Abstract
SIR FLINDERS PETRIE'S suggestion that regular periods of low temperature may be caused through partial cutting off of the sun's rays by cosmic dust is an old one, but is not supported by any real evidence. In Britain temperature is governed far more by wind direction and cloud amount than by solar radiation, especially in winter, when it is practically independent of latitude. The only real test of the cosmical hypothesis would be the examination of averages over a number of years of the daily measurements of solar radiation made by the Smithsonian Astro-physical Observatory. I do not think this test has yet been made; probably the number of observations is still insufficient. The occasional agreements between minima at different stations, shown on Sir Flinders Petrie's curves, may be due to the frequent occurrence of extensive systems of northerly winds on those days, or may be merely accidental coincidences.
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BROOKS, C. Daily Variations of Temperature. Nature 126, 277 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126277b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126277b0
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