Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-02
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE sun.
The Spectacle Next Sunday Which
Astronomers Have Conc 60 the south
Pacific 10 See.

The line Of total obscuratlon OF the solar eclipse
next Sunday, May 9Th, lies wholly In the Pacific
ocean, beginning at point within a few hundred
miles Of Australia and ending at similar distance
from South America The FIRST apparent contact
OF the moon against the suns disc In that line will
be visible at about l55 degrees OF longitude west
Greenwich and in latitude about 81 south of the
Equator. 1t Will describe a circular path ending
at longitude about IS west OF Greenwich and lati-
tude IL or IS south The only islands OF any note
lying Within this path are the MarQuesaS, at l40
west OF Greenwich and south.
THE AMERICAN PARTY,
In charge OF Professor Holden, left New York
about the first Of March for the isthmus, ana
sailed from Callao, Peru, the ri OF the same
month for Caroline islands, near the MarQuesas
group, In the q. s. ship Hartford. 1t was expected
that the observers would reach their destination
about the Goth Of April, and would spend the In
tervenlng time In erecting and preparing their in
struments. The party was composed OF Prof r
8. Holden, director OF the Washburn Observatory,
Madison; WIS., DE- Hastings Johns Hopkins
navy; Mr.. Preston, U. s. coast survey; Mr..
Minslow Upton, OF the signal service U. army;
The two English members OF the party are
Messra IL A. Lawrence and C. Ray Woods, who
were sent by the Royal Society under special in
structions from Lockyer and other distinguished
physicists. A party under the auspices OF the
French government will be present. This Is a no
table eclipse, as the totalty will last six minutes
an unusually long time.
BAILY's BRADa
Observations during former eclipses have shown
several very striking features. Il las been noted
that Immediately before the beginning and after
the end OF total observation the remaining cres-
cent appears as q bright band OF brilliant points,
separated at regular intervals by dark spaces,
giving It the appearance Of a string OF beads
These are called Baiiy's Beads from the discoveror.
MT w. Mathew Williams, an English observer,
thinks that they are simply spots seen In pro-
nle-Sp0ts just caught In the act OF turning the
suns edges.
BEAUTIFUL PHENOMENA
OF total eclipse are the rose-colored protuber-
ances, which are cloud-like prominences OF a
bright roseate hue, projecting from the surface OF
the sun beyond the moons edge. The spectroscope
shows that 1t consist OF incandescent gas of hch
hydrogen is the chief constituent
THE eoLAE CORONA
Another interesting phenomenon which appears
Is the solar corona, great halo OF light surround
ing the darkened sum- and stretching far out into
space. This halo was regarded by some to be the
solar atmosphere, lighted by the suns rays,
streaming through It Mr. r. Kalley Miller, pro-
fessor at Cambridge, England, attributes the halo
some travelling sfngly, others in small clusters,
and others In enormous groups In their proper
paths about the sun. The corona is simply the
sun light, reflected from their surfaces as IL is
from the disks OF the moon and the planets.
Ine temporary OOScurat1Ol or the dazzling light
OF the great luminary will be utilized by the OBJ
servers from their lonely post OF observation In
the south Pacnc TO gain further facts relative TO
the various phenomena OF the sun. Whether the
supposed fntra-mercurial planet. or planets will
he discovered remains to be seen but the best as
tronomera have not much faith in tho existence OF
such body. or bodies.