Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-05-29

North Carolina. While the eclipse
was visible all over the country It was
only. within a patch Of about 55 miles
in width, extended from New Orleans
to Norfolk, that the observation was
complete
The United States government APP
propriated literally for to-day's great
work and observation parties were es-
tablished at three places in the South
and at Tripoli in Africa, by the naval
observatory Prof S. J. Brown, Unit
ed States astronomical director, is in
charge OF the naval parties in the
South, which number about sixty per-
sons. Prof Browns headquarters are
at GAINESVILLE Ga The preliminary
work, such as selecting a site, erecting
tents and installing instruments was
in charge of Prof Milton Updegraff. A
car load of costly and delicate appara-
tus was placed in position, the multitu-
dinous details were completed and the
assistants drilled to perfection in a few
days. Three large instruments were
erected on prominence at an altitude
of one thousand feet, A large scaffold
was put up and tent pitched. In one
of the large buildings is the polar axis
upon which were mounted various cam
eras and Photographic telescopes. The
telescope is reyolved slowly by means
of clepsydra or water clock. The
equatorial telescopes for visual obser-
walton of the corona were also placed
in position in this building. Upon the
scaffold the large photo-heliograph
with six-inch lenses and forty feet focal
length was installed. There is, OF
course, dark room where the plates
will be developed.
A branch Of this naval observatory
party was stationed at Griffin, Ca, a
few miles away, in charge of Prof. G..
A. Hill. Prof Hills temporary OBJ
servatory is on the estate of Georgia's
experiment farm, two miles and half
from the center of Griffin. This is also
high point. Both to the east and the
west the country is open and afforded
a splendid view not only of the eclipse
itself, but the shadow as it appeared
from the west could be distinctly seen
for miles.
The station was selected for the ex-
press purpose of making spectroscopic
analyses of the various phenomena of
light. In this particular the work of
the Griffin station differed widely from
that at GAINESVILLE
The third government station was
located at Pinehurst, N c. Prof A. N.
Skinner was in charge and his work
for the most part was of the same
character as that performed by the
Griffin observatory. Prof Skinner has
been on the ground for two weeks or
more, his chief work being to superin-
tend the erection of one of the largest
cameras ever constructed. This sta
ton is manned by five members of the
tinguished specialists, among them DR..
Chase, Of Yale.
The eclipse station of the Cabot OBJ
servatory was located at Sloan, Ga.
The party was sent out from the home
of the observatory, Oakland, Cal, by
Prof. James Dalber, a noted .astrono~
mer of San Francisco and member of
the Royal Astronomical Society, of
London. Prof. Charles Burckhalter is
in charge of the party.
The permanent staff of the Yerkes
observatory of the University of Chi
cago located their station at Wades-
boro, N. c., with Prof. Edward E. Bar.
nard in charge. Prof Barnard placed
in position the magnificent photograph
1c telescope of siX-inch aperture and
focal strength of 81 feet. This tele-
scope is capable of producing pictures
from 16 to 20 inches in diameter. A
delicate apparatus for measuring the
heat radiation of the corona was also
set UP.
Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy sent delegation in charge of Prof.
A. E. Burton
Prof. w. H. Pickering directed the
party sent out by Harvard. He was
assisted by j. r. Edmunds and J, R.
Atwell, of the same institution.
Blue Hill observatory, Boston, sent
out A. L. Rotch and party. Their
work was confined to meteorological
observations, a study and record of the
shadow bands and the velocity of the
eclipse wind.