Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1865-10-19
The Gazette&
ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

We. copy the annexed interesting
account of eclipsesfrom the Picayune,
of the 6th. 1t embraces, as the
reader will find, q description Of the
grand eclipse of the sun, which is
"due"r in our latitude this morn
ing.!A Have YOU. "smoked glasses
all ready"
Eclipses of the sun have in all
ages excited great attention. In an
Gent times I'VE read that when two
mighty armies We're about to engage
in deadly conflict, the occurrence of
an eclipse. Of the sun SO affrighted
the combatants, who conceived that
the gods were angry at the scene Of
strife, that they all dispersed. In
more modern times, we know that
when Columbus was shipwrecked on
a desert island, and he had failed by
all the means in his power to compel
the natives to supply him with pro-
visions, he resorted to a stratagem.
He told them their great god, the
sun, was offended with them, and at
a certain hour would withdraw his
light. The-natives soon after beheld,
with great terror, the observation of
the sun, and at the period of total
darkness fed in the most AFFECT dis
tress to Columbus, who, on their
promising to be more obedient in
future, promised to use his influence
to avert the threatened calamity, and
on the return soon after of the solar
efulgence, the authority of Columbus
was fixed on an impregnable basis.
Eclipses can of course be calcu-
lated for thousands of years in the
future, as well as for thousands of
years in he.past. The calculation
proceeds on the hypothesis of the
stability of the solar system, and the
regular and uniform motion of the
planets After a period of nineteen
years and some months the same
eclipse returns.
The eclipse on the 10th of the
month will be, an, annular one, the
moon being interposed between the
parts of the earth where the eclipse
is unable to be seen, but yet not be-
ing large enough totally to obscure
the sun; the latter will appear out
side the body of the moon as ring
Tor annular) Of fire. The eclipse will
not be quite annular here, as we will
not be in the centre of the moons
shadow. Two thirds, however, of
the Northern limb of the sun will be
eclipsed. The eclipse will be an
nular in the State of Georgia, and
South Carolina also. At Columbia
South Carolina, the eclipse will be
central. A little over eleven-twelfths
of the sun will be darkened, which
will be nearly a total eclipse. That
city will be the centre of the moons
shadow.
The sun, earth and moon will, of
course, be nearly in straight line at
the time of the eclipse, there being
95,OO0,0O0 Of miles between the sun
and earth, and 100000 between the
earth and moon, and the central
shadow of the eclipse will, of course,
travel nearly around the earth in
consequence of the earth's daily mo-
ton. The eclipse will be first seen
at Olympia, in Washington Terri
tory, whence it will travel as the
earth moves from West to East,
nearly around the earth, and be last
seen at TiInbuctoo, in Africa.
In our city the eclipse will begin
at 81 minutes past Z o'clock in the
morning; the period Of greatest OBJ
scuration will be 8 o'clock 20 min
utes, and the termination of the
eclipse will be at 10 o'clock "A min
utes. During this time, should the
atmosphere be serene, several planes
and fixed stars will be visible; We
nus will be seen 400 West Of the
sun; Jupiter about 500 East Of him,
and the fixed star Regulus will be
seen 600 West of him, The Con
stellation Ursa Major will be seen.
The fixed star Spica 10 West Of
the sun, and Arctum about 800 North
of him, and others of the heavenly
bodies will be seen, should the sky
be very clear.
As an eclipse of the sun is occa-
stoned by the passing of the moon
between the earth and the sun,
thereby causing the earth to pass
through the moons shadow, and as
an eclipse of the moon is occasioned
by the moons passing through the
earth's shadow, we would have one
eclipse Of the moon and one eclipse Of