Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-07-30

in Siberia, thence passing through Alaska,
some of the late Hudsou's Bay territories,
part of Dscotsh, most of Iowa, large
part of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky,
part of Tennessee, most of North Carolina,
and little of Northern Nebraska, Min
nesota, South Carolina and Virginia. This
belt of totality just escapes the following
important places Chicago, St. Louis, Chm
cinnsti, Indianapolis and Omaha; and any
one will find that a belt one hundred and
sixty miles wide, passing between Chicago
and st. Louis, and avoiding Omaha on the
south and Cincinnati on the north, must
pass shout in the direction above indicated
by the States mentioned above. AndYou
can represent, In a rough way, the course
Of the shadow-that is, of the total portion
Of the eclipse-bv cutting out a slip of
paper of the width of the representative
of one hundred and sixty miles on any
map of the United States, and long enough
to reach from the msp-position of Beau
fort, N c., To that of Fort Union, Dacotah.
Place this strip so that the centre of one
end shall be near Cape Lookout, and the
edge shall Just lap over Rock Island and
avoid Omaha. The path of the eclipse,
however, is somewhat curved, and the
maps themselves distort the shape of the
earth, so that you will not find such strip,
made straight, to give more than very
| rough idea of the shadows course. On
the map which use, for instance, Gin
cinnati and Indianapolis would be thus
| included, 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
| bo a
small circular arc, growing wider and
wider, and often of a 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 of the
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
cular valleys so familiar TO telescopic OBJ.
seryatiOn, 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 moons surface.
| Partial eclipses of the sun are more
exact phenomena for observation; the
| indentstion 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
1 4 Al. II. hn ri at
| one place and total at another.
Partial eclipses of the sun yield in i'm
portance to annular. In the latter, four
phenomena are to be noticed: first, the
beginning of the partial eclipse OF indenta-
ton of the suns disc next, the beginning
of the annular eclipse-namely, 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 arc much more accu
rately observable than those of a partial
eclipse and the formation and breaking
up of the ring are sometimes accompanied
with what are called Baily's beads.
The rim of light between the moons edge
and that of the sun is, when very narrow
broken up into points partially discon
nected, like string of beads. 1t is sup
posed that the jagged points of the lunal
mountains cause this appearance.
But a total eclipse of the sun surpasseS
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 objects, till, wheI
the last CLEAN of sunlight is about t.
pass away, the observer sees the moon anc
what remains of the sun surrounded by 1
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 enlighteI
objects around, save the scattered rays o
twilight and the corona itself This glory
is intersected here and there with flashing
rays, extending often TO considerable die
tances from the sun, and has been itsel
seen nearly as broad as the suns diameter
When the corona gives the light by whicl
objects are seen, they naturally appear yer.
differently from what We see III daylight
or even at night. The sharpness and black
ness of distant hills have often been nc
ticed
Besides this corona, the "protubeI
ances" of rosy color and irregular shap
are very marked feature. These ar
cloud-like masses seen projecting beyon,
the dark edge of the moon, are not gen
orally visible without telescopes, and hay
long been, as well as the, corona, myster
GUS in their origin. But it is now mad
certain by the speCtroscope that they ar
gaseous in nature; it was found out b
photographipg them that they were cor
nee ed with the sun, and that as the moo
passed over them it hid them by degrees
If they were phenomena OF the lunar al
mosphere they would move with the moo
I, itself, which they do not do.
! All these phenomena can only be OF
; served by great concentration of etlor
and by division of labor. When the tim
of observation of the most important e'
!, tends only from two to eight minutes,
! is plain that much expedition is necessS
= ry. In case of the eclipse of the preseI
: year, the duration is about three minute
near the central line.
Ia past ages the fate of battle or a
! assault has turned upon total eclipse {
the sun. XenOphon tells us that the tow
of Larissa was taken on account of th
fright of the inhabitants when the su
> was covered by cloud. This circun
!. stance, casually mentioned in the Anab'
. sis Book ILL.,, section iv,), has enabled a
e trOnomers to make certain that tot
!, !. eclipse took place then and there, and hi
y even been of use in correcting the lunt
. tables. Other eclipses of note in histor
~ were those predicted by Thales 5S5 b. {
that connected with the expedition
f AgathOcles against Carthage, b. @. BIZ
a and an eclipse which helped decide Il
battle of Stiklastad, in the Scandinavia
. annals. Columbus is said to hay
: acquired great renown among the Indial
: by predicting lunar eclipse, which Wi
I probably his only means of determiniI
his longitude, and so the distance
!, America from Europe. In modern tim