Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-08-17
Historical Sun-Darkenings.

Historical Sun-Darkenings.
Not few persons appear to have been
much exercised by representation of
an approaching period of sun-darken1ng
to extend over several days. History
does record instances in which the sun
has been abnormally obscured, or it's
light paled to such an extent that stars
have come into view in the daytime, and
Erman, Humboldt, and other writer's have
brought these occasions int, prominent
notice, the former in connection with the
presumed passage of dense metesric
streams between the earth and the sun.
The earliest mention Of such phenome-
non appears to be in the wear B. C. A.
about the time Of the death of julius
Caesar, when we read in Plutarch and
Dio Cassius that the sun was paler than
usual for whole year, and gave less
heat, the air continuing cold and misty.
The darkness for two hours on August %,
A. D. 356, appears to have preceded the
great earthquake of Nicomedia. Two yearx
later, in all the eastern provinces Of the
Roman Empire, we are told, there was
"callgo primo auror;e eXOrtu adusque
meridiem,'' and the stars were seen, the
further description being rather applica-
BILE to total solar eclipse but neither the
eclipse OF March 4, $50, nor that of Au-
gust % would be visible in those parts.
Again when Alaric appeared before Rome,
the darkness was such that stars were
seen in the daytime (Schnurrer's Chronic
der Seucaen). Following the Tabzettes
Chronologiques of the Able Lcnglet Du-
tresnoy, Alaric invested Rome A. D. 400,
and became master of the city on August
"a, 40. There. was a visible eclipse of
the sun on June IS of the latter year.
therefore while the siege was in progress;
but on calculating the circumstances
under which it would be seen at Rome. +
introducing the latest lunar elements, it I,
appears that little more an half the suns
disk would be covered at the greatest
phase, about Oh. 40 m. p. M, and no SEN
sible diminution ofsunlignt would be oc-
casioned by the eclipse. In $50, 767,
and 826 we find mention of long periods
of diminished sunlight. Schnurrer re-
cords that in 733, a year after the Saracens
had been driven back beyond the Pyre-E
nees, consequent on their defeat at Tours,
''the sun darkened in an alarming man
ner on August 10; there appeared to be
no eclipse by the moon but rather an in
terruptlon from some meteoric subs tance.'
In 934, according to Portuguese his
torian, the sun lost its ordinary light for
several months; this is followed by the
doubtful statement that an opening in
the sky seemed to take place, with many
flashes of lightning, and the full blaze Of
sunshine was suddenly restored In 1893,
on September 80, not 81, as given in some
OF the translations Of Humbolt's Cosmos,
Schnurrer relates that there was dark
enlng OF the sun which lasted three hours.
and after which it had a peculiar color,
which occasioned great alarm. In another
place we read: "Fnit eclipsis Soils II Kal.
Octob. fere tres horas Sol circa meridiem
dire nigrescebat:" there was no visible
eclipse at this time, and the November
eclipse was central only IN the southern
parts OF the earth. A century later, or in
June, 1161, according to Schnurrer, the
sun was again darkened. with certain at
tending effects upon nature. Here the
cause is easily found ION June % there was
total eclipse, in which the moons shad-
ow traversed the continent of Europe
from Holland to the Crimea: the eclipse
was total in England between the coasts
OF Cumberland and Yorkshire. Erman
refers to q sun darkening On FEBRUARY ~,
llO6, which was accompanied by me.
teors, and we read in the cometographies
that on the 4th, or, according to others,
on the 9Th, of February, IN this year,
star was seen from the third to the ninth
hour of the day, which was distant from
the sun ''only a foot and half" Mat
thew Paris and Matthew Of Westminster
term this star a comet, and we may take
it to have been the same which, later in
the same month. was observed in China
under the sign Pisces, and which at one
time was supposed to have been Identical
with the great comet of 1850; this body,
however, would not appear to have been
sufficiently near the earth, even on the
assumption of denser constitution than
usual with comets, to account for a
dlminution Of the solar rays by it's
Intervention. On the last day of
February, 1906, according to a Spanish
writer, there was complete darkness for
six hours. In 1241, five months after the
Mongol battle of Leignitz," the sun was
so obscure and the darkness became so
great that the stars were seen at the ninth
hour about Michaelmas In this case,
again the darkness referred to was I'M
doubtedly due to the total eclipse on o.
tober 6, CT which Professor Schiaparelli
has collected a full account from the
Italian writers. Lastly in i547, from
April 1896 Kelpler relates, on the au-
thority of Comma. "The sun appeared
as though suffused with blood, and many
stars were visible at MONDAY
From the above brief summary of what
have been considered abnormal sun dark
enings, we see that in several cases the
diminutlon of light has been due to the
ordinary effects of a total eclipse, while
it is clear that there are no grounds in the
historical evidence for my prediction of
period of darkness. The nervous in
these matters-and it would really ap-
pear that such eNist-may therefore dis
miss their fears.-Harpsr's Weekly.