Morning journal and courier., 1883-02-20
The Total Solar Eclipse of May 9th.


 A total eclipse of the sun occurs on the 9th of May. The sun and moon, the chief
 actors ih the grand display, regardless of the
 convenience of terrestial observers, have lo cated the scene of operations in the South
 srn Pacific Ocean. The line of totality
 sweeps over a vast extent of watery waste, 2 Including in it's passage only two small is- lands, where the eclipse can be seen to ad | vantage. These two islands are Caroline
 Island and Flint Island The former is about
 ten miles in circumference, and is inhabited
 by thirty natives of the Malay race and one white man. The latter is five or six miles in
 circumference, and is, we believe, uninhabi-
 ted. Both islands are out of the beaten #track of those who go down to the sea in
 ships. But small as the islands are, and diff
 6cult as they are to reach, the wise men who < wish to study the eclipse, and all others who 2 desire to witness the most glorious celestial phenomenon that ever takes place, will have Ato congregate on these two little islands 4 Thousands of miles of ocean must be tra- versed, and all manner of privations and g hardships must be endured, in order to be- @ hold the awe-inspiring spectacle. But never T yet in the history of the human race have Aany difficulties in the way prevented zealous men of science from attempting to fathom 5 the mysteries that enshroud our celestial Sneighbors.
 s Two French expeditions are being sequipped, one to observe the eclipse at Caro- Kline Island, and the other at Flint Island. S The British nation will not allow their neigh Nbors across the channel to outdo them in : scientitie research, and will, doubtless, send San observing party to Caroline Island. The &Americans are now strongly agitating the %question of sending some of the best astron- 8omers to the same fortunate island, and there His little doubt that the means will be forth Booming. Amateur astronomers are debating 2the question of joining the exhibition, and athe prospect is that when the 9th of May sdawns, a colony of scientists, from many < quarters of the globe, will be assembled in zthis lone island of the Pacific, to find out : what secrets they can discover, while the sface of his majesty the sun, is yelled from mortal view.
 < The eclipse of May next is especially fa- svorable for observation on account of theI Hong duration of totality which will amount Bin some localities to nearly six minutes. Thel zongest time total solar eclipse can last isl snot quite seven minutes. The eclipse ob- sserved last year in Egypt lasted only seventy 1.-two seconds, and it is rare event for anI aeclipse to last nearly six minutes, as will bel sthe case with the coming eclipse. CarolineI 3Island is situated in 73o 20 west longitudeI $from Washington, and in go 4o' south lati- ' Jude. The duration of totality there will bel l five minutes and twenty seconds. Flint Isl Hand is situated in 73o 40' west longitude z from Washington, and in 11o 30 south lati- Stude. The duration of totality there will be- live minutes and thirty three seconds.
 The approaching eclipse is therefore very Important one, on account of the unusually slong continuance of the total phase; for { the law is, the longer the totality the more favorable are the conditions for observation. Astronomers will do their best to increase stheir stock of knowledge on three important Spoints, two of which are connected with the Surroundings of the sun, never revealed ex- Except on the rare occasions of a total solar Seclipse. They hope in the first place to add ssomething to what has already been learned Sduring previous eclipses concerning the coro- Sna, especially in regard to the immense ap- apendages which branch out from the corona Bin all directions; to find out whether they aa aare dependencies of the coronal atmosphere, for whether they are swarms of meteors cir dculating around the sun. In the second aplace they will make a study. of the zodiacal Flight and it's relation to the suns surround Rings. In the third place, they will carefully asearch for the small intra- -Mercurial planets Sthat probably circulate in the immediate 3neighborhood of the sun, and which can donly be seen when making transit over his Raise, or during a total solar eclipse. The Sspectroscopist, the photographer and the ob- dservers with the naked eye will do their al alotted parts in the difficult and delicate work. 1.-The tropical locality of the places of obser- Avation is favorable for clear weather on the smomentous occasion, and there is reason to Rhope that discoveries will be made and o5ser- 2vations confirmed that will render illustrious z the astronomical annals of 1885,