The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-13
SUN IN ECLIPSE
 ON AUGUST 30

on the aoth of August. 1905, Green wich time. the shadow cone of the moon cast by the sun, after rapidly moving through space, first strikes this earth. The place so honored Is about Winnipeg, and the industrious farmers will there doubtless be atonished to see the rising sun appearing as a black globe. The shadow has fallen on the earth and now as a black spot about 100 miles in diameter 1t commences an eastern rush at headlong speed across our continents and oceans. In two or three minutes after its arrival 1t has crossed Hudson's bay, and then just five minutes before noon in London the shadow launches from the coast of Labrador. upon the Atlantic.
 over the Atlantic the black spot rushes. Generally of course the shadow is cast upon mere waste of water, but it may no doubt occasionally hap pen that the mariner has to record in his log that he was overtaken by the shadow, that broad day suddenly transformed into night, and any lights which happened to be burning on the vessel would then stream forth into the gloom with unexpected brightness. Nearly an hour is occupied in this ocean transit, during which. from the astronomers point of view. the eclipse Is wasted.
 AS the Greenwich clock shows ten minutes to 1, the sun being now high in the heavens, and consequently the opportunities for observation being at their best, the Atlantic journey Is over and the shadow enters Europe near Cape Finishterro. For about twenty five minutes the course lies through Spain, and then the Mediterranean Is reached. This sea is crossed till Tunis is entered about 1:40. Then again fol- lows a passage over the sea until Egypt is entered at 2:04. Twenty minutes later there is a crossing of the Red Sea, and now the earthly journey of the shadow Is drawing to a close, and 1t ends in Arabia at 2:32. having oc- cupied two hours and forty-six minutes in its course from Canada. At the ends of its track the duration of the totality is about two minutes, and 1t is nearly double as long in the central part of the track.
 Expected Results.
 The circumstances of this eclipse are in every way SO favorable that as- tronomers are making strenous efforts to observe it as various places through out its long journey. The eclipse will be observed before 1t leaves the Ameri- can coast in Labrador not only by American observers, but by astrono- mers who will travel thither from Eu- rope. Then. of course. special atten- tion will be directed to the observa- tions In the north of Spain, and also in Tunis. and in Egypt Thus at wide ly distant stations along the track, elaborate photographic appliances for depicting the appearance of the Coro- ma, and for obtaining information as to its spectrum. will be busily engaged. This wide distribution of the observing stations makes it highly probable that even If the weather be unfavorable in some places, 1t will not be so in all places.
 Thus some results may be consid- cred as practically certain; but there Is another advantage of very differ ent kind. The duration of the total eclipse under the most favored condi ton still falls somewhat short of four minutes. There Is thus 1t a very brief interval between the first and the last photograph that one observer can take. If. however. the corona be pho tographed at Labrador by one party and at Egypt by another, there may be an interval of as much as two hours between the two exposures.
 The importance of this will be ap- preciated when we bear in mind one of the principal problems which 1t is hoped this eclipse may enable us to solve. The mysterious corona, well shown in the admirable pictures taken on April 16. 1893. by Mir. J. Kearney In West Africa, Is certainly not a per- manent structure: 1t Is in constant movement. and in the intense energy of solar activity. the movements take place with such rapidity that in the space of couple of hours such large changes take p1ac eas would be quite conspicuous on the two photographs taken at such an interval. The experi- ence of former eclipses has shown this to be the case. and 1t may reasonably be expected that further light will be gained by the opportunities afforded next August.
 It must be remembered that the CO., roma is never visible unless under the rare oportunity of a total eclipse The many artificial devices by which 1t has been sought to exclude the direct light of the sun, and thus render the faint corona visible. have never yet succeeded. Precious indeed to those who would penetrate the secrets of na- ture are those glorious minutes in the afternoon of August 30, 1905.