The Washington times. [volume], November 09, 1919, FINAL EDITION, The American Weekly, Image 28

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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Tremendou?World Catastrophe
1 *
Professor Porta Insists That the Peculiar Grouping of the Planets Next
Month Will Produce a Gigantic Sun Spot Which Will Explode
the Earth's _
Volcanoes,
Shake Us with NEPTUH?
Earthquakes and Bury Us with
Floods, but the Government
Scientists Explain Why All This
Is Not Likely to Happen
v* *
JUPITER
ON December 17 ad unusual grouping of planets occurs in the heavens. On
this much all astronomers agree?that there will be an unusual and over
balanced collection of powerful planetary bodies
grouped on one side of the sun
Professor Albert F. Port* asserts *un great
that thia unusual planetary situation will pall forth from the
gun the mightiest san-epot or explosion o< gases ever known
to man. and that our unfortunate planet. the earth, as an in
nocent bystander, will receive the full force of this solar
cataclysm. Staggering under thia blow. Protestor Porta pre
dicts a disturbance on the earth without precedent or par
allel. with hurricaaea, lightning, colossal rahis, gtgaatk- lava
eruptions, great earthquakes, floods, and fearful cold.
Professor Porta's predictions hare attracted a good deal
of attention and hare broaght many anxious inquiries to the
Govern meat astronomers in Washington and to the scientists
ia various State and oollege observatories. While all astron
omers agree with Professor Porta as to the unusual planetary
situation in the heavena next month, they do not admit that
the consequences will be aa he predicts. On this page Isabel
M. Lewis, of the staff of the U. S. Naval Observatory at
Waahington. discusses Professor Porta's assertions.
*
Professor Porta's Distressing
Prediction
OWING to a strange grouping of six mighty planets
sach as has not been seer, a score of centuries, the
United States next December will be swept by the
most terrific weather cataclysm experienced since human
history began. _
It will be caused by the hog eat sun-spot on record?a
sun-spot that will be visible to the naked eye.
Since men first began to make record of events, no sun
spot has been large enough to be seen without the aid of
instruments. This one will be.
The sun-spot that will appear December 17, 1919, will
be a vast wound in the side of the sun.
It will be a gigantic explosition of flaming gases, leaping
hundreds of thousands of miles out into space. It will
have a crater large enough to engulf the earth, much as
Vesuviua might engulf a football.
Such a sun-spot will be rich enough in electro-magnetic
energy to fling the atmosphere of our planet into a disturb
ance without precedence or parallel.
There will be hurricanes, lightning", colossal rains.
It will be weeks before the earth will regain its normal
conditions.
There will also be gigantic lava eruptions, great earth
quakes, to say nothing of floods and fearful cold.
I make this startling prophecy with no desire to be
merely sensational or alarming. It is simply because my
study of the planets has revealed certain results with
mathematical certainty.
On December 17, 1919?no less than seven planets will
pull jointly on the sun. These will include all the mightiest
planets, those with the most powerful pull.
Six of them?Mercury, Mars. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn
and Neptune?will be in conjunction; grouped together in
the greatest "league of planets" ever known in the annals
of astronomy.
They will be masaed in the narrow limit of 26 degrees
on the same side of the sun?
Directly opposite, coming into opposition with this
gigantic league will be the huge planet Uranus. The mag
netic currents between Uranus and the six planets will
pierce the sun like a mighty spear.
Our earth is outside the league, at an angle of nearly
By Isabel M. Lewis
of the Nautical Almanac Office, United States Naval Observatory. Washington
HE sensational prediction that an
enormous sun-spot, plainly visible
to the naked eye, is to appear on
December 17. and that It will be attended
by Vthe most terrific weather cataclysm
since human history began.'' has been cir
culated so generally throughout the coun
try and has aroused such an unusual de
gree of apprehension in some quarters that
many observatories and editors of astro
nomical publications in the United Stales
have been receiving numerous Inquiries as
to whether there is any scientific basis for
this prediction.
The foundation for this belief is sup
!>osed to be the fact that on this date six
of the planets?Mercury, Venus. Mars. Ju
piter, Saturn and Neptune?will be grouped
mi the same side of the sun "within the
narrow limit of 3? degrees," while a sev
enth. Tragus, will be diametrically opposite
to (his combination on the other side of
the sun.
Tie earth is at right angles to this group
ing t>f planets and so placed, it is said, "in
perfect position to receive almost the full
?oree of the monster electrical disturb
ance." to quote the words of the predictor.
The statement is also made that "two
planets united are enongh to produce a
small sun-spot and a small storm, while
three cause a larger one. and four make
? very great storm, indeed."
It is true that on December 17 the rela
tive positions of the planets will he a*
stated above, as may be seen from the
diagram which gives the relative positions
of the planets throughout the year 1919.
However, it is possible to show that
four or even Ave or six planets may be
within a narrow rone on either side of the
sun without producing unusual disturb
ances on the earth. In fact, such groupings
of the planets have already taken place
several times during the present year, with
no abnormal results.
We find from the diagram that the plane
tary groupings of December 17 will be very
similar to what they were during the latter
part of May of this year. About the 2?>th
of Mav Neptune. Saturn, Jupiter and Venus
wer" all within a zone about thirty degrees
wide on one side of the sun. with Mercury
and I'ranus diametrically opposite on the
other side of the sun. and the earth and
Mars opposite to each other and at right
angles to this combination of six planets.
Accordingly, there should have been at
that time 8 cataclysm almost as severe as
the one that Is scheduled for December 17.
since six planets were nearly in line and
the earth was nearly at right angles to the
combination (as it is to be on December
17), and therefore "in perfect position to
receive the full force of the monster elec
trical disturbance."
There was a large sun-spot visible in
Mar (also in June), and an electrical storm
THE END OF THE WORLD?By Krancis Danby.
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree ca&teth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty ic\nd."?Revelations vi., 13.
go degrees?in. perfect position to receive almost the full
force of the monster electrical disturbance as it l^aps into
activity on what, to us, will be the eastern horizon of the
sun's disc.
Be warned in advance. Tremendous things are going
to happen from December 17 to 20, 1919, and afterward!
on the earth, but there have been other
sun-spots fully as large, and electrical
storms fully as great in other years when
no two planets were in conjunction.
On August 1 of this year Mercury, Venus
and the earth were in less than thirty de
grees of each other on one side of the
sun, with Mars, Jupiter and Neptune on
the opposite side; again, six planets nearly
in line and nothing unusual occurred in the
way of sun-spots and magnetic storms, al
though, ac cording to -the theory on which
the prediction for December 17 is based,
even four planets nearly in line will pro
duce "a very great storm, indeed."
The planets, with the exception of Mer
cury and Venus, change their relative po
sitions very slowly. Especially ia this true
of the largest and most powerful planets?
Jupiter, Saturn. Uranus and Nej)tune. The
nearest and most rapidly moving of the
four, Jupiter, changes its position only
thirty degrees in the course of an entire
year. Saturn moves but twelve degrees in
a year, Uranus about four degrees and
Neptune only two and a fraction.
So if thse four mightiest planets are in
line with each other In December, they are
also nearly line for several months pre
ceding and following this time, and no
great and sudden effect could be produced
by the changes in their relative positions
during this period. The "electro-magnetic
pull" of these four planets. Neptune,
Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter, upon the sun
will be no greater on December 17 than
U was in September and October.
40) t?l?, International F>?ture Service, Inc.
It is the comparatively small inner
planets that change their positions most
rapidly, relative to each other and the
other planets. Mercury darts completely
around the sun in eighty-eight days, and
Venus makes a revolution in seven and a
half months. Our own planet. Earth, moves
about a degree in a day.
Reference to the diagram will-show thai
these rapidly moving planets have been
closely in line with three or more of tho
planets several different times during th"3
present year. So if the combined electro
magnetic forces of three or four planets
closely grouped are supposed to produce
solar and terrestrial storms of great in
tensity, why have not such abnormal
storms occurred a number of times this
year, particularly in May and August, when
six planets were in line?
There are, it is true, electromagnetic
effects produced by the sun upon the
planets. Violent solar disturbances in the
form or sun-spots and eruptive prominences
produce electrical effects upon the earth
md in its atmosphere, such as violent mag
netic storms, auroral displays, changes in
atmospheric currents, cloudiness and rain
fall, but It is by no means certain tha'
the planets produce any important electro
magnetic effects upon the sun.
Syn-spots have been carefully studied for
many years with a view to discovering
such relationships if they exist?and
many attempts have been made to de
termine the cause and nature of their
periodicity, with no definite results,
though. If anything, the evidence is in^
favor of an Internal rather than an ex
ternal cause. It is more likely that con
ditions existing within the sun's interior
produce these periodic outbursts of solar
activity, and all attendant solar and ter
Or?t Britain Right* Hwrrrt.
? ^ I
I diagram bhowing Positions of the Various Planets on Dec. 17.
restrial displays, than that they are due
to the action of the planet*
If electro-magnetic effects were pro
duced by the planets they would not oc
cur with startling suddenness, but would
Ire more or less periodic in their nature
and in keeping with the sun-spot cycle of
maximum and minimum appearance.
The period when sun spots were most
prevalent for this particular cycle oc
curred two years ago, when solar out
bursts were more pronounoed and mag
netic storms more prevalent than they
have been during the past year.
Since solar storms are now decreis1 .g
in number and Intensity no unusual Ait
turbance in the atmosphere of the sua
or upon the earth's surface ts to be ex
petted in the near future
We may be reasonably assured, tben.
that no sudden cataclysm *?-lll arise as a
result of the relative groupings of the
planets either on or following Decern
ber 17.
Many times in the past sis and even
seven planets have been closely in line
without any disastrous results, and there
1.. no reason to believe that the Decern
ber grourtng of the planets will be In
any way remarkable.