Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-05-26

On the morning of May %, when the
spring sun Is riding high in the heav-
ems, strange thing will happen. The
moon, invisible, of course, will get be-
tween the earth and the sun. AL
though the moon Is an insignificant
little ball when compared to the sun,
it is so much nearer US that the great
orb Of day fill be entirely blotted out
Reaching down through space will
dip, like a great pencil, the black
shadow Of the moon. This shadow will
draw across the face Of the earth a
broad black line. 1t will be rush
ing, sweeping stroke, that will swing
eastward at the rate Of nearly 1000
miles an hour. This will be the path
of total eclipse. The line will be about
so miles wide. 1t will cross Mexico
and strike the United States at New
Orleans. From there it will sweep
northeast to Norfolk, whence it will
pass out across Cape Henry and over
the ocean.
So from New Orleans to Norfolk the
eclipse will be total. This means that
for the space Of about 90 seconds this
part Of the country will be in semi
darkness. All the rest Of the country,
from Salt Lake City east, will have to
be satisfied with only partial eclipse.
But this will be well worth seeing. If
you are anywhere near the line Of total
eclipse, you will see the greater part
Of the day star obscured, as If great
hand were trying to shut out the light.
Eclipses Of the sun, as you know,
are not everyday occurrences. Even
when they do come it often happens
that America is left out. The last total
eclipse visible in the United States
east Of the Rockies was In 1878, and
the next one will not occur until 1916.
So if you are fortunate enough to be
within the path Of totality during the
coming eclipse you should make the
most Of 1t, for this Is the chance OF
lifetime. The people who have seen
more than one total eclipse are the
astronomers who have travelled to
the ends Of the earth for that purpose.
But this is q popular eclipse. 1t is
not one Of those shy affairs that go
off to inaccessible parts Of the earth
to be seen by the favored few. 1t will
come to a thickly populated and easily
reached section Of our own country.
1t will occur on time too. There Is to
be no uncertainty about this phenome-
non. There will be no disappointment,
as there was about the meteor showers
last fall. Eclipses are reliable. They
never cancel dates. Only cloudy or
stormy weather can obscure the show.
The eclipse will 60 on, clouds or no
clouds, but unless there Is q clear sky
we cannot see 1t.
AS q spectacle a total solar eclipse
ranks among the most marvellous ever
presented to the eyes Of man. The race
Of the moon shadow across the face or
the landscape as the moment OF total
lty approaches has always been de-
scribed by observers as one OF the
most staggering, awe inspiring scenes
that 1t is possible to imagine. Then
come the obscurity, the disappearance
Of the sun, the strange chill Of unnat-
ural darkness, the outburst Of the won
derful coronal streamers around the
spot where black hole seems sudden
ly to have taken the place Of the sun,
the red flames Of the prominences and,
after one or two minutes OF awful
pause and silence, the gleam Of the re-
appearing orb and the swift flight OF
the shadow eastward.
During most eclipses that have here
tofore occurred astronomers have had
few eyes to assist their own In showing
the picturesque features Of the phe-
nomenon. Well known astronomers
who have gone half round the earth
to observe an eclipse have come back
acknowledging that they had not real
ly seen it, because they had no time to
look at 1t. Their attention was entire
" absorbed by the technical observa-
tions, and only a dreamlike impress
sion Of the real wonders Of the scene
had been made upon their minds.
On this occasion what has heretofore
been so seriously lacking will be sup
piled in abundance, and while astron'
omers are busy with telescope, spec.