus developed that will traverse any locality at the end 

 of one or more rotations will therefore run parallel, or nearly so, 

 to the equator, like the currents that originate in the simple 

 rotation. In all this we neglect the small inclination of the 

 sun's equator to the ecliptic (about 7°); or suppose the equator 

 and ecliptic to coincide. It appears, therefore, that the poles of 

 all the permanent currents should coincide with the poles of 

 rotation. 



But it is important to observe that at every moment of time 

 there will be, coexisting with the permanent currents, a system 

 of new currents originating as above mentioned ; and that there- 

 fore there will be a secondary magnetic equator, crossing the eclip- 

 tic in 163° and 343° of longitude, and a secondary magnetic pole, 

 in longitude 73° and north latitude 33°. Or rather the nodes 

 and pole should be somewhat to the east of these positions, since 

 the currents developed must decline gradually and the rotation 

 carry them forward. The individual parallel currents of this 

 system must decrease in intensity in both directions from their 

 equator, by reason of the increasing distance from the equator 

 of rotation of the points of tangential action of the impulses 

 of the sether and cosmical matter, and the decreasing size of the 

 magnetic parallels followed by the currents. It will be readily 

 seen, in view of the fact that the sun derives its magnetism in 

 part from its motion toward a point in the northern celestial 

 hemisphere, that the magnetic intensity of its northern must be 

 greater than that of its southern hemisphere. 



Origin of the Sun's Spots. — The systematic observations upon 

 the sun's spots made by Carrington, Schwabe, Wolf, Secchi, and 

 others, and especially the detailed discussion to which all the 

 observations have been subjected by Professor Wolf, have served 

 conclusively to establish that the sun's spots have their imme- 

 diate origin in some action of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, 

 and the Earth upon the photosphere of the sun, or in such 

 action cooperating with some other cause. (See Astronomische 

 Nachrichten, Nos. 839, 1043, 1091, 1137, 1150, 1160, 1173, 

 1181, 1185, 1223, 1234, 1270, 1289, 1294, 1355, 1526, &c.) 



Professor Wolf has determined the epochs of maxima of the 

 sun's spots for a period comprising 100 years; and finds that 

 the period of the spots varies from 8 to 16 years, and that its 



