The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-30
CLOUDS HID THE ECLIPSE.
Nobody Hereabouts Saw the obsouratlon of tho Sun.


 To the thousands who had prepared smoked glasses wherewith to view the suns eclipse of yesterday the general cloudiness was a sore disappointment. Once of twice there was a rift In the gray, murky cloud covering and few rays of sunlight struggled through, but the pallor was as dense as ever in mo- ment or two.
 No attempt was made at the Yale ob- servatory to observe the eclipse Dr. w, l.. Elkin. the observatory director, did not consider the eclipse of sufficient importance to make observations, inas- much as 1t was only partial here and valuable only because 1t indicates the relative positions of the sun and the moon, and even if plans had been made for observations they would not have been successful
 The last time residents of this city saw an eclipse of the sun was on Octo- Der 20, 1892. Taking the astronomers word for it, yesterdays eclipse began at $50 o'clock, was at It's height of ob- scurity at 10 o'clock and by 11:15 o'clock had passed away. From an astronomi- cal point of view, and aside from the cloud interference, there was not any, thing novel In the eclipse.
 The moon was further away from the earth than usual yesterday and was thus unable to completely cover the face of the sun. Those who have a oc+a fo, ha fpt tn know that the moon which is 2,l63 miles in diameter, was 240000 miles from the earth yesterday, while the sun, S66,400 miles in diameter, was 94,300,000 miles away. If the moon had been 2,500 miles | nearer the earth there would have been a total eclipse. It may be some comfort to know all this, notwithstanding the inability of the spectators to see what was going on aloft. The disappoint- ment was increased by the knowledge that there would not be another chance to see an eclipse of the sun until May 27, 1900.
 A total eclipse is promised on January 21, 1898, but it will last only two min utes and will not be visible in this city. It may be seen In Louisiana and Vir- gnia if the clouds do not get in the way. The last total eclipse of the sun visible in this country took place on New Years day, 1889.
 l Solar eclpses are rare and no not occur oftener than once in eighteen years.
 1 Total eclipses of the sun are the rar- est of all. In England, for instance, one is dua on August 12, 1899. With that exception they will not have another over there in 250 years.
 l Yesterdays solar eclipse was the sec ond one this year The other took place | February 1. It was a small partial | eclipse, invisible to this portion of the | country.
 An eclipse of the sun Is quite differ ent affair from an eclipse of the moon. A lunar eclipse is caused by the pass ing of the moon through the earth's shadow. It is visible from every DOT tion of the earth's surface from which the moon itself is visible at that time, that is, over one entire hemisphere of the earth. Furthermore, a lunar eclipse, whether total or partial, presents one and the same appearance to every ob- server, no matter where he is station | ed, whether in Boston or Rio Janeiro or San Francisco, just as the shadow of a tree cast upon a house appears the same from whatever point of view 1t Is looked at. A solar eclipse is caused by the passage of the moon between us and the sun. To see 1t one must be so | situated that the range Is right, just as to see a distant house exactly be- hind some near object, as tree, one must stand so that the tree is exactly in line with him and the house. If he moves from this line, to the right or the left, the tree changes it's position with reference to the house, and when 1 he has moved to certain distance 1t ceases altogether to range with the l house.
 In the case of solar eclipse the sun IS the distant house; the moon is the tree. Since this moon is comparative ly small body, only about 2,O00 miles in 1 diameter, while the diameter of the earth is nearly 5000 miles, there is up- on the earth ample room for getting off of the range when the moon is passing | the sun.
 Solar eclipses are of incalculable value and interest to astronomers, be- cause the beclouded condition of the sun permits men to observe and study it with instruments that are useless when the orb faces toward them with it's blinding light. An eclipse by the moon also furnishes an opportunity to in- spect the latter, for, with the sun show ing through it, it is as if we were able to practically subject the moon to X- rays.
 An eclipse becomes especially inter esting the moment the center of the sun is covered by the moon. The day light then diminishes rapidly, and when the total eclipse approaches the diminution of light Is so rapid as to be terrifying to one ignorant to it's causes
 A striking feature, besides the dark ness, is the change of color shown by many objects. This is more noticeable in the country than in cities. The greenest foliage becomes of gray col or in the parts nearest the sun, w11il5 towards the horizon 1t wears a green ish yellow tint.
 A mans face looks cadaverous. Ar appalling silence falls upon nature Birds disappear, insects hide them. selves, animals show every evidence of fear, and the entire landscape wear! an aspect that seems to foretell an i'm minent frightful disaster.
 Science believes that the deadly vel low hue appears at such times to settl' l Ibo orf1, q yUppkpninP n