In one recent instance, a change in the sun's radiation has been
noticed in various parts of the world, and is of especial interest
because there seems to be little doubt as to its origin. In the
latter part of 1902 an extraordinary diminution was found in the
intensity of the sun's heat, as measured by the bolometer and
other instruments. This continued through the first part of 1903,
with wide variations at different places, and it was more than a
year after the first diminution before the sun's rays again
assumed their ordinary intensity.
This result is now attributed to the eruption of Mount Pelee,
during which an enormous mass of volcanic dust and vapor was
projected into the higher regions of the air, and gradually
carried over the entire earth by winds and currents. Many of our
readers may remember that something yet more striking occurred
after the great cataclasm at Krakatoa in 1883, when, for more than
a year, red sunsets and red twilights of a depth of shade never
before observed were seen in every part of the world.
What we call universology--the knowledge of the structure and
extent of the universe--must begin with a study of the starry
heavens as we see them. There are perhaps one hundred million
stars in the sky within the reach of telescopic vision.
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