Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1909-09-22
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF SUN.
r,ev Are seldom Visible in the
United States.

.atIf
,n,v in the Arctic regions. Peary may
lave seen this wonderful sight from the
;ce foes on which he is supposed to be
rs,dering in search OF the Pole 1t all
asnends on the clouds, those tormenting
ohstruetions which so often at the psy-
geological moment OF totaiity have caused
Tho careful preparations OF months on the
,art OF astronomers to go awry. Scien-
,ists can calculate ecljpses centuries ahead,
,ut not the meteorological conditions at
tending them.
There are only about seventy total
sclipses OF the sun in century, aggrega-
ling in all only a little over three hours
,otality. Many of these are visible only
in regions impossible to reach, others are
oplv seen in mid-ocean. The astronomer
aud his assistants must work hard during
those three, or at most, seven minutes,
in which the sun is totally obscured,
when it is possible to observe the eclipse
in clear SKY. Then only can the corona
he studied and photographed; those
precious moments OF time in which to
,srest the secret of our solar orb from
ybe mystery OF the universe. London
never saw total eclipse in 500 years,
while two were visible in Venezuela in
three years. Yellowstone Park had two
in twelve years, but New York none in
over century.
Eclipse observations are less than a CEN
tury old In ancient times astronomers
we're not able to predict eclipses. At
Rome it was a crime to talk about their
being due to natural causes; they we're be-
lieyed 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 be-
lieye it. 1t is said that Thales was able to
bring about the peace between the Modes
and Lydisns by predicting an eclipse, and
that Columbus impressed mis- heavenly
descent on the Jamaicans by showing
them that he could tell when ar eclipse
would occur. In justice to him it is to be
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 effect
ually hiding from the astronomers the
regularity OF their occurrence.
The deep interest in the sun which
astronomers arc now taking is due largely
to the lessons they learned through
eclipses. Through them they have learned
about the corona, the chromosphere and
the solar prominences. These discoveries
have stimulated the most intense interest
are working as they never worked before
to fathom the mysteries OF the great orb
to which all earthly life owes its existence.
An International union for cooperative
research has been established, and the
astronomers Of the world come together
every few years.
Much has already been learned about
the sun, and the layman must marvel at
the genius of the astronomer and his
ability to acquire knowledge. Yet the as
tronomer thinks only of what is yet to
be learned, and the little he knows COM
pared 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
1t throws of varies from month to month,
yet he wants to know why. He has dis
covered that there is relation 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
ten per cent. in the radiation OF heat by
the sun would result in a change OF
twelve degrees in the temperature Of our
atmosphere.
Astronomers have been able to prove to
a certainty that the sun is approximately
8,00o0o0 miles away from the earth.
They have three standpoints from which
this may be calculated, and all give the
same answer. They are then in position
to tell how big the sun is, and they place
its diameter at 100000 miles. II it takes
forty days to go round the earth at the
same speed, it would take twelve years to
travel around the sun. II the earth were
to swell to the size OF the sun and man
NAN Sio" eah IA PioPohtiohf ho "OuAA
be about 625 feet high, or nearly hum
dred feet higher than the Washington
monument. II a 150-pound man could fly
to the sun, his weight there would be
about two tons, owing to the vast increase
an the force OF gravity-due in turn to
The far greater size of the sun as COM
pared with the earth.
1t is estimated that old Sol radiates
enough heat to provide comfortably for
z,oo0,0O0,0O0 planets like our own. Each
square foot of his surface gives OF enough
heat to drive an ocean liner, and two acres
OF the SUMS surface would furnish power
enough to drive all the machinery in the
world now driven by steam. Its heat,
concentrated on Q column Of ice two and
fourth miles square and reaching from the
earth to the sun, would suffice to melt the
whole column in q single second. In
seven seconds more the water from the