The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1888-12-29
THE L ECLIPSE.
Items OF Interest Regarding the Phe-
nomanOn.

grand celestial scene as this will be,
if the weather be clear, is presented
to the gaze of our people. From the
Silver State we take the following in
teresting items concerning the &C
curence
The eclipse of January LIST next will
begin at Winnemueca at about 30
and will end Mt about 3:15 p. NJ. The
beginning will be indicated by a
small notch on the western border OF
the suns disk, caused by the interview
ton of the moon between the sun and
the earth. This notch will increase
until at l 30 P. N. the sun will be en-
tirely hidden. In a little while the
moon will have crossed the face Of
the sun, aud IL thin crescent will ap-
pear on the suns western border, and
us the moon gradually advances the
disc of the sun will reappear. Dur
lng The few seconds of total eclipse,
The corona will appear rs a soft light,
extending in rays of varied length and
shape To a distance of about six de-
grees, or twelve times the diameter of
the sun.
The nature of this corona is IN.
known. 1t was believed for a long
time to be due tn our own atmosphere,
tut spe%ctroscopic observations have
shown it To be probably an a~ppendage
of the sun, a sort of atmosphere, and,
II this is the case il extends IN the
enormous distance of twelve millions
of miles beyond the surface of the sun.
The sun and moon have so nearly
the same apparent diameter, that the
sun is barely hidden, and occasionally
if an eclipse occurs where the sun is
NJ relatively close position, while the
moon, at the same time, is further
away than usual, the disc Of the moon
will not completely cover the sun,
and the ,cipse Is %annular.
In the present case the noon will
cause u circular shadow OF about so
miles diameter upon the earth, and
this shadow will travel from the Alu-
siau Islands across that part of the
Pacific between there aud Point Are
nps, California. thence across Caliior-
MA, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. aud
will dis ppear pear Lake Wlunepeg.
il l. only WITHIN the narrow strip 81
80 mites wide, which will be traced
AZ this shallow. that the eclipse will
h. total. II viii lie visible as a par
t.ti rclsps. however, oyeI almost I'll.
entire continent
The moments during which the sun
i hidden give an oppnrtunitv for eeT-
inin hgestigattions = hich can lie prose-
cuted al no other TINT, and .onsequenf-
" astron mers all uver the world make
up parties Tor tire n%llseryuiion OF total
cohp>es. whenever they occur in ac-
crsslbic parts 81 the glohr. 4 number
ct parties will be stationed At various
points along the line of totally on
January lst. Tie Lick Observatory
will establish a station in Lake county,
Cal; the lIafv nd Observatory will
send a party Ia Willow. Cal: Prof
Swift, of the Warner Observatory,
Rochester. y. Y. will 20 to some
point in California; Mr.. Biinn, who
has a private observatory at East Oak
Land, Cal. will cone 10 Winnemucca.
and put up lis instruments on Winnie
mucca Peak. General Irish, who Is
al enthusiastic astronomer, will make
observation at some point north of
Reno, and Mr.. Van Harrington viii
make observations hSRE under the di-
rection OF Prof. David1'. Todd, of the
Amherst College observatory.
Parties also will come to different
point in Nevada and California from
the DE Paw University of Green
castle, Indiana; from the Washington
Observatory of ST. Louis; from the
Yale Observatory and other places.
The different observers will each
take some particular work, and if the
day is clear there will no doubt be
some valuable additions made 10 our
knowledge of the constitution of the
sun, the nature of the corona, the pos
sible existence of another planet closer
to the sun than Mercury, the motions
of the so-called fixed stars, etc.
There have been a good many in
q%uiries from different persons IN VIM
whether they would be al
lowed to look through the instruments
of the observers who will be here.
They will not. The observations are
of such a character that the observers
will need all of the time which will
be a; their disposal (about 100 sec