Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries
Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries
Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries
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<strong>Weather</strong> <strong>By</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Moon</strong><br />
and a combined effect on the Sun. In their half-orbits, Jupiter<br />
and Saturn are alternately together on the same side<br />
of the sun, and then on either side at 180deg to each other,<br />
with the Sun in the middle of them. This condition could<br />
be the catalyst to commence the sunspot cycle.<br />
<strong>The</strong> famous Australian forecaster Inigo Jones employed<br />
this for many years in his long-range forecasting<br />
system. Jupiter and Saturn, he said, shielded the sun from<br />
the magnetic field through which the solar system moves.<br />
At the time of this shielding, sunspots were absent from<br />
the Sun and this was supposedly a time for droughts in Australia.<br />
Why this should be so was never mentioned.. But in<br />
between were times of sunspots, storms and floods. Based<br />
on this, droughts were forecast for the summer of 1995-<br />
1996 and 1998-1999 way back in 1949. So far this has<br />
proven correct, for the Crohamhurst Observatory he<br />
founded, and his successor Lennox Walker. Apparently the<br />
next big drought, with dry summer, autumn and winter, will<br />
be 2001-2002 followed by a dry spell in 2004-2005 and a<br />
moderate drought in 2007-2008.<br />
But the same results could have been forecast from<br />
lunar records. <strong>The</strong> combination of average sunspot cycle<br />
periodicity and the cycle of Jupiter is about 35 years. <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Moon</strong>’s cycle of 29 days and the sunspots’ rotation of between<br />
24 and 28 days can be confused together. Without<br />
wishing to cast aspersions on the clearly successful work<br />
done by the Crohamhurst Observatory, I think it is worth<br />
pointing out that the Sunspot-Jupiter-Saturn effect, which<br />
uses records of similar rotation periods, could be shown<br />
to if not actually be <strong>Moon</strong> cycles all along, at least be par-<br />
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