CABLES DISORGANISED BY SUN SPOTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17756, 28 January 1926, Page 6

CABLES DISORGANISED BY SUN SPOTS.

PUZZLING PHENOMENA OBSERVED FROM SYDNEY By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Aus. and N.Z. Cable Association. SYDNEY, January 27. A submarine magnetic disturbance in the Pacific Ocean has disorganised the world’s cable services. Cable experts in Sydney declare the disturbance was probably caused by the appearance of large new sun spots. The New Zealand cable is the worst sufferer, but reports received from ail parts of the world show that the cables are working badly. Most of the messages received in Sydney could not be deciphered. The disturbance commenced last night and until late to-day the cables did not resume normal conditions. Dr Pigot, who is in charge of the Riverview Observatory, said the magnetic disturbance was in all probability associated with great groups of sun spots which had passed across the centre meridian of the sun and are now approaching its western rim, but it was puzzling to explain why the disturbance had not occurred two or three days since, when two great groups of sun spots which he had photographed, were on the centre meridian of the sun and in a direct line with the earth. Dr Pigot concluded: If there is real connection between the phenomena of sun spots and magnetic storms, the

present storm shows that the axis of vortical movement of the electrons has been inclined very obliquely to the sun’s surface.