Striking Views of Sunspots taken at the Meeanee Observatory, Napier.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 26, 30 June 1909, Page 20

Striking Views of Sunspots taken at the Meeanee Observatory, Napier.

The length of the large group of spots near the centre is 120.000 miles, and its area 1900 million square miles. The areas of the two spots above it are 400 million and 300 million square miles respectively, while Khat of the small group to the right is 150 million square miles. The total spotted area is 2750 million square miles, or about 45 times the area of the earth’s disc. On the same scale, the earth would be about the size of the two small spots close together in the smallest group to the right.

The photograph represents on a larger scale the same spots as in the preceding photograph, as they appeared two days earlier. It shows also the granulations in the solar photosphere and faeulae near the edge of the solar disc. According to Mr. Clement Wragge, these sunspots are vast solar storms, thousands of miles in area, the violence of which is almost beyond comprehension.

This i- the -ame as the large spot in the preceding picture, but on a scale of 50 inches to the solar diameter. The large circular s[H>t shows the central dark portion called the umbra, and the outer shaded or fringed portion called the penumbra. Two bridges are forming across it. The area of the umbra in this spot is 75 million square miles, the area of the whole spot being 312 million square mile-, am! the area of the whole group GIO million square miles.

From time to time Mr Clement W’ragge and other a-tronomers in New Zealand and other parts of the world have reported the appearance of sun-spots, either in groups or singly, and as late as Thursday, .lune 24. Captain Hewitt, honorary astronomer to the Palmer-ton North Philosophical Society, stated that a moderate-sized group of sun-spots had made their appearance on the sun's disc that morning. Captain Hewitt, in common with the general opinion held by Mr W ragge and others, suggested that the heavy thunderstorm and torrential rain which visited Palmer-ton on the date mentioned were the result of the action of these sun-spots on meteorological conditions. The photograph- appearing in this issue are a few samples of the work done at the Mei-anee Observatory. Napier. New Zealand, which was opened in July. 1907.

These faeulae are bright masses of calcium vapour floating in the solar atmo-phere, anil are more conspicuous near the edge of the disc. They are from five to twenty thousand miles in length, covering areas immensely larger than any terrestrial continent.