DECENT ATMOSPHERIC. PHENOMENA.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1326, 21 November 1883, Page 2

DECENT ATMOSPHERIC. PHENOMENA.

(From theMe.b turne World, October 15.) There has been much talk and mui,h ! speculation concerning the brilliancy' of the recent sunsets, and of the peculiar appearance of the western heavens long after sunset. The other day Captain Pen-ins, of the steamer Mirzapore, wrote the following letter to a Sydney contemporary : TO THE EDITOR OF THE ECHO. Sin, — Seeing in your paper of this evening a r -fereuce made to the "brillaut pinkish glow" which has suffused the western sky at sunset of late, and whi^h has caused so much attention throughout Australia, it may interest many of your leaders to know that for three days previous to arrival at Colombo in the P. and O. s.s. Mirzapore, from England, in the middle of last month, the sun, when below a;i altitude of about 20 degrees, both before setting and after rising, became,' in colour distinctly green. The peculiar" light thus given to our surroundings will not be readily ibrgotfcon by those on board. As this phenomenon oceurr* d I not'many days after the upheaval in the Straits of Suuda, and as ,the weather was fine and remained so, there are, I venture to think, strong grounds for supposing that this unusal appearance was caused by thasunlight illuminating o stratum of volcanic dust floating in the atmosphere. I am, &c, Charles G. Peurins, Commander P. and O. s.s. Mizapore. Sydney, October 10. This morning a correspondent of the , Argup, " Juiius " predicted, in view of the atmosphere being so heavily loaded with volcanic dust, that a new moon would soon be the result, and thus the inhabitants of this globe be given ocular demonstration of the nebular theory of creation. This proposition was so startling in its nature as to attract the atteution of a great many people, who for some time past have not looked at the moon without seeing, it double. In their interest it was deemed^ndvisable to consult Mr- Ellery, the Government Astronomer, to see if something could not be done to crush this young moon in its infancy. Mr Ellery was found at the Observatory, where he had read the letter in the Argus. He didn't appear to be very much frightened, either at the event of the predicted strauger or the calculating which a new orbit would impose upon him. ■ , He remarked to our reporter : 14 ' Jnnius' is suffering from too much old moon. The idea he advances is ( simply nonsensical. In the first place , the atmosphere is not impregnated with , volcanic matter, as can be proved by the spectroscope ; and in the next pace j the whole of the Indian Archipelago - would have to be blown up before you ] would get matter enough to make a ( visible moon." , Then again, another moon whirling .■ in space would so disarrange affairs in J this plane ai*y system that we avoulc! c all find ourselves in the middle of chaos, t without knowing how we got there. i " With regard to the peculiar sun- j sets," added Mr Ellery. " I can only c say that these and s ; milar phenomena ar« always due to an altered condition s in the humidity of the upper stratum f of the atmosphere. Eearthquakes a have no effect on the atmosphere, but ' 1

nr-currents sometimes (by disturbing t the equilibrium of atmospheric pressure 'i on the earth's surface) produce earth- 1 quakes. The condition of the upper 1 stratum of the atmosphere at present \ is an indication of coming storms, 1 gales at sea, aud unsettled weather i generally. This is the usual result I may just add that for more than a week past the sun's surface has been vijry much disturbed, and unsually large spots have appeared on its face. This adds to a certain degree to the probability of stormy and unsettled weather in the \ery near future." A correspondent writes to the Times of ludia: — In your issue of Friday, September 14, you say you are not aware that the phenomena of the peculiar appearance of the sun has been noticed in Bombay. I will just communicate to you what I have jotted down in my memorandum on Wednesday, Ssptembcr 12: — "This evening, about sunset, the sun and the moon boing visible, the nature of the clouds in the western sty was so very uncommon that the disc of the suu appeared of a greenish blue colour, aud the sunshine looked somewhat like moonlight." Those who did not see this phenomena expected to see it the next evening, but they were disappointed, the western heavens then being of a wonderful crimson colour.