Light Science for Leisure Hours

conceives that he can trace in the relative positions of the sun and moon the secret of every important change of weather, ha

ells us merely that the conjunction is to cause 'unsettled weather,' a sta

e pull139 than at other times; and the same happens also in the case of the sun; and on October 5, it happens that both the sun and the moon will give a particularly vigorous haul upon the earth's waters. As regards the sun, there is nothing unusual. Every October his pull on the ocean is much the same as in preceding Octobers. But October is a month of high solar tides-and for these reasons:-In September, as everyone knows, the sun crosses the equinoctial; and, other things being equal, it would be when

nar month. And we should find that it was always largest when the moon looked largest, and vice versa. In other words, when the moon is in perigee the lunar wave is largest. But then there is another consideration. The lunar wave140 would vary according to the moon's proximity to the equinoctial

her words, when the sun and moon exert opposing effects. The largest lunar wave cannot stand the drain which the solar wave exerts upon it at the time of neap tides. Nor would the large lunar tidal wave produce an exceptionally high tide, even though it were not the time of 'neap,' or were tolerably near the time of 'spring' tides. Only when it happens that

a very 'one-horse' affair indeed, because the winds had not been consulted, and exerted their influence against the astronomers. A long succession of winds blowing off-shore would reduce a spring tide to a height scarcely exceeding t

mporary; but there has been no greater agreement between these predictions and the weather actually experienced than anyone could trace between Old Moore's weather prophecies and recorded weather changes. In other w

nounced that the sun would not be in perihelion by so many seconds of semi-diameter, in itself a very incorrect mode of expression. Still it was clear that what was meant was, that the earth would be so far from the place of nearest approach to the sun that th

for September 27, 1