Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-09
A SUN DARKENING.
Eclipse Of the Sun on Sunday, January
11th-where Best Seen

11th-where Best Seen
There will be total eclipse of the sun
visible in California on Sunday, January
11th. The eclipse begins, according to tn,
ordinary alnlanacs, at San Francisco, Oh. 35ln
P. NJ; Monterey, Cal, Oh. SSm. P NJ; Sac
P. NJ; Manposa, Oh. Am. P NJ. San Diego
Sh. 5m. P. NJ; Virginia City, New, 2h. ism
P. NJ, the sun setting more or less eclipSei,
but in Sacramento it will be partial only.
! deemed accurate. The nautical almanacs
give no main points in latitude and Longitude
to mark the line of totally Of the eclipse,
| leaving local astronomers to calculate the
line or central path-the geographical eurva-
tLre for intermediate points. This has been
done for California by \. L. Goddard, of this
city, for each half degree of longitude, and he
has laid down the line on the scale of nearly
every map that has been published of this
coast. He says in his notes of calculation
of the central line of the eclipse ito show the
error of the generally published accounts
that the lire OF totality begins at a point 20
miles below Monterey, and continues thence
on line 20 miles below Mariposa and Salt
Lake City, that the primary question af
fects the distance from Monterey and Salt
Lake cities. The east limit, 109' AZ longi-
tude, 1210 Al latitude, establishes that Salt
Lake City is only three miles northwest of
the central line ; and the west limit of our
coast, IA "a longitude and 36' 9 latitude,
establishes that that point is ~ miles south
east of Monterey city, and MaIiposa is SO
miles northwest of the central line. The
line from our coast is Vincente creek, the
Santa Lucia mountains, Abbot & Bas-
wells ranch-l5 miles southeast of SOlidad-
ldrea peak, the railway bridge over the San
joaquin, near Landrum's ranch, or a mile
whereabouts south of the railway bridge be-
tween MADEIRA and Fresno cities, two miles
southeast of Alillerton, and miles northwest
of the Big Pine ridge, and Savers and Burrows
peaks, easily reached from Fresno City or
MADEIRA. Fresno City is within the total
belt but 9 miles south of the central line,
and the belt is SO or 80 miles wide, according
to the Scientific american in February last.
The north and south limits of the line are,
therefore, about II or Is miles from the CEN
ter line, northwest ana southeast. The inte-
riOr of Fresno county shows that Mount
Goddard is just within or close to the south
limits, and Mount Abbot is.at or about the
crossing of the Sierras. The Mammoth and
Laurel Hill mines may have good view
northeasterly of the rapid transit of the dark
shadow from the various ranges in Mono
county and the State of Nevada, and if clear,
the prospect from Mount Abbot might extend
to the SUBMITS of the Wasatch range near
Salt Lake City, and the crossing of
the dark shadow from thence, but
the gloom itself would limit the prospect.
Anyhow the line presents numerous points of
interest in California, and the State of Ne
vada, and even at Salt Lake City, as it is
only three miles from the central line, al
though it has but eight minutes of totality
before sunset. Millerton and Fresno City are
convenient for Stockton and Sacramento, and
all the northwest inhabitants, while Soledad
leads to Mount Cholane Abbot & Baswells
ranch and the Santa Lucia mountains, and
can be easily reached from Monterey and
Santa Cruz while San Jose or San Francisco
are on the direct road also for Idrea Peak or
San Carlos, which l believe are preferable to
any other point. Vincente creek gives the
parting salute TO glorious sunset on the
ocean, if clear"
Professor Davidson, of the United States
Coast Survey, says of the eclipse: at will
pass from west to east over the Pacific ocean,
its northermost limit being at Behring's
Straits, and its southermost in latitude ~
south. The central line of the total phase |
strikes the California coast in latitude SO Oh,
longitude 12l' So, at S:55 81 P. NJ. The sun |
will then be about IL of quarter above the |
horizon. The path of the central eclipse will |
be over the Salinas valley, about fourteen |
miles southeast of Soledad the Southern |
Pacific near Fresno Millerton direct: Eb- |
erhart in the White Pine District and three
miles south of Salt Lake City. 1t passes
over the Central Pacific at Aspen and |
at Bryan, near which latter place it |
leaves the earth at sunset The width |
Of the path of totalitY will be little over |
30 miles, and the duration of totality about |
50 seconds. AT the crossing of the Southern |
Pacific it will be 40 seconds later than where it |
strikes the coast. TIE sun will then be about |
10 high. If the atmosphere shall be disturbed |
by irregular refraction, the limbs of the sun |
and of the moon will not be sharp and steady, |
but blurred and confused. There will be |
spurious discs, and Bailey's Beads will be
visible just as the suns edge disappears be- |
hind the moon. Bailey's Beads will be also |
again visible on the temperance of |
the suns bright limb from behind the |
moon. If the atmosphere shall be |
steady, the suns edges will respectively |
disappear and reappear as lines. This cGndi-
tor was established by the observation from
Alaska of the eclipse of 1869, and thereafter,
as on previous occasions, the Academy was |
shown that Bailey Beads, the black drop in |
the transit of Mercury and Venus, and similar |
phenomena, were the result of atmospheric |
disturbance. To avoid this disturbance the
Coast Survey party has selected station
about thirty-tive miles enthusiastically of !
Point Pinos, station also selected by Pro |
fessor Frisby of the United States Naval |
Observatory. 1t is not expected that more |
will be obtained than the first three epochs. |
The chances are a million to one against |
an intra- Mercurial planet, but the
party are prepared to determine its position |
if it should be caught"