The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-08-06
ncluded, and st. Louis be left too far to

the south.
The phenomena attending eclipses are
quite familiar to those who notice such
phenomena, and in general are these:
The earth's shadow is seen at the predicted
time to enter upon the moon, first as q
small circular arc, growing wider and
wider, and often of q pea-green tint, until,
when the eclipse is large one, it Is sue
ceeded by deep copper hue, finally over
spreading great part or the whole ofthe
moon. After this we can see. with good
telescope, not only the general outlines of
the lunar disc, but also special features,
such as the ranges of mountains, the cir
culsr valleys 90 familiar to telescopic OBJ
servation, and the great plains called by
the old astronomers "seas." After q
while-perhaps an hour or two-the to-
tality ceases. and the partial eclipse recurs
and goes off in the inverse order of phe-
nomena. The most striking thing about
such an eclipse is the deep coppery hue of
the paoon's surface.
Partial eclipses of the sun are more
exact phenomena for observation; the
indentation which is seen is produced by
the body of the moon itself, and we some
times see the jagged prominences of the
lunar mountains This, too, is to be no
ted: that every solar eclipse appears at
different magnitudes for different places,
because an observer at one point can see
further around the intervening obstacle
of the moons DISC than at another and,
as will be inferred from what was before
said, the same eclipse may be partial at
one place and total at another.
Partial eclipses of the sun yield in i'm
1orfop,a IN apprIor Tn tho latter f0l1r
phenomena are to be noticed: first, the
beginning of the partial eclipse or indents-
ton of the suns disc next, the beginning
CT the snnular eclipse-nsmely, the form
alton of the ring, where the moon is first
seen completely within the sun, and its
breaking up as the moon recrosses the
boundary of brilliant light: and finally
the end of even partial eclipse. The an
nular phenomena are much more accu.
rately observable than those of q partial
eclipse and the formation and breaking
up of the ring are sometimes accompanied
with what are called "Bsily's beads"
The rim of light between the moons edge
and that of the sun Is, when very narrow,
broken up into points partially dikcon-
nected, like string of beads 1t is sup
posed that the jagged points of the lunar
mountains cause this appearance.
But total eclipse of the sun surpassee
in sublimity, as well as interest. all other
astronomical phenomena whatever. Dur
ing a space of time never ever exceeding
eight minutes, we observe the passage
from sunlight to darkness almost like
that of night, and back again. The sky, as
the partial eclipse grows larger and
larger, changes its tints to various
hues, described sometimes as livid,
but mingled with orange yellow,
or purple, sometimes much before the
beginning of the total eclipse proper.
The moon advances slowly over the solar
disc, covering more and more of it with
its blackness, and making more and more
obscure surrounding objec's. till, when
the last glesm of sunlight is about to
pass away, the observer sees the moon and
what remains Of the sun surrounded by q
bright carona or glory, such as surrounds
the heads of the Lord and the saints in re-
ligious pictures. When the sunlight total
ly disappears, nothing is left to enlighten
objects around, save the scattered rays of
twilight and the corona itself. This glory
is intersected here and there with flashing
rays, extending often to considerable dis
tances from the sun, and has been itself
seen nearly as broad as the suns diameter.
When the corona gives the light by which
objects are seen, they naturally appear very
differently from what we see in daylight,
or even at night. The sharpness and black
ness of distant hills have often been no
ticed.
Besides this corona, the "protuber,
snces" of rosy color and irregular shape
are very marked feature. These are
cloud-like masses seen projecting beyond
the dark edge of the moon, are not gen
orally visible without telescopes, and have
long been, as well as the corona, mysteri
GUS in their origin. But it is now made
certain by the spectroscope that they are
gaseous In nature; it was found out by
photographing them that they we're con.
ed with the sun, and that as the moon
passed over them it hid them by degrees
If they were phenomena of the lunar at
mosphere they would move with the moon
itself, which they do not do.
| All these phenomena can only be OBJ
served by great concentration of effort
and by division of labor. When the time
of observation of the most important et
tends only from two to eight minutes, il
is plain that much expedition is necessa
ry. In case of the eclipse of the presen,
year, the duration is about three minutes
near the central line.
In past ages the fate OF battle or ar
assault has turned upon total eclipse o
the sun. Xenophon tells us that the town
of Larissa was taken on account of the
fright of the inhabitants when the sur
was covered by cloud. This circum
stance, casually mentioned in the Anaba
sis Book Ill, section iv. }, has enabled as
tronomers to make certain that tota
eclipse took place then and there, and ha,
even been of use in correcting the lunal
tables. Other eclipses of note in history
were those predicted by Thales, 5S5 B. G
that connected with the expedition o
Agathocles against Carthage, B. c. $40
and an eclipse which helped decide tn,
battle of Stiklastad, in the scandinavian
annals. Columbus is said to hav,
acquired great renown among the Indian
by predicting lunar eclipse, which wa
probably his only means of determining
his longitude, and 30 the distance o
America from Europe. In modern time
we have often heard of the panic terror o
ignorant populations; and there are evel
stories that in the eclipse of 1906, person
here and there thought the judgment Da,
was Western Monthly for Au
gust.