The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1880-02-20
SUN DAREENIEss.
TEE DzxrsIsHED LIGHT OF TIE SUN NOT
CAUSED By KcLIPsRs.

In, o36, 567 and e26 We 6ud mention of
long perisds OF diminished sunlight.
5chnprrer records that in 1888, year after
this Sar1cens had been driven back bsyond
tho Pyrcnscs, Consequent upon their defeat
1t ToErs, tho sun darkened in IN alarm
ing manner on August 10Th; there appeared
20 10 no sciipse by the moon, but rather an
interruption from some msteoric sub-
stance" There was an eclipse Of the sun,
annular, but nearly total. on the morning Of
August Nth; It is mentioned in ths Saxon
Cironicls, which tells .s that 'stbe SIMS
disc was like black shield" The near CO.
incidence OF dasssugxss.s, in this case, .
connection kstwssn darkness and the
eclipse. Z sss, according to a'Pertusuese
historian, tbs saa Lost il ordinary light for
several months; and this 10 followed BY the
doubtful statement that N opsn,ss in the
sky seemed to take place, with many flashes
OF lightning, aud tbs fall blaze OF sunshine
was suddenly restored. In 1891, on Sept.
29th-not 2lst, Is given in some OF the
translations Of Humboldt's Cosmos-Schnur-
rer relates that there was darkness Of the
sun which lasted three hoars, after which
1t had peculiar color, which occasioned
great alarm. A century later Cor in June,
11sl. according to Schnurrsr), the sun was
again darksned, with certain attendant sf-
fects upon nature. Here the cause is easi-
ly found: On June 23d, there was total
eclipse, in which the moons shadow ira
verssd the continent Of Europe from Hoi-
land to the Crinea. The solipss was total
in this couitry between the coast of Cum
berland and Yorkshire. Erman refers 10 .
sun-dA-kenhG on February 12, 1l06, which
was accompanied BY netsors, and We read
in the comepgaphics that on the 4th-or,
according toothers, on the 5th-of Februa-
ry, in this yor, . star was seen frsm the
third to the ninth hour Of the day which
was distant kon the sun " only foot and
. half" Matthew Paris and Matthew of
westminsterterm this star comet, and
We may taksit to have boon the same which
later IN the SINE month WAS observed in
China under HE sign Pisces, and which at
one tine wassuPposed to be identical with
the great conet of 1850; this body, how
ever, would MT appear to have been sufi-
oiently near tie earth, and even on the as
sumption Of q denssr casstitu' ion than
usual with comets, to accc unt for lminu-
tion Of the sobr rays by its Intervention.
On the last da!s Of February, 1905, accord
ing to Spanis writer, there was complete
darkness for sx hours. Ia 1241, 1--WE
months after tie Mongol battle Of Leig-
neitz," tbs san was SO obscuGed and the
darkness becams 50 great that the stars
were seen at euinth hour about Nichsel-
mas In this case, again, the darkness re-
ferred to was undoubtedly due TO the total
eclipse of October ith, OF which Professor
Scbiaparelli has objected full account
from the Italian Writers. Lastly, in 1874,
from April 23-25th, Kepler relates on the
authority of Gemma (" The sun appeared
"a though diGused with blood and many
stars were visible at monday" Schnurrer
thought this phenomenon was what the
Germans call "Hobernruch," notwith-
standing tho visibility Of the stars. From
the above summary Of what have been con-
sidered sun -darkenIngs, we see that In sew
eral cases the diminution Of light has been
due to the ordinary effects of a total eclipse
while it is clear there ARE no grounds in the
historical evidence for any pred iction of
period of darkness. The nervous in these
matters-and it weuld really appear that
such sxist-may AXE consolation there
from.