Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1914-08-21
WAR To PREVENT
OBSERVATIONS
ELABORATE PREPARATIONS
HAD BEEN MADE TO STUDY
ECLIPSE TODAY
Special to The News

Special 10 The News
WASHINGTON. u c.. Aug. 2o.-
The eclipse of the sun tomorrow
total In part Of Europe and Asia and
part OF the northwestern America
has beeu attracting widespread at
tention among the astronomers and
scientists. but now Il Is feared that
the European war will seriously in
terefre with, even II II does not en-
rely prevent the observations which
the scientists had planned To make
Of the phenomenon
The eclipse will be Observable
along "a line extending from Tlsteno,
on west coast of Norway through
nernosand on the Swedish coast
Rira on the Baltic. Minsk and kiev
in central Russia. and leaving Eu-
rope az Theodisia on the Crimean
coast
Many scientific expeditions had
Z Deen planned TO observe the eclipse.
The most Of these expeditions were
designed to take their observations
from points In Russia. where the du-
ration OF totality viii be- longest
/ nder existing conditions II viii oil
course be impossible for the scientists
Of other lands 10 visit Rusia at the
/ present time Al the present time
! il viii be- almost equally impossible
/ Tor the scientists 20 change the base
/ of their operations 90 the Scandinav-
| ian peninsula. for the reason that
| weeks OF preparations are necessary
/ 90 set up their Instruments and make
other necessary preparations The
I difficulty in reaching Norway ana
. sweden an the present time is 80
great that 81 IS unlikely that any
expeditions 20 those countries Nill
be undertaken lnNiew Of the exist.
ing circumstance IL is probable tnai
no noteworthy observation VIII n'
made of the eclipse with the possi-
ole exception OF those that may be
made by the Russian astronomers
themselye.
Before the outbreak 81 war nearly
al civilized countries were preparing
expeditions for the study Of the
eclipse. and a number of private eN.
IeditiOns we're also beng fitted out
As previously stated the most ol
them had chosen Russia for theii
goal Among other German cities
hamburg va ftting ont an eXpcdl
tion. while "a second one. subsidized
! IS the prussiau state was bein'
planned by Professor Mi,the Of the
Charlottonburg Technical School.
IN England steamboat parties
! were beieng made up 10 view th'
eclipse from Alsteno and Riga. an'
from the fact of the eclipse cominl
in the holiday .eason it vas expected
ltfai great number Of sightseer'
would avail themselves Of the oppor
mnitv. which will nor recur 10 Eu
rope till 1922
Profesur G q Abbott head OF tn
astr0mical branch Of the Smithson
. ian institution. and recognized an
thority on solar phenomena. give
the following account OF the eclips'
and the scientific results sOurh
IRON such events
Tomorrow the moon will pass ey
aci!v between the earth and the sun
, and there Uiil be- total sola
. eclipse u viii not be- observed h
/ America. except a. q small partia
, eclipse az sunrise in the northern
Z states and Canada but IN Persia
, Wusfia aad Scandinavia the full 81
, feet vill be seen.
Although the moon looks abou
81 the same size a. the sun 90 Is yer
much smaller and nearer The suI
! b. sG5. 900 miles in diameter and %.
600 GOO miles away. while the moo
B Is g.Iss miles IN diameter and 233
= 00n mile aWay On account of th
b moons small size compared with th
> sun the shad0R cast by the moon
4 a cone. and the point of this con
fTanfluueH On pass tual