The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-12
10 VIEW SUNS ECLIPSE
YANKEE ASTRONOMERS ARE NOW
IN FAR SUMATRA AWAIT
ING MAY II
SEVERAL EXPEDITIONS GONE
The Last Total Eclipse Was OBJ
served in America, but This One
Can Only BE Seen on East
ern Hemisphere.
special Correspondence OF die Globe.

Special Correspondence of the Globe.
BOSTON, May S.-Next Friday, May
IT, a total eclipse Of the sun visible over
q portion of the Eastern hemisphere win
be observed by astronomers gathered to-
gether from all parts of the world. AS
It happens that the path of the shadow
cast by the moon upon the earth crosses
the island Of Sunatra, in the East In
dies, American scientists have Travelled
half way round the globe to see the
eclipse in its totally from this distant
Dutch possession. A journey which &C.
cupes months seems disproportionate to
a spectacle which lasts for five minutes
and ffty-one seconds, and yet, as
eclipses go, this eclipse is an unusually
long one, and the most elaborate prep
arations have been made to record for
future study the interesting features of
the event. ExpeditionSShave been sent
out by various governments One party
has gone fromethe Limited States naval
observatory in Washington, another from
the Lick observatory in California, and
a third from the Massachusetts Institute
Of Technology in this cty-which last, it
so happens, is the only fully equipped eX-
petition from any OF, the American col
leges or schools of science.
The last total eclipse of the sun was on
May Is 1900 when representative of the
Institute of Technology in common with
HSlIOnOHleIS from TIC HUI u ODSCi q
tory, Mr.. PerciVal Loweils station at
Flagstaff, Ariz., and the Blue Hill Me-
neurological Station near Boston, chose
Washington, Ga, as an observing sta
ton, taking advantage of the only op-
pOrtunity in nearly fifty years to observe
a total eclipse from near the Allan ic
coast. The same party which went to
Georgia from the institute is now, with
its personnel but little changed, in Suma-
ira. 1t is under the direction-as 1T was
q year ago-of Mr.. Alfred e. Burton,
professor of Typographical engineering,
and includes Mr.. G. l.. Hosmer, instruc-
tor in civil engineering; Mr.. Harrison
w. Smith, assistant in physics, and Mr.
G. H. Matthes, a graduate of the insti-
tute, now in the employ of the United
States Geographical Survey. Mr.. Matthes
was born in Holland, and has acted
therefore, as Interpreter Of the party in
Sumatra.
The institute party sailed from Boston
February is, proceeding directly by
steamer to Genoa, where passage was
taken on the Dutch steamer Koningen
Regontes on March Ia for Singapore The
British government has sent out two eX-
petitions; one to the island of MaurttHs,
and one to Sumatra. The Sumatra
party Joined the Americans on the Kon-
ingen Regentes, and consisted of Mr.. F.
w. Dyson, OF the Royal observatory at
Greenwich; Prof. H. F.. Newall of the
University Of Cambridge, and Mr. j. J.
Atkinson. Mr.. Dyson and Mr. Atkinson
observed the eclipse last year at Ovar,
Portugal, and Prof. Newau at Algiers.
On the same steamer, also, We're four
members of the expedition sent out by
the Dutch government: DR.. A. A. Nil
land and Prof. Or. w. H. Julius, from
the Utrecht observatory; Mr.. j. H. Win
derdink, from Leyden. and Mr. J. 3.
HUbrecht, the son of Prof Hubrecht, of
Utrecht The Dutch expedition is in
charge Of Major j. ]. A. Muller, director
of triangulation and survey of the island
of Sumatra, who met his party at Padans
and took it in a Dutch government steam
er to Painan on the west coast. In a re-
cent letter Prof Burton writes that his