The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-10
THE SUMS ECLIPSE.
Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore sun.
The total eclipse of the sun on May IS
next will be visible i'm our Southern States,
and. as Professor Bigelow. of the United
States Weather Bureau. says in an article
In Appleton's Popular Science Monthly for
May, 1--WE are fortunate to have the show
at home in our own country this time"
Many foreigners will come to the United
States to make observations. The track
OF the eclipse on May %, Professor Bige-
low states. enters the United States in
southeastern Louisiana, passes over New
Orleans centrally, over Mobile, Ala, which
Is on its southern edge, over Montgomery,
Ala, on the northern edge, over Columbus,
Ca. passes twenty-five miles south OF At
lanta, Ga, passes near Macon, Miledgeville,
Augusta, Columbia, S. c., and Charlotte,
N. c., over Raleigh. n. c., which Is ten
miles north of the central line, and over
Norfolk. Va, fifteen miles north OF the cen
ter. The track is about fifty miles wide In
all parts. and the duration OF the eclipse
varies from one minute and twelve seconds
near New Orleans to one minute and 1orty-
four seconds near Norfolk on the central
line.
out of about seventy eclipses Of the sun
which nave occurred somewhere In the
world within the nineteenth century, says
Professor Bigelow, there have been only
eight total eclipses of more or less dura-
ton visible on the North American CONT
nent. The others happened in places OFTEN
remote from civilization and sometimes In
totally inaccessible localities, as over the
ocean areas. The difficulty of transporting
heavy baggage to the remote parts or Asia,
Africa or South America is such as TO pre-
clude all but a few scientists from any eff
fort to observe eclipses. In 1889 the United
States government sent an expedition TO
Cape Ledo, West Africa. This expedition
carried a complete equipment of scientific
material to be used for observations such
as telescopes, spectroscopes. polariscopes
and Photographic cameras. The party was
repaired to observe the eclipse In Its to-
taiity after the most approved methods,
but unfortunately lost the sun entirely
during the critical moments by the tenn
porary obscuring of the sky through local
cloud formations.
The United States Weather Bureau has
been conducting special observations on
the cloudiness occurring from May 10 TO
June 10 in each of the three years 1897, 1895
and 1899. between s a. m. and 8 a. m, the
morning hours of the eclipse next month.
The observations give substantially the
same conclusion for each y~ear-namely,
that there is a maximum of cloudiness
near the Atlantic coast in Virginia. extend
ing back into North Carolina, and also
near the Gulf coast in Louisiana and In
southern Mississippi. while there is a min
and central Georgia. While the cloud OBJ
servations suggest that Georgia and Ala
bama have the best sites for the eclipse,
the duration Is but one minute and twenty
III dD1li III IL 10 oIC ilAAi
Cte and forty seconds in North Carolina.
stations for observing the eclipse will be,
therefore. selected in the latter State, al
though the probability for minimum cloud
mess is twice as good in Georgia and Ala
bama.
The path of the total eclipse of May IS,
1900, after leaving the United Staes, crosses
the North Atlantic ocean to Coimbra, Por-
tugal, and continues over North Africa to
its end at the Red sea. Stations which are
not ituated on the path of totality, says
Professor Bigelow, will see the sun par
TALLY eclipsed in proportion to the distance
of the locality from the central line TO the
northern or southern limits. New England,
New York, the Ohio valley and the south
ern Rocky mountain district will see the
sun about nine-tenths covered; the lake
region, the lower Missouri valley and
southern California will see an eight-tenths
eclipse, and the northern Rocky mountain
region about six-tenths or seven-tenths
The best way to view the partially eclipsed
sun is TO secure three strips of thin colored
glass, one and a half inches wide by five
inches long-red green and blue-bind them
over the eye end of a good opera glass and
adjust focus on the sum-. No other eclipse
track will occur in this country until June
s, 1918, when one will pass from Oregon to
Florida, two minutes in duration. Another
will occur in New England on Jan. "A, 1926.
Eclipses seven minutes in duration will be
visible in India in 1855 and in Africa in 1873
the longest for a thousand years.