Citizens Say-

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1004, 21 June 1930, Page 10

Citizens Say-

(To the Editor.)

MANGERE AIRDROME Sir. —* The Aero Club will lose a. lot of support through its decision to make the Mangere airdrome the permanent home for flying. The place is most inaccessible and being exposed to the full force of the prevailing winds from the Manukau makes conditions extremely uncomfortable for spectators. The club should remember the public which supports it. Surely in the interests of flying it is advisable to get the most suitable ground. An airdrome easily accessible to the fliers and the public will soon support itself. We are told that in other countries the need is felt of having the flying grounds as near as possible to the centres of big cities. DISAPPOINTED ENTHUSIAST. MUNICIPAL MUSIC Sir.— As a ratepayer I was interested to read in your columns a letter by Cr. W. IT. Murray in connection with the Town Hall organ recitals. If what Cr. Murray states is correct as to the cost per annum of rendering these recitals £62 18s gross in return for the outlay, it is high time the ratepayers insisted upon the pruning knife being used with a view to economising. There is urgent need at the present time for the council as custodian of the ratepayers’ money to exercise all the economy possible. It is plain that only an infinitesimal proportion of the community wishes to hear the organ, and as a ratepayer I protest against such an amount being spent to cater for a mere handful of the community. I agree with Cr. Murray that the City should have a number of honorary organists and pay them a suitable remuneration for their services. I do not know ii there were any other items in Cr. Murray's retrenchment notice of motion on a par with the j organ recitals. If there were, the time | has arrived for the council to make some endeavour to spend the money it is entrusted with in a more judicious manner. 1 cannot understand the othei councillors turning a deaf ear to such an important question, and I invite them through the Press to express their views. RATEPAYER. Grey Lynn. I TRAFFIC FROM NEW STATION ' t should lit;..- To submit .i soiit.-ine to Ideal v.-itli i :.f n- V. Auckland railway ] dependent tramline from the present

inward right-of-way, starring between the G.P.O. and Waverlev Hotel, to the existing railway line at Breakwater Road, following the same parallel with Beach Road. If this line were constructed it would relieve the congestion at Customs Street East, which is much in evidence at rush hours. The use of the old station entrance would give a direct and uninterrupted service to all railway passengers who are within easy distance in regard to their employment or business at present, and who otherwise would not require a tram to bring them to this point. This scheme is not intended to replace the loop at present under construction. The old inward entrance could be closed to all vehicular traffle, and the roadway facing Queen street raised to the permanent level of the footpath. This would convert existing paths on both sides of the right-of-way into platforms. The whole could then be roofed in. and an ideal tram station constructed. NO CONGESTION. FORECASTING Sir,— It; might be thought that the solar prominenees will affect us only when ey are midway across the sun's face /"flvf re T?^ e Il n 1 ° re directI -V toward the aflWt t'n ß th^ S ? s not so - The >' may affect the earth almost as readily when they are just coming into view upon the sun’s limb. This and the part which other planets play in the matter will be explained later. ’l is strange that, in all their long mM-e r, hl lCnt , s * udy oi sun-spots, astronomers hate taken so little heed of theitht> el th a e tUm ’ and Particularly of. what SHO-Lt y ,.- Oc solar5 olar workings at onco iS V l ®, distinguishing features Sides 1 mark then- eastern and western for e n the west the Photosphere is. monVv 1?°," that 1 have given, com- “™ t l|r trying to wash over the ® ppt ’ le -? n tl . le east !t is rushing ('•umbra” 1 ? if *1 An<l on tlle dark floor the sun w sppt we usually find uan-hVi 1 d k !<n,J more circular shar ed /-. ", UC!e f —really the funnershaped cavity ot the vortex on the to by par °y or entirely hldVs'iin itil overhanging photosphere, n /il',. 11 evident that the sun-spot is sides of C wh h erabl ® depression, the sides of which in most parts slope down to the umbra. Although change are continually i„ progress, we cotfld readily measure the depth of that d--pression. so as to learn the of the photosphere at different times imd in different latitudes Such irt mation would help us. imorit is stranger stiil that science offer to we :i ,/’cr fo P V, ■ obviously -Pot common*- f< £l£? St, f T r ' . ' 'months (the hh U ; l intim .' A siderabiy long o, j (Continued in next column. j

to lost for IS months. Computation has satisfied me that it is possible for a spot to last more than 20 months. W* may readily know’ what latitude the spots are in at any time, and the average time that it takes a spot to complete a circuit of the sun in that latitude—it ranges from about 25 days at the Equator to 28 days at latitud** 40 degrees. When a storm, earthquake or other striking phenomenon occurs wo can nearly always find upon the sun a developed spot or an incipient spot in such a position as to account for it. Or, without looking, we know that it is there, in a position that affects our part of the earth. We know too that in, say. 26 days it will pa>* completely round the sun. and thab because of the earth’s progress in its orbit, the sun must go on rotating fo r two days longer before the spot, wit* its prominences bursting forth at frequent intervals, will be presented t»» the earth in the same way as it was before. And when this happens, what more evident than that we max- expect a repetition of the terrestrial disturbance. with greater or less intensity according as to whether the spot be increasing or diminishing in vigour, and according to the altered position of possibly interfering planets. According to what has been said, the interval to be allowed usually rangefrom 27 to 30 days; occasionally it must be slightly increased or diminished because of the aJtered position of another planet. It may be noticed in the forecasts that I have made during the past eight years that I have repeatedly counted upon these recurrences after intervals of from 26 to 30 days. It is on record at Greenwich and elsewhere that before the sola' eclipse of June 29, 1927, I foretold, not only the directions and relative length-* of tho coronal streamers that would bseen, but also the disappointing weather that England would experience that day. Strangely enough. 1 ventured the opinion, however, that glimpses of the eclipse would be had through gaps in the clouds at one or two points. (Such glimpses were obtained at Giggleswick only.) Doubtless, all regarded my forecast as » remarkably good guess. But it was no guess: the cables happened to havs told us of bad weather in England oc a particular d y about the end of ApnL and I felt s lisfied that the sun-spot responsible for it was safe to retain vigour for the next two solar revolutions, and to effect England again od the eventful day. When I explained the theory of recurrences to the late Mr. WragU*lie expressed amazement at so obvious a thing having been overlooked: [y quickly realised the immense P ossi £ri’ ties which this new solar must offer to meteorology, and u asked me to explain why it was tna* breaks in the weather show a ratB |g marked tendency to occur at intervals of just about nine days. I have ~ ready spoken of the tendency for tnve* sun-spots (varying in energy) to in the same latitude. They repeatouji do so: and they occur at fairly e ’ iU £ intervals of 120 degrees; here the explanation of the nine-day which had so often been noticed . 1 Mr. Wragge. But, of course, it ‘ evident that such a cycle many months without further forming, and upsetting it. F. Fv. FIELD. (To Be Continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENT

-Aucklander."—Your letter has a lre f£\ appear d in another newspaper. The Sun,