Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-06-18

4
the sun for the year 1908 Will oc-
Il cur. 1t will not be the great
astronomical event that some eclipses
have been, since it will be only partial
except in the Arctic regions. There 1t
will first take the form of an annular
eclipse that is, the moon will be TOO
far away to hide the whole face OF the
sun. the edges of which will appear out
side of the circumference of the moon
Before it Is over the moon will be tar
enough away to completely CUT off the
sun from earthly view at the point IN
the path of totality, and the eclipse
then will become total. Later still 1t
will again become annular, after winch
the moon will pass away from before
the face of the sun. To America above
line drawn from San Francisco to
Corpus Christi, Texas, the eclipse Will
be partial. Below that line it will be
invisible
Perhaps the most remarkable fact
connected with eclipses is that astrono-
mers can predict them with an accu-
racy down to the very minute and for
centuries ahead, yet the state of the
clouds cannot be foretold even single
day. This has caused many well-laid
plan for eclipse expeditions to go awry,
and the arrangements of months and
the expenditure of thousands of dollars
to go for naught. Periods of total
eclipse of the sun are great events in
the lives of those who wish to fathom
the secrets of that great luminary.
There are about seventy total eclipses
of the sun in a century, and their ag-
gregate periods of totallty amount to
but little more than three hours.
Some of these are only visible in re-
gions too remote for the astronomer to
reach, while others only can be seen on
the oceans. Still others are obscured
by clouds, so that the astronomer has to
work and think fast when a favorable
opportunity does present itself. At
most he has but seven minutes on a
given eclipse, and the average Is less
than three minutes The width of the
strip of territory over which -an eclipse
may be total cannot exceed 1877 miles,
and it is seldom wider than $40 miles.
Some parts of the earth are more fav-
ored with total eclipses than other
parts. London never saw a total eclipse
in more than 500 years together, while
Venezuela saw two in three years. New
I ork has not seen a single total eclipse
in a century, while Yellowstone park
had two in twelve years.
Eclipse observations are less than
century old In ancient times astron-
omers were not able to predict ecipses.
AT Rome 1t was a crime to talk about
their being due to natural causes; they
were believed to be without the order
of nature, and to presage some dire
event. Even after astronomers learned
the secret of eclipses the people at
large refused to believe it. 1t is said
that Thales was able to bring about
the peace between the Modes and the
Lydians by predicting an eclipse and
that Columbus impressed his heavenly
IL IN hn Tn, isa,Y, IYr e,l,1,
them that he could tell when an eclipse
would occur. In justice to him it is
to be said that he made such a claim
In order to get food for his men. The
reason that astronomers were so slow
in learning how to predict eclipses and
to explain them was that while they
occurred with regularity they occurred
at different places on the earth, thus
effectually hiding from the astrono-
mers the regularity of their occurrence.
The deep interest in the sun which
astronomers are now taking is due
largely to the lessons they learned
have learned about the corona the
chromosphere, and the solar prom
inences. These discoveries have slim
ulated the most intense interest in the
study of the sun, and astronomers are
working as they never worked before
10 IdlHOIl TIE mysteries OF lHb great
orb to which all earthly life owes it's
existence. So great has this interest
become that an international union
for cooperative research has been es-
tablished, and the astronomers of the
world come together every few years,
forming a clearing house for the in
formation gathered between meetings.
Much has already been learned about
the sun and the layman must wonder
and marvel at the genius of the as
tronomer and his ability to acquire
the knowledge which has been OBJ
tanned. Yet the astronomer thinks
only of what is yet to be learned, and
the little he knows compared with
what he desires to find out. He will
tell you that it is important that he
should know more about the constancy
of the sun. He has learned that the
heat it throws off varies from month
to month, yet he wants to know why.
He has discovered that there is a re-
lation between terrestrial magnetism
and sun spots and probably between
earthquakes and sun spots, but he
wants to know what that relation Is.
He knows that change of 10 per cent
in the radiation of heat by the sun
would result in a change of - degrees
in the temperature of our atmosphere.
Astronomers have been able to prove
to a certainty that the sun is approx
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