The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-07-29
The Eclipse To-day.


spectacle planet the observed Of all OBJ.
servers. Here and everywhere all
around this terrestrial ball, on sea and
land within the path Of the wonderful
phenomenon, the eyes Of old and young,
The sayant and the savage, through
every. medium, from the naked eye and
the bit Of smoked glass to the power.
iul Instruments located in Observatories
or on Tho mountains tops, will sweep the
horiIpn TO watch the progress Of the won
ieriul event H %
Az the moon Is SO much smaller than
the earth, the portion Of the latter which
rive. total eclipse Of the sun Is a narrow
,trip not more than = hundred and FLY or
Two hundred miles wide, and the length
of time that II lasts is from two and q
half to seven or eight minutes. In such
.hor, time have astronomers to make
those observations which are deemed 40
useful in determining the character Of
certain phsnonsna, that all depends up.
co the propitiousnesI Of the weather ss a
given moment. Hence 1t ia that groups
u scientists have been travelling for
weeks past to different and widely dis.
tan. points on the eArths surface, In the
path Of the eclipse, so as to be sure that
some one o. more groups may have an
opportunity to make their observations
under the most-isvorAble circumstances
Each man q assigned to special duty,
add for weeks undsrSoes the seyerest
drill In the manipulation OF the par!ieu-
Ia. instrument Of which he has charge,
and which I. designed at given instant
10 record Whatever may sppear. These
arrangements cover every second Of time,
during which the phenomena will be in
progress Every variety Of instrument
that promises to be Of possible use 10
widening the scope Of the observation is
brought into rsquisition. hinge telescopes,
.olIdly mounted and driven sy clock
work, carrying Photographic apparatus;
spes.toseopss, horiron,al telescopes forty
iset In length, with enormous field
br.Idtb, al.o telescopes for photograph
ing. Other telescopes are directed so as
to form comaras for sketching the cor.
on., hat halo OF light which Is bestsep-
resented to our readers by the pictures Of
.alnts whose heads are always represents
I'd q. sncireled by The glory light. Still
other in,,rumeats for determining the
character Of this light, for measuring its
hriRhtness. These elaborate prepare.
tions ssrrs to show with what interest
scientists regard the wonderful phs.
uomenon Of 5 total eclipse, and with what
sArnes.n.ss they labor TO secure results
either eonirmstory Of past deductions or
suggestive Of new and more correct the.
0ries. Ts'
Time Wu when eclipses Of the sun and
moon were but little Understood. They
had not entered the domain Of science As
great factors 10 determining distances be.
,ween.ths earth and the moon, and the
moon and the sun, and in the solution
Of phenomens which had perplexed the
minds Of philosophers in all ages.
The priodicity " Of their occurrence
was simply matter Of historical record,
not a matter Of mathematical cAlcula.
don. In the neurological era eclipses
we're regarded Is ine1plicable phenomena
or were looked upon as the awful mani
ies.atIou Of offended deity, whose wrath
uu thus ioreshadowed. To the victims
af.superstition they iorboded impending
ealanities such as pestilence, war or fam,
Inc, andin their agony Of fear on Blended
knees, they offered petitions to their vari.
Gus gods that their lives might be spared;
that the psstilsnee might be ayerted, and
that no evil might be allowed to come to
them. Even at this day there are doubt.
lOss many ignorant, benighted individu.
Als Whose souls will be filled with con.
stsrnation, when the moons body begins
20 interposs itself between the earth and
the orb Of day. A great many Of our In.
dians on the, western plain, have their
home In the region where the eclipse will
be total and the character oil their emo
lions will be those Of terror more easily
imagined than described.
That greatest Of ali the sciences, as!ron.
omy, Is rich in itS development Of accu-
rate knowledge concerning the heavenly
bodies. By means Of powerful in'ttu.
nsntI II has revealed new systems Of
planets; It has determined with scientific
Sxac.ness the motions Of the heavenly
bodies and TO great extent analysed the
composition thereof. It has made its
claim to the tide OF an exact science BY
IL ability 10 trace the courses Of the stars;
TO mark the pathway Of the srratlc com.
els and az the time Of their return. Not
only can the astronomer compute eclipses
Tor hundreds Of years to come, but he can
turn backward and evolve from the past
the day and date Of all the eclipses that
have occurred since earth became the
abode Of man.
Oar observations Of the partial eclipse
such a. We will be able to make to-day,
Eiys bu. an imperfect idea Of a Total
eclipse. OF the latter, those who have
seen Il describe 1t a. the grandest and
most imposing spectacle that nature
oatn. Il 10 only on such an occasion
that the human mind is able in some
measure to grasp the idea Of planetary
motion. Every school boy learns that
he earth reyolyss on its axis once In
twsny.Iour hour, and that In order TO
do this, Il must have u rotary motion
equal to ono thousand miles an hour, Jet
nothinR with which ht physieiGl sense can