The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-05-29
THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN
FINE SEEING CONDITIONS ALONG
 PATTI OF TOTALITY.

usually satisfactory-Many Exposure
 Tahen-Results of the Work at thu Various ObscrvntOries.
 Washington, May 28.-Advices receiv
 ed at the naval observatory from its
 agents in various points in the soutf
 show that favorable weather prevailed
 for observing the suns eclipse to-day
 that the contact occurred very close tc
 schedule time and that the programme
 arranged was carried out without a l hitch. Three parties were sent out
 from the observatory, viz: One to l Pinehurst N C., in charge of Professor | Aaron N. Skinner; one to BarnesVille | Ga, in charge of Professor Hilton Up- | degraff and one to Griffin Ga, Tn
 charge of Professor Stimson J. Brown. Captain c. H. Davis, superintendent Of the observatory, was in communication
 with these officials by telegraph, and during the day he received the follow
 ing advices
 Pinehurst N. C., May 2S.-Clear sky
 and favorable, permitting successful
 observation of the eclipse. All seyen-
 teen instruments successfully operated.
 Contact occurred very close to predicted
 time. Corona very fine Mercury only
 star visible
 (Signed) A. N. Skinner.
 Professor Updegraff, at Gainesville,
 Ga, and Professor Brown at Griffin,
 Ga, merely reported that their obser-
 Vations were successful.
 In Washington the weather was slightly cloudy, which somewhat marred
 the opportunities for getting satis- factory observation of the eclipse. The
 eclipse arrived just a few seconds ahead of schedule time, but the irregu-
 lariSy was so slight that an ordinary observer could not have discerned it. The trained star gazers declare that the contact came from to 8 seconds be- fore it was due, but the difficulty of telling just when the actual contact be- gan was so great because of cloud which passed that even they cannot quite agree among themselves. They do agree, however, that 1t was one of the most remarkable predictions in the history of astronomy, it being doubtful if ever before the time of the arrival ol dl ttlIpSc N1tS. ~O ettc LII GilCiJ oii- nounced in advance The first contact was scheduled to take place at Al min- utes and ? seconds past ' o'clock, mer- idian time, which is minutes and l5 and 7-10 seconds faster than Washing ton time. A few seconds before that, time the edge of the sun and moon were in contact, but it was several seconds later before the naked eye looking through smoked glass could tell that the eclipse was actually taking place. From the moment of first contact until the period of the nearest approach to total- ity, at exactly o'clock, the light faded gradually until the city was in con- dition of hay twilight.
 The watchers at the observatory gag ed at the phenomenon through six inch and a twelve inch equatorial tele- scope, while another official used a comet finder.
 There were no attempts to photograph as all the instruments for such purpose had been sent south. The only object of the watchers in Washington was to catch and record the time of the first and final contact, and the exact moment | 1f the nearest approach to totality At exactly 9 o'clock 90 per cent. of the | suns face was obscured The final con -act was scheduled for 16 minutes and | 5 seconds past 10 o'clock Each of the | .hree watchers got a different time. | One of them recorded Is minutes and | 10 seconds, another seconds and a l hird 7 seconds, the discrepancy being lue probably to difference in the ooth of The m ,ba lomena of the moons shadow bands vas promised as an accompaniment, for he eclipse was not observable here. Mr. 3oeger, who watched through the 2G- nch instrument, took particular pains o see whether the other phenomenon that caused by the suns rays alling through the leaves of trees was present. and he was rewarded for his 'ains. With an unshadowed sun the avs streaming through leaves produce title circles of light on the ground be- eath. While the shadow was on the un to-day MT, Boeger found that these ircles were changed to crescents.
 Unofficial reports which have reached Washington indicate that the eclipse las visible to a greater or less degree II | lrly fortunate were the observers in he southern section of the country, yhere the weather seemed to be unusu- Fly favorable for securing the photo raphic data which the scientists were } anxious to obtain, though in some ortions toward the gulf the weather 'as cloudy. In some of the southern ties during the period of totality stars ere visible almost directly overhead T Richmond a most striking feature of le eclipse was a short but brillian rain OW on the west or contact side of the In. The phenomenon was the more as there was not a cloud in le sky. Barnesville, Ga, May 28.-Amid per ,ct arrangement of detail, with good eather conditions and with no hin- | iances or defects to prevent success, le varying phases of the solar eclipse ere observed by the government as- onomers at the United States observ- g station here to-day. The photo- 'aphic work was unusually successful i've cameras made twenty exposures l of which are believed to be good e large photographic -heliograph pro-