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Show WEATHER FORECASTING. NcV'3 from Washington is that, after fourteen years of observation, the time is uear at hand when a new system or, at least, an amplified,, system of weather prognostication will be adopted. adopt-ed. Experiments with the method are said to nave prove a nigmy satisraciory, although a sufficient length of time has ' not yet elapsed to prove the invariable inva-riable trustworthiness of the scheme. The enlarged system of weather forecasting fore-casting has its foundation entirely in the sun. As is well known, the heat upon which all life on. tlie earth depends de-pends is radiated from the sun through 03,000,000 miles of space. It can readily read-ily be understood how changes in the intensity of this radiation might materially mate-rially affect our weather. The Smithsonian nstrophysical observatory, ob-servatory, which has observing stations for studying the radiation from the sun in Calama, Chile, and on Mount Wilson, California, lias for fourteen years been watching the variations of the "solar constant ' ' of 'radiation. Definite pe-1 pe-1 riods of high and low amounts of radiation radia-tion have been found and the relation of these periods to bur temperature and weather on the earth is being studied. ' A sufficient number of observations are now available to warrant tests be- , ing made on their value for weather j predictions. . At Calama, Chile, in one of the most arid regions of the globe, where the sun shines forth from an almost cloudless sky day after day and week after week, and rainfall is almost unknown, two Smithsonian observers are recording j .every, day by means of delicate, spe- j eially constructed instruments, the" amount of radiation from the sun, and these results are telegraphed daily to the government of Argentina where they are made the basis of temperature forecasts for several days in advance. Solar radiation measurements, which are under the direction of Dr. C. G. Abbott of 'the Smithsonian Institution have for many years been made at the Smithsonian observing station on Mount Wilson, at an altitude of 5700 feet." From these , studies it appears that the' amount of radiation from the sun varies from day to day as well as from year to . year, showing that the sun is a variable star, having a twofold two-fold variation. Tho first is a long-period long-period variation due lo sun spots and similar phenomena. When the sun is undergoing a period of great activity as shown by sun spots, prominences and similar signs, it is like poking a fire and bringing fresh coals to the surface. Thus there is produced a hotter sun and consequently a greater amount of ra- difition. The second, or short-period variation is explained by changes in the transparency trans-parency of the outer solar envelope. If tlie correlations between these variations va-riations in the radiation from the sun and. our temperatures here on the earth continue to. prove as satisfactory as they have up to the present -time in Argentina, it will be desirable to establish estab-lish three or four additional observing stations'" iu widely separated, most cloudless regions, as, for examplo, Australia, Aus-tralia, South Africa, India and Egypt. Obviously, the best results'would be obtained ob-tained by. having these. stations un,der one management, say, the Smithsonian Institution, but at this time funds are not available, for the purpose'; and it will be necessary to ask tlie governments govern-ments of the regions noted to establish and support their own observation stations. sta-tions. From the confidence expressed by those at Washington who have charge of this work, the world may expect, within a few years, to see a weather forecasting system which will not only be far more accurate than the one in use today, but one whk'h also" will enable en-able experts to foretell weather changes long in advance. |