THE MOON’S COURSE

Hokitika Guardian, 29 October 1921, Page 4

THE MOON’S COURSE

EFFECT OF TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM;

J Regarding the suggestion made in ■ the London cable message that mag- < netic force may have something to do ' with the moon’s divergence fronp its 1 course, Mr 11. F. Skey, of the Christ- ! church Magnetic Observatory, made an interesting statement to a ropre- ■ sentative of “The Press.’’ Mr Skev said he did not believe that there was any direct effect of the earth upon the moon, hut Dr Chapman, ol the Greenwich Observatory, bad been investigating the variations of terrestrial magnetism in relation to the moon’s motion, and had iound that there were slight effects, perceptible only on analysis,' which correlated 1 with the motion of the moon. Recent investigations at the Christchurch .Magnetic Observatory had shown fiat tut* variations that went on throughout the years, month by month, ol the horizontal magnetic force at Christ church correlated with the variations of the tideproducing forces exerted by the planets upon the sun. It. was now two years since the details of these observations were published, which bad led to this . discovery, and as far as Mr Skey knew, ! these observations were the first- indilation of any actual exact connexion 1 between the march of magnetic lorcos I ~ii the earth, and the positions of the planetary bodies. All astronomical : calculations hitherto hail been based! upon the observations of the relative movements ol the sun ami the plancls, but it scorned almost certain that these were not quite sullicicn'. and that 1. * absolute movement ol the sun in space must he, also, taken account of. The popular idea that the sun was the immovable centre of the solar system is not quite a turn conception: the sun Imd an orbit of its own, ill consequence „f the fuel that the masses of the planets were really appreciab! in proportion to the mass ol the sun. It h* 1 bi-i-n recognised ol late years that the va i iations of the solar rotations were dm- to the tidal f > of the planets and the motion of Hie sun in its orbit. • It is obvious to mo." Mr Kkoy continned, “that ihere a-- certain dist.otional effects of the carta upm t 1 i,-non which must vary and that may not have been taken into account : if so, that will he remedied by malhematical ast t miotnei s. Tier.- arc, evidently, sonic small cur: ccln-its ol that nature to he taken into account,, as it seems that all other possible corrections have I wen considered. 1 In.-se considerations seem to render it most probable that minute elicits of >ho moon on the earth’s magnetic held arc nrohably not ,1 j, ~,-i, but irniiic-f. through the variations 1,1 tin.' tidal action of the Min. in consequence of the moon’s tc-voluUoiis .oui'd the earth. This is my own opinion. and nrohably the Ast I minuter Itoviil may not agio,- w ith it ; '’tit t 1 •' effects wen- so small that ‘hey were really in doubt and in dispute until Dr Chapman got to nol le - o > t".- 1 ''' showi-.l how the apparent incon-sisti-ncics were ih-ared ii”.