![]() ![]() In addition, he was an experienced magnetic observer and an explorer of note who had already distinguished himself by reaching the North Magnetic Pole in June 1831. In the course of many years’ Polar service under Sir Edward Parry and Ross’s uncle Sir John Ross, he had spent sixteen summers and eight winters in the Arctic. No other Naval officer - no other man then living - was so well qualified for the post. That Ross should be appointed to command the proposed expedition was inevitable. The Royal Society, as the Government’s scientific advisers, were duly consulted and they backed the proposal strongly. ![]() The Association’s object - unattainable without such observations - was to make a world- chart of magnetic force, showing its three main factors - the variation of the compass needle from true North, the angle of the dipping- needle with the vertical, and the total intensity - at any point on the globe. The British Association, in a memorial presented to the Government in 1838, pressed strongly for the dispatch of a Naval expedition to reach this position or, at least, to obtain magnetic observations at as many points in the Far South as possible. ![]() Gauss, the great German mathematician, had deduced that the South Magnetic Pole was probably situated in about 66° S., 146° E. Data had come in from all parts of the globe except the Antarctic. In 1830 and succeeding years, scientific men all over the world began to show great interest in terrestrial magnetism. He sailed with the intention of conducting magnetic observations all round the Antarctic regions, and of reaching, if possible, the location of the South Magnetic Pole itself. Cook’s voyage was purely one of geographical discovery, but this was not Ross’s primary object. The first expedition consisted of the Resolution and the Adventure, under Captain Cook, in 1772- 75, and is described in the chapter “The Voyages of Captain Cook”. Ross’s expedition was the second to be sent out officially by the Admiralty to explore the Antarctic regions. In June 1831 Sir James Ross had discovered the North Magnetic Pole, and his famous Antarctic expedition ten years later was an attempt to discover the South Magnetic Pole. He was a nephew of Sir John Ross, the famous Arctic explorer. SCIENTIST AND POLAR EXPLORER, Captain Sir James Clark Ross, R.N., was born in 1800 and died in 1862. Ross reached the Antarctic Continent beyond it. It was the greatest voyage, because in it Ross was the first of all men to force his ships without the help of steam through the wide belt of floating pack- ice that had turned back Cook, Bellingshausen and many others. OF ALL South Polar voyages, unquestionably the greatest and yet one of the least- known today, is that made by Captain James Clark Ross, R.N., in 1840- 43. With the famous sailing ships “Erebus” and “Terror”, Captain Sir James Clark Ross, the intrepid explorer and keen scientist, sailed through the pack- ice in search of the supposed Antarctic Continent in 1840- 43 ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |