The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-07-31
THE ECLIPSE TOMORROW.
Last One Visible Here for Three
Years.
Some Interesting Things About the
Phenomena.

Some Interesting Things About the
Phenomena.
Tomorrow will witness the last
eclipse to be seen in this portion of
the globe until May 81, 1900, SO
that everyone had better take good
long look at it, enough to last dur
ing that interval. The scheduled af-
fair will occur in this region as
partial one as only about half of the
suns disc will be obscured. The
times of the phases and the circum-
stances of the eclipse as computed
for this point are as follows:
Beginning at $50 a. m. and end
ing at 11:02 p. m.
The time given above is eastern
standard time.
The eclipse will leave ring of
light encircling the eclipsed portion.
This phenomena, however, can be
seen only in certain limited belt.
Throughout the United States, Can
ada, Mexico and the northern part
of South America generally the
eclipse is only visible as partial
eclipse. The path of the annulus,
as the region in which the eclipse is
annular is called, passes from a point
in the Pacific ocean, across Mexico,
Cuba and few of the Windward
islands, touching Cape st. Rogue
ending in the South Atlantic ocean.
A good deal of computation is nee
essary to fix the time of an eclipse
owing to the different methods used
by astronomers in computing the
time of day. The day of the astron-
omers begins at noon on the civil
day of the same date, and the hours
are counted from l to "a. For in
stance, July 20, LII. So, astronomi-
cal time, is July 30, 1.50 p. m, civil
time, and July 20, 1Sh. 20m., astro-
nomical time, is July 30, $40 a. M,
civil time. This custom of astrono-
mers probably arose from their hab-
it of working at night instead of in
day time. They found it more con-
venient to begin counting the hours
at noon and to keep right on until
the next noon. Thus astronomical
/ y speaking, the eclipse of next
Thursday does not occur on Thurs
day at all, but on July %, between
the hours of 20 and %.
The eclipse may be watched with
a smoked glass, if nothing better is
at hand. AT the time of greatest
observation there will be a sensible
diminution in the sum- light. If an
opera or field glass is protected by
smoked or colored glasses, very good
views may be obtained by such
means. While observations will I'M
doub.edly be made at all the obser
vatories in the eclipse region, no ex-
petition will be sent out to observe
this eclipse. While very interesting
from popular standpoint, the
scientific facts to be learned from an
annular eclipse are not regarded as
very important.
This is the second and last eclipse
of the year, the other having been a
partial eclipse of the sun on Februa-
ry l. Two is the lowest number of
eclipses which can possibly occur in
one year, and when there are only
two, both are of the sun. 1t is pos
sible for seven eclipses to occur in
one year, but such cases are rare, in
calendar year. Prof Young says
there were seven eclipses in 1923.
Seven eclipses in a years time, how
ever, are not at all infrequent. There
were seven eclipses from February
II, 1877, to February l, 1878, and
seven eclipses from March IL, 1895,
to February %, 1896. Solar eclipses
are more numerous than lunar eclip-
ses, taking the earth as whole, but
at any one place more lunar eclipses
are visible than solar. This is so
because an eclipse Of the moon is
visible over the entire hemisphere
where it is night, but an eclipse of
the sun is visible only in certain
limited area.
The Chaldeans were able to pre-
dict eclipses long before the reason
for them was known. They found
that after Is years and about ten
days, eclipses would recur in the
same order. So it was only necessa-
ry to keep a record of observed
eclipses for certain length of time
before this regularity was discovered.
Such at least is the statement made
in the text books on astronomy. 1t
is little hard to see how the Chal-
deans would keep track of eclipses
which were visible only in Australia
or in the arctic regions, and if they
missed one or two in an 18-year per-
iod it certainly seems that their flu
ture predictions must inevitably 90
astray. Then again, an eclipse
which is repeated after an 1S-year
period is not necessarily visible in
the same place on its next return.
Anyone who wants to credit the
Chaldeans with a knowledge of all
these matters is at liberty to do so.
AS has been said, some of the best |
writers on astronomy have vouched |
for the accuracy of the ancients on
this point, and one ought to be able
to take their word.
Annular eclipses, while interest
ing, are not regarded as by any
means so important as total eclipses |
among astronomers. Unfortunately,
too, annular eclipses are somewhat |
more frequent than the total variety
in the proportion of to 2. The to-
tai solar eclipse is an event which |
for grandeur has no equal among
celestial phenomena. The complete |
fading of the SUMS light and the ap-
pearance of the stars at MONDAY are
the most startling features of the to-
tai solar eclipse. The last total |
eclipse of the sun which was visible |
in the United States took place on |
New Years day in 1889, and was
best seen in California. At the next |
one, on May 81, 1900, the path of
totality will extend from Virginia to
Louisiana.
LAR GE numbers of people in bug
gies, carriages and a wheel went
over Cheat yesterday to get the ben
efits of the cool breezes that make
that region one favored of the gods.
WHEAT has risen since July 2 in
the face of an unprecedented crop
at home twelve cents on the bushel.
The failure of the foreign crop is the
cause for this advance which has not