New-York tribune., 1905-07-30
THE COMING ECLIPSE.
Sun Viii BE Totally Obscured on
august 50.
Sir Robert Ball. IL. d.. r. TX. ;.


making preparations for August so next On
shat day there will be total eclipse of the sun
There have been, however. so many total
lclirses within the recollection of most OF US |
}hat the question may well be asked as to Why |
are TO pay any particular attention 10 thls
ecl.pse among the number The reasons are
eaeilv stated In the first place the duration /
o. totaIity at the best stations is fairly long.
Tho complete observation Of the sun VIII last
fer three minutes and fifty seconds. NO doubt
under combination OF favorable circumstances
eclinses can and do sometimes happen in which
,ba duration of totality it IS called, is con-
riE.yabIy greater In some eclipses it has been
indeed nearly twice as great. On the other
hand in many total eelpses which have been
lce-.cd worthy the attention Of the astronomer
tn precious seconds of totality have been barely
half rs many as those which will be available
hext August.
The middle of the eclipse that is, the occur
renee of totality at noon, can be observed IN
he north of Spain There. either at Burgos, or
rt A place one-third of the way from Saragossa
TO Madrid or at MoreIa. there will be good
prospect of clear weather and a view Of one OF
!he submest of natural phenomena under the
bst possible conditions for observation
The eclipse of next August will be visible to
bone extent over the whole or Europe ana tho
rroater part OF Africa 1t will be visible over
Inc North Atlantic and over a great part OK
canada and doubtless will be noted by many
hundreds of thousands of Observers 1t may mere
10 mentioned that an eclipse of this kind can be
Observed on a bright day when the sun Is high
/, a manner which. though it may not be act
n.l,y instructive from scientific point Of view'
Is certainly pleasing and picturesque. This OBJ
,rvatfon is made strange to say, not by look
i'm m 10 the SUM- but by looking down upon the
,-ro-11d When the sun throws a shadow OF a
tree on the road the rays OF hght passing
through interstices between the leaves form
,,igat spots, which, though we may not ordt-
,or.Iy notice the fact are really images of the
IN When a large part Of the disk OF the sun
D. coIipsed then the bright part Is reduced 10 d
crescent, and consequently each or the nyriao
ftt,c solar images on the ground presents to Us
beautiful crescent
\ most satisfactory way Of observing the
,beror,enon Is to obtain the assistance OF
t11c~cone and then to arrange that the Image OF
the sun shall be thrown on screen. by TINS
device q greatly enlarged image OF the sun IS
obtained and the excessive brilliancy is Suitably
reduced.
But the characteristic phenomena which make
eclipces so important are never exhibited Wheh
the rhase Of the eclipse is no moro than par
tiaI one Complete extinction OF the sun Is
NJ, .orv. or. in other words, it is necessary for
tn observer to take up such position that the
shadow of the moon shall pass over him as
that shadow sweeps over the earth. II is with
>he object of getting into the track of the
ahaCow that astronomers are now preparing tor
q visit either to Canada, Spain. Tunls or EGYPT
for the line passes through these other coun-
tries as well as through Spain The width OF
the shadow track is approximately one hundred
miles but toward each end of the track the du-
ration of the totality dininishes so that to see
the cclipse under the most favorable conditions
a position should be taken near as possible to
the central line.
At Just 12:41 on August 80 the shadow cone
of the moon cast by the sun. after rapidly NOV
ing through space first strikes this earth. The
place so honored is about Winnipeg, where the
risine; sun will be a black globe. The shadow
has fallen on the earth, and now as a black spot
about one hundred miles in diameter it COM
menccs an eastern rush at headlong speed across
our continents and oceans. In two or three min
utes after its arrival il has crossed Hudson's
Bay, and then, at just 1155 o'clock in London,
the shadow launches from the coast Of Labra-
dor upon the Atlantic.
AS the Greenwich clock shows ten minutes
to one, the sun being high in the heavens
and consequently the opportunities for observa-
ton being at their best, the Atlantic journey is
over and the shadow enters Europe near Cape
Finistere. For about twenty-five minutes the
a.