The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-02-11
Total Eclipse of the Sun.

The observation of the total solar
eclipse in India has been a magnificent
success. Here, at Talni, during the three
weeks of our preparations, we never saw
single cloud, and today has been as per-
feet as those which have preceded 1T. and
while we are rejoicing over our own good
fortune the news is flashed TO US that at
Buxar, in the east, and Jewar, in the
west, observers have been equally favor
ed Thanks to the forethought of our
host, Lieut.. Morris, no spectators were al
lowed to approach within several hun
dred yards of our camp, and we observed
the superb spectacle free from the slight
est interruption. The first encroachment
Of the dark body OF the moon gave US
an hour and a halfs warning OF totally,
and slowly indeed did the first part OF
that time pass. A fine procession Of sharp
ly defined spots lay across the solar disk.
and were swallowed up, one by one. by
the invading darkness. The air. which
had been intensely hot, grew chill, the
weird sense OF approaching disaster
which always accompanies an eclipse OPP
pressed the nerves and then, with what
seemed a sudden rush, the shadow fell.
1 was watching the eclipse through a
binocular, one lens of which was fitted
with an eye-piece prism. As totality ap-
preached, the burning spectrum at the
sun became clOwned with dark seni-cir-
cles-the Fraunhofer lines. These grew
finer and sharper and then suddenly turn
ed to bright flame at either end of the
semi-circles. The continuous spectrum
narrowed, the bright arch grew with
startling swiftness a long constellation
of glittering points sparkled out for
fraction Of a second, and totality had
begun. Co." I cried. The signal clock
was started, and its clear beat rang out,
emphasized at every tenth second by the
sharp ting of its bell, and the warning
voice of the timekeeper called, "One nur-
dred,'' Ninety" Eighty" according TO
the number of seconds still left US
Just behind me Capt Wordsworth and
Mrs. Maunder, at an equatorial with two
cameras, were changing plates with the
confidence and precision begotten Of much
practice. With each camera six plates
were to be exposed, and all went without
a hitch, but, just as the word came for
the sixth exposure, with a sudden rush
an immense flood of sunlight poured forth
The eclipse had been four seconds short
of the time we had expected. Meantime
Mr.. Thwaites had secured three pho
tographs, and Lieut.. Morris exposed sew
eraI plates in small cameras. Further
east, Mr.. Evershed with d three-fold ar
rangement of spectroscopes, exposed
plates to catch the spectrum of the cor
ona, and especially of the flash. Between
our other occupations we looked up at the
magnificent spectacle before us. The dark
ness did not equal that of the eclipses of
1856 or 1896, but the corona stood out in
the sky as a vast silver star, brighter and
more extended than when 1 saw it eleven
years before. Two fine leaf-shaped extern
sions stretched out almost horizontally
east and west, while nearly, but not quite,
on the suns equator. directed southwest,
was the greatest ray of all, two millions
of miles in length almost, pointing to
where one celestial brilliant glittered sew
eral degrees away.
l had hoped to ascertain the distribu-
ton of the element coronium in the CO.
roma, but the green line, which for US
composes its spectrum, was very faint,
and was not seen at all on the eastern
side of the sun. On the west IT was traced
to about five degrees in height. While
telegraphing, we learned that Prof.
Naeganvalla secured forty photographs at
Jewar, completing his programme.-Lon-
don Times, Talna, Despitch, January Is.