The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1831-02-23
From the Boston .4dpsrtiser

I
I THE ASNULAR ECLIPSE. The GolIo,y;,r a.
tract OF letter to the Editor. from Rohnr
Treat Paine, Esq, the author of tho verv ac
curate astronomical calculations in the Aynor;
can Almanac, describes the appearances of IN,
late eclipse at Monomoy Point, the son,borr
extremity Of the point of land which nro;act,
from the South eastern part of the comfy -
Barnstable. This point of land has been with
in few years past forcibly separated from tn,
continent, by the formation of navigabl,
channel, and it is now an island. 1t was the
nearest land in New England to the centra
track Of the eclipse, except Nantucket.
SANDWICH, Feb. Is, 1881.
Being prevented by ice, from reaching Nan
tucket, | concluded to observe the eclipse from
the light house on Monomoy Point, and accord
lngly. went there.
The sky was very clear from Friday even
ing until abou. two hours after tho eclipse
ended, and during the continuance of the
eclipse not cloud was visible. | had the good
fortune to determine with great precision the
time of the beginning and end of tho eclipse
and of the formation and rupture of the ring
indeed, | consider my observations on this
eclipse the most satisfactory have ever made
The duration of the ring was I'm. 27sec the
formation and rupture of it, presented most
splendid spectacle; and it is impossible to con.
eelve any thing more beautiful or sublime
The observation was greater than | antici-
pated; in the eclipse of September, 1920, which
was annular in Europe, it was generally OBJ.
served that the darkness was much less than
was expected, and that Venus (then farther
from the sun than on Saturday, was the only
visible planet it was therefore stated in the
American Almanac, that should the sky be
clear, much diminution of the light was not tc
. hn ofnA :.
the planet Venus visible, then about I3 degree.
/ east OF the SUM-" but Venus was visible for up
wards of an hour, and Jupiter also, but for q
less time person standing near strenuously
insisted he could distinguish the twinkling of q
star, but as he was unsuccessful in his attempts
to point 1t out to me, it is not improbable he
was mistaken. Fowls were observed returning
TO their roosts and cattle to their stalls. The
color OF the sky became of an indigo blue, ant
some gentlemen in Chatham informed me they
! observed each others countenances to appear
of sickly olive.
The thermometer on the n w. side of the
mouse (the wind'was quite strong from the w
N w. during the whole of the ecipse) stood al
the beginning at 81, and fell to 235 during the
greatest observation but the effect of the
eclipse on thermometer hanging in the sun
on the 5. E. side of the house was surprisingly
great at the beginning it stood at ii, and al
q minutes after l, during the existence OF
the ring,) at only 80, being difference of AZ
degrees. For the space of twenty minutes, q
burning glass, which at the beginning of the
eclipse, seemed to burn black cloth almost in
simultaneously, failed to produce the least effect
thereon.
In the prismatic spectrum, it was noticed
that the space occupied by the red rays wa.
much less and that by the violet much greater
than usual.
During the remainder of the present centu
ry, the moons shade will pass but three time:
over any part of the Atlantic States, viz, or
Nov. 30, 1884, which eclipse will be total il
South Carolina and Georgia on the 9TH o
August, 1869, total in Virginia and North Car
ollna-and on the 28th of May, 1900, total il
Virginia. 1t is therefore evident that at NJ
time, within the next 70 years, will the sun b.
as much obscured in any part OF New Euglant
and of many of the middle states, as in Boston
on Saturday last.