The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-01-26

rFrom the London Standard, December 49,
The total eclipse of the sun which
took place on Tuesday had its line OF
totally marked across a tract COM
mencing north of Zanzibar, passing
through India, Ceyion, sunaa:rs, Java,
and the Northern psFt Of Australia,
and ending IN the North Pacific
Ocean. The sun rose eclipsed on the
east coast of Africa. As the chief sta.
ton of the British Expoditionary OBJ
servers at Csylon there Will probably
be at time of totality of about 2 min.
% sec., the duration of the total phase
varying Of various places along the
central line from min. 55 sec. to 4
min. % sec. The expedition Is under
MIR. J. Norman Lockyer, with whom
is associated Mr.. r. Abbay, Of Wad.
ham College, Oxford; Captain Mac
lear, ofths Royal Naval Cofiege at
Portsmouth Mr.. 81. Moseley, of the
Royal Naval College of Chemistry,
and four or five other observers.
Professor Pespighi, of Rome, accom-
panies it, and Mr.. larson VIII join at
The observing station. It left Eng
land on the 28sh of October, by the
Pen nsnIar and Oriental Compsny's
Steamer MirZapore, taking out chiefly
spectroscopic apparatus OF unusual
power anu perfection. The principal
instrument to be used ia observing Will
be silvered glass rejecting telescope.
nine and a half inches in diameter, by
Browning, lent for the purpose by the
committee of the Royal Astronomical
Society. The most novel and impor.
tant instruments for this special occa-
sion are two spectroscopsS attached to
a large framework of gun metal,
which revolves by mesus of rings on
the body Of the above telescope. One
of these has a very low dispsrsive pow
er with large field; the other very
high dispersive power produced by
several prisnas. Either of those spec
troscopes may at will be brought to
bear on the SUMS image, which Is
formed at the side of the telescope
tube. The plan of operations will be
as follows: A map of the solar prom
inences will be made by means of the
highly dispersive spectroscope previ-
Gus to totality. Just before the COM
mencement of the total phase the low
power dispersive speGtroscope will be
brought to bear upol the corona, the
chief interest csnteriDg in the results
which we hope will be thus obtained.
the purport of these observations be-
ing to determine the physical consti-
tuition of the corona. Working by the
method of condolences, the lines in
the spectra artifcially produced from
tubes containing hydrogen gas at va
nous low pressures or degrees of at
tenuation, the spectra of the corona
observed during previous eclipses ap.
pears to consist of a single green line
apparently coinciding with well
known line in the spectrum of iron
This green line has also been observ.
ed in he specira of the aurora, of the
zodiacal light, and also in that O
LIGHTNING. Polariscopic observations
win also be aiken, but unfortunately
are not likely to prove Of much ser
vice, IS such results have hitherto
been always capable of various inter
pretations. In all solar eclipses which
have occurred during the last twenty
wears such observ, ticus have beer
made, but in no case have any 1ndis.
putable conclusions have arrived
at. The Government have contribu
ted e., 600, at the request of the British
Association, toward the expenses o
the expedition, all the apparatus hav
ing had to be conveyed to its desti'
nation by the ordinary means OF tran
sit.
Lord Lindsay, who has lent th'
Government expedition numerous
valuable instruments, has also sent, a
his own expense, an observer to takt
photographs of the eclipse, and it II
considered that these may prove thu
most interesting of all the data obtain
ed in the present researches. Ther'
will also be an Australian party at the
Gulf of Csrpentaria, the promotion o
whose observations is due to Mr.. Rus
sell, the Government Astronomer a
Sydney.
Intelligence of brief and rudimen-
tsry character may be telegraphed t.
this country in the course of a few
days but it is not likely any impor'
tant additions to our present state o
knowledge will be made until the re
turn of the observers themselves, ant
indeed it is questionable If any rea
scientific conclusions can be drawn
without long and careful discussion o
the data obtained.