The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-07-26
MONDAYS ECLIPSE.
The Event Scientists Await With Interest
And Amateur Astronomers Will
Watch With Curiosity.

The total eclipse of the sun by the moon
occurs next Monday, and our citizens, as
well as nearly the whole population of
the United States, will have an opportunity
to see it partially.
At this point the eclipse will not be total.
The suns disk will be covered by the moon
about two-thirds of its diameter. The
moon will touch the sun at O. clock 81 $40
minutes, and leave it at o'clock 1 7-10
minutes the eclipse thus lasting two hours
and nearly four minutes. When the moon
touches the sun it will make little notch
in the bright disk of the sun, the shadow
and darkness gradually increasing during
the transit The above time is computed
from that at Washington, where the eclipse
commences at hrs, 81 min. and 5 sec.,
and ends at hrs, 81 min. and sec.
At the Observatory at Mt. Lookout the
time of the eclipse, that is the beginning
and the end, will be taken by Prof. H. A.
Howe, of Chicago, who has been here for
the past three years. No further observa-
ton will be made on account of the eclipse
in this State being only partial one. He
will be assisted by Prof. D. w. Batson, Of
Millersburg, KY. During the calculation
no visitors will be allowed in the Observa-
tory building.
Prof. Ormand Stone, of the Cincinnati OBJ
servatory, has gone to Denver, Colorado,
where the eclipse will be total, and where
he will make exact calculations of it. He
left on the 18th inst, and will not be back
1,t
Prof Winslow Upton, of the Harvard OBJ
servatory; Prof. Ingersol, of Columbia Col
lege, and President Alsop, of Haverfort Col
lege, Pa. They have taken with them fine
set of necessary instruments, and will make
their observations at Schuyler, eight miles
from Denver.
This eclipse may be regarded rs the re-
turn of that of July 18th, 1860, when the
shadow of the moon crossed Hudson Bay
Territory, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain and
Africa. During its progress the dark
shadow of the moon will first strike the
earth in the Province of Irkoutsk, Siberia,
i'll longitude 117o 80 east of Greenwich and
latitude 500 14> north. Its course will at
first be east-northeast but will gradually
change to east, and, after leaving Asia, to
southeast. 1t will cross Behring's Strait in
latitude go 40> north, and in an easterly di-
rection, pass a little northeast of Sitka
cross the British Possessions toward the
southeast, and enter the United States in
longitude $50 west of Washington. In this
country it will sweep over the western end
of Montana Territory the Yellowstone Ma
tional Park Wyoming Territory, Denver
Colorado, and Northern and Eastern Texas
entering the Gulf of Mexico between New
Orleans and Galveston. 1t will then pass
over most of the Island of Cuba and South
ern San Domingo, and leave the earth lit
tie southeast of the latter Island. Within
this country the breadth Of the shadow will
be about one hundred and sixteen miles
The eclipse will be visible as a partial one
over all the United States, Mexico and Brit
ish America, on the afternoon of Monday.
Those who are expert in sketchng may
do good service by making drawing of the
corona surrounding the moon during the
total eclipse as exact as possible. In doing
this it will be necessary to distinguish be-
tween the real object and the rays sur
rounding it, which are the result of an Op-
tical illusion. If the corona is very bright
it will be we'll to have at hand a colored or
smoked glass through which to study the
object; but the color must be very light,
else there will be danger Of its obscuring
all details:
The only indispensable instrument is a
good watch, provided with second-hand
and having a white face. The minute-hand
should be carefully set so as to be on an ex-
act minute when the secondhand is at sixty
seconds. This being done, it is no matter
how far wrong the watch may be.
Each observation should be made by a
party of three persons. Only one instrrl-
ment of each kind, watch, glass, &C., is
needed by party. A station should be Sc
ected where they will be free from all in
terrupion, either in the open air or at an
open window facing west. One, at least, of
the party must have a pencil and note book
in hand to record the time.
The beginning of the total eclipse is
marked by very rapid increase in the
darkness, caused by the advent Of the
moons shadow.
The return of sunlight will be preceded
by reddish glow on the border of the dark
moon, which must not be mistaken for the
sun. Indeed if the observer be near the
edge of the shadow, it is probable that the
red glow, which comes from the hydrogen
atmosphere of the sun, may be visible
during the whole time of totality of the
eclipse. Venus will be in the West, about
an hour and half high in Colorado and
Wyoming and only about half an hour high
in Texas. Procyon will be little lower
than Venus and farther south, and may not
be seen at all. 1t will be pretty certainly
invisible in Texas. Mercury, Mars and
Regulus will be from an hour and half to
two hours west of the meridian in Colorado
and Wyoming and two hours and hall
west in Texas. In the former region they
will be southwest from the Zenith, and in
the latter nearly west, being about one,
fourth or one-third of the way from the
Zenith to the horizon in each place. OF
these three objects Mercury will be much
the brightest, and may possibly be the only
one visible.
Music,