The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-04
PHENOMENA OF A TOTAL ECLIPSE.

The chance Of beholding total solar eclipse
in ones lifetime is very small. On the 18Th of
July, 1860, this opportunity occurred in Eng
land, and the one previously observed ut Green
wich was in 1715 while an interval of 375 years
had elapsed between that and its foreruuner.
Those who have enjoyed this rare spectacle say
that no more startling novelty can be wit
messed or conceived of by mortal mind, and that
the discomforts of a trip of hundreds of miles
would be amply repaid by the spectacle. No
approach to totality can give the slightest con-
ception of the effect produced the instant that
the last ray of light is eXtinguished. The light
of the sun is SO intense, that while the slightest
part of the disc is visible, the darkness is by no
means alarming. In partial eclipses the dark
ness is oftentimes not greater than that made by
a passing cloud, and sometimes the observation
is not noticed at all. Partial and annular
eclipses are matter of simple curiosity; but the
reverse is the case with the totality.
The Darkness.
The gradual creeping of the moon over the
disc of the sun gives warning of the instan-
taneous eXtinguishment of all light. 1t is not
a matter of gradation, so startlingly sudden is
the blackness of darkness. All living nature
thrills with awe and mysterious apprehension,
and the human heart quakes as if the horrors of
the Great Assizes were about to dawn. The
earth, sea, and skies assume II lurid, unearthly
hue. An unearthly silence reigns at the moment
of totaity. Every earthly being acknowledges
the influence, and covers under the strange
blackness of the heavens.
Beasts of burden lie down with their loads on
the road, and refuse to move. Swallows in their
bewilderment dash against the walls of houses,
and fall down dead The dog drops the bone in
his mouth, and does not venture to seize it again
until light returns. Little chicks huddle under
the motherly wings of the hen; and even the
ants halt in their tracks with their loads, and
remain immovable until the shadow is past.
The learned professor, well as the unsophisti-
Gated peasant, acknowledges the feeling of mys-
terious awe. The bright stars and planets will
then be seen at MONDAY while the black pail en-
shrouds that surface of our globe: The birds
hush their songs and seek their nests, flowers
fold their petals, the temperature falls, and the
moisture of the atmosphere condenses in a
heavy dew Orange, yellow, and copper tints
singularly checker the sky, giving it startling,
sometimes liyid hue.
Baily's Beads.
In some cases when the margin of the moon
comes in contact with that of the sum- instead OF
the faint and regular thread of light which
would be expected to ensue the appearance pre-
sented is broken glimmer of light--a series Of
bright spots interspersed with dark spaces
which was first noticed by the late Mr.. Baily,
who compared it to beads of light. These were
noticed in total as well as annular eclipses and
were seen by different observers in the eclipse OF
1851 They are generally regarded as being due
to the rough and mountainous edges of the moon
coming in contact with the margin of the sun
and the light proceeding from the latter shining
tl,rnruh 10 pbjlLe or of tbf
effect being greatly increased by irradiation.
The Corona.
Even during the greatest observation, and
when the disc of the sun is completely hidden by
that of the moon, its place is still made appa
rent by a halo stretching off an immense dis.
tance into space Figure 3) This light appears
| in the remarkable form of a corona or lustrous
| ring, and it has sometimes been so bright as
| to be observed and mistaken for an annulal
| eclipse. 1t has been compared to the crown o.
| glory encircling the heads of saints. 1t is ire
| gularly Illuminated, giving the appearance o.
| rays, and has been observed OF curious shapes
as that of Greek cross in the eclipse of 1860
and an hour-glass in 1872 In 1867 this luninou,
| ring was seen, and mistaken for the margin o.
the solar disc; it was equally visible in 1885, lt
radiating appearance seems to have been frs
noticed in the eclipse of 1862, and appeared tC
be endowed with a sort of rotatory motion. Ii
every subsequent eclipse, observed under any
favorable circumstances, the corona has beer
noted with equal plainness, generally of abou
one-tenth or One-twelfth of the diameter of tn,
moon, and of q pearl-white color; or. in thu
words OF an observer, of "that blush tint which
distinguishes the color of quicksilver from tina
Of dead white"