The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-06-16
Three Hours In the Shadow of the
Earth.
PhiladelphIa Press. Iuue 12A


AT IL minutes after midnight this
morning the full moon, approaching
In brilliancy the harvest moon, began
to be obscured by an eclipse of very
exceptional totality. The late hour
was no bar to The interest of citizens
of more or less astronomical acquire
ments. Street corners and housetops
were acceptable observatories, needing
no better optical assistance than the
hand funnel-shaped furnished. Dense
clouds, early in the evening, caused
many hearts to sink with apprehen-
sion lest the eclipse and the moon as
well should be obscured from view.
Before the midnight hour the dense
clouds had disappeared and nothing
more veXatious than occasional
patches of mackerel sky intervened.
When the moment of obscuration pre-
dicted by astronomers - 1912 mid
night-arrived, a tissue of such fieecy
clouds rather accentuated than dis
turbed observation. On the eastern
border of the silver disc an impinge-
ment was noticeable, which grew rap
idly and in half an hour had carried
the orb Of night through all its
monthly changes only in reverse
from reversed gibbous to half moon.
In three-quarters of an hour it had
decreased until the novel spectacle of
old moon on full moon night was pre-.
sented. What was left shone with
| seemingly increased luster, and the
outlines of the obscure parts were
seen Just as they are when distance
and position, and not an intervening
| body, produce the same result. Still,
when the moon is passing through its
phases there is a vividness even in
what can be seen of the unilluminated
portions. What was seen during the
eclipse of this morning was of the dull
copper-color Of a badly-kept brazen
shield. Again, the marking as the
eclipse approached totality differed
much from the sharp-marked crescent
of ordinary phases. When totality
approached the bright portion scarcely
showed line of concavity, proving
thereby the greatly out-measuring
size of the intervening earth, which
could cast a shadow SO much larger
than the apparent size of its satellite.
The upper western edge of the moon
was the last bright streak. Thereafter
for an hour and twenty-one minutes,
it was only the brazen shield, with
brightness gradually changing from
west to east as the earth's shadow
shifted.
The time the obscuration was one
hour and twenty-one minutes. From
the time that the first impingement
on its disc was noticed until it passed
beyond the shadow was three hours
and twenty-five minutes. The dura-
ton of total eclipse of the moon is ow-
ing to the fact that the earth and its
satellite move in the same direction.
The eclipse of this morning was un-
usually long, because the moon very
seldom falls under the central shadow
of the earth. 1t might be supposed
that the observation would be total
no sign left-when this happens. 1t
is believed that the light which illu-
minis her so as to make the copper
colored disc visible is due to suns rays
reflected through the earth's atmos-
phere. Such an eclipse as that des-
cribed can occur only at q time OF
full moon and on her arrival at one OF
the nodes or crossing points of the
earth's orbit and her one. 1t hap
pened this time when she was nearest
the earth, and thus the nearest ap.
proach to perfect eclipse resulted.