The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-04-15
ECLIPSE OF sun
DUE WEDNESDAY,
Will Be Visible in Atlantic
Ocean, British Guiana and
Manchester.
"CENTRAL- ANNULAR' STUNTS
Moon Will Hide Suns Blushing
Face When He Arises Soon
After ) O'clock.

| In honor. IT is understood. of tho
approaching Dollar Dinner In this city
| an annual eclipse o fthc sun Will occu.
early Wednesday morning. The only
| drawback 10 this feature of the civic
! cooperative movement is that all who
sec /; must perforcc he UP at sun
rise. but that, of course. is the usual
habit of the Richmond booster.
This eclipse. which will be only
partial on this side of the Atlantic.
and not visible at all west of the Mis-
sissippl, belongs TO tho variety OF
scllpses known as central or cen
trail annular" and which nave tie
popularity of changing their charac-
ter as seen from differing points on
the track which the moons shadow
follows as ii sweeps over the earth.
Those who want TO sec the sun rise
from behind Captain John A. Curtis
partly hidden by the black body of
The moon will have to raise ticil
smoked glasses towards the Cnicka-
hominy at fourteen minutes and seven
seconds after o'clock. Tho highest
tide In the eclipse will be reached at
5:H1:S. while at 6:40:7 It will be all
over.
Good views OF the eclipse may he
obtained by all from the high spots III
Greenland. from around the North l'olc,
from the ChimboraZo Park Toulouse
III lllc eHSleIli ptTl OIL .t-tSiIO anu
the Caribbean Sea. Some neat solar
stunts will also he pulled off in the
northeastern part of South America
and at Forest Hill.
Those desiring to view II in It's COM
plctc stage must station themselves;
in the Atlantic Ocean somewhere on
line between British Guiana and
Hamburg. Germany. This Is a very
narrow track. and care must be taken
not to trip over the guy ropes. lhc
whole parade goes by SO quickly that
before the band wagon has passed, tho
calliope is trcadinE OH its heels, for
the total hiding of the sun will last
only between one and two SECONDS.
In fact, near the ends of tho line the
totally will last only n fraction of n
second. so that chickens ranging over
the ocean will not have time 10 get TO
roost before II is light again.
''As .idvcrtIscd.'
Hero is the highbrow of the story:
Yet this may no enough to reveal. by
fash, the strange and sometimes
gorgeous spectacle of the solar corona.
which consists of the illuminate cd
gases and dust that surround the sun.
and that have never been seen except
during n total eclipse.
'fThi ccccntricities of this particula-
eclipse are expected to be manifest ed
over distance OF n few hundred
miles In the ocean,. where the eclipse
will first change from annular to to-
tai, and then back to annular. An
annular eclipse is one In which the
the sun. leaving a bright ring, or an
nulus, visible all around the dark,
lunar globe.
Now this shadow OF the moon, dur
Ing an eclipse. is ordinarily but very
little longer than Is necessary to
reach the Garth The sun being, In
fact, vastly larger than the moon,
Roint. and If tho moons distance from
the earth mt the time of the eclipse
happens to be greater than the length
of the shadow. tho latter falls to
reach the earth. and to those who are
situated on the earth directly under
the centre of tho shadow. whose point
is suspended above their heads, the
sun appears to tc turned into Il bright
ring surrounding the black moon.
For moro than an hour previous to
the cnarted time OF eclipse, the par
tal and crescent chase will be in pro-
gross. There is very little 10 observe
nurinE this period. and the moons
black disk slowly creeping In
front Of the sun Is hest watched
,hronsn n piece OF glass dcnsely smok
cd or colorcd. Should the sky he par
tally nilcd with cmmulus. giving n
perspective effect to the far horizon.
close watching may reveal the swift
approach and recession of the moons
shadow impinging upon one cloud of-
ter another. It's velocity is about a
mile In two seconds IT caught at All
it will be seen just a few seconds be-
fore totality, in the southwest, and
speeding away In the opposite quar-
ter Of tho sky Immediately after
tEnd of hiEhbrow.)
Professor Todd. OF Amherst, gave out
the above information. He failed To
explain how any such performance car
be seen In the southwest when tho
sun rises in the cast. and is there
cnGuifcd by the moons shadow lie is
evidently fryinE to give n dollars