The Washington herald., 1914-06-07
'SAYANTS TO See
RUSSIAN ECLIPSE.
Scientific Expeditions from
Many Nations Bound
for Kiev.
CONDITIONS FAVORABLE
Lick Observatory Director to Head
Party-Great Shadow Oe-
ours August Il.
CONDITIONS FAVORABLE j

Early in June the Crocker Eclipse
Expedition will set OF for Russia.
from the Lick Observatory of the Uni
versity of California. This we'll
equipped expedition. which Is to OBJ
serve, near Kiev, Russia. on August
81, the total eclipse of the sun. has
been provided for by gift OF $500 by
Mr.. William II. crocker. of San Fran
cisco, Q regent of the University OF
California. The Crocker Eclipse Ex-
pedition will be in charge of Director
w. w. Campbell, of the Lick Observa-
tory. and Astronomer Heber ID. Curtis
will be his associate. The instruments
Mount Hamilton about June 1 and the
observers will start about June 10.
The eclipse occurs on the afternoon
| Of August 81. The moon, passing be-
tween the sun and the earth, will cast
q shadow upon the earth some eighty
r,''~s in diameter, which will advance
continuously across the hemisphere Of
i lac eartn. turned toward the sun.
/ Faith Of Great shadow.
| The shadow path will begin at sun
rise in the Arctic Ocean. just off the
northern coastline of British Colum-
bia. in longitude 121 degrees. 1t viii
pass easterly across Greenland and
thence southeasterly over Norway.
Sweden, Russia, the Black Sea, and
Persia, ending at sunset in Northwest
ern India. Theoretically. the OBJ
server could station himself at any
point on this line. Practically, he Sc
| lects a point where the sun has high
altitude at the instant of eclipse.
where the weather conditions. as indi-
Gated by observations in preceding
years, are promising. and where the
Instruments and observers can be
transported with reasonable economy
The factor of high solar altitude limits
the choice in the present case TO Nor
way. Sweden. and Russia
| The weather observations OF the
past indicate definitely that the
chances for clear sky improve as one
passes from Norway to the Black Sea
The conditions are rather unpromising
in Norway and Sweden and very Ia
vorable in the southern half Of Russia.
| Many Lands Send savants.
There will be many expeditions from
England. France. Germany, and Russia.
The National Observatory of the Argen-
| tine Republic will send an expedition. In
charge Of Director Perrine. formerly a
member of the Lick Observatory STAN.
The Crocker expedition from the Lick
|
only one from North America 1t would
add to the pleasure Of the occasion II all
the expeditions could locate at one place.
| but this will not be done. The expedi-
| tions will distribute themselves along the
| path OF totality. in order that local
storm local cloudiness may not render
| the work OF all the expeditions fruitless.
An expedition from London will locate
| In the city Of Kiev: an expedition from
the Russian National Observatory has
chosen a station thirty or forty miles
southeasterly from Kiev: and the Lick
Observatory station will be established
about fifteen miles east OF Kiev. as near
| " as possible upon the central line
of the shadow path.
1t is the policy OF the Lick Observa-
tory expeditions to make their own liv-
| ing arrangements, in a completely equip
| ped camp away from large centers of
| population. and this practice will be
| followed in Russia.
| Purpose of Expeditions.
| The purpose OF all eclipse expeditions
| Is to observe those parts of the sun
| which cannot be observed except at times
| Of total eclipse. and likewise certain
| other phenomena of the suns surround
ings which demand a darkened sky. In
| terest always centers in the solar CO.
| u
outwardly in all directions from the
| spherical body which the world sees
| every clear day. many of the streamers
| OF the corona having a length equal to
three or four diameters of the sun.
Several astronomers have tried to solve
the problem OF securing coronal observa-
tions without eclipses, but they have
failed totally. and the future gives no
promise of success. The Crocker expedi-
al,
photographs Of the corona on a large
scale with a camera forty feet In focal
length. and on a small scale with a cam
era OF seventy inches focus. Other pho
ltographs Of the corona will he made by
means of special apparatus designed to
test the quality of the light proceeding
from the coronal structure: whether this
light proceeds from incandescent mate
rails in the corona, or whether 1t origi-
mates In the sun itself and is reflected
or diffracted to us by comparatively cold
gases or concrete particles forming the
corona The spectrum of the corona and
of the higher strata in the suns atmos-
phere will be studied by means of Ave
spectographs.
Purpose of Observations.
1t need scarcely be said that the pur-
pose of the observations described is to
determine the chemical composition OF
the corona and of the outer strata of
the suns atmosphere. and the physical
conditions existing therein. |
In view of the extensive experience of
the Lick Observatory in eclipse observa-
ton, and before It was determined that
an expedition would be dispatched to
Russia, the Observatory of the Univer-
sity Of Berlin requested Director Camp
bell to make certain observations at the
time of the Russian eclipse, in order to
test an important point in a prominent
modern theory of light. In accordance
with this theory, II the rays Of light
from star or other source pass close
to the sun or other strongly attracting
body, these rays Of light should be bent
from their straight paths by the gravita-
tional action of the disturbing body.
Complying with the request of the Ber-
lin Observatory. the Crocker expedition
will attempt to secure photographs of the
stars In the region of the sky occupied by
the sun (but Immensely further away
from us than the SUM. by means of four
cameras Of eleven feet focus. These in
struments, mounted at the Lick Obser-
vatory, have already secured photographs
of the stars In the region of sky which
the sun will occupy on August q.
The photographs of the same stars with
the eciipsed sun in their midst. which It
Is hoped to secure in Russia, will be
compared with the photographs obtained
at Mount Hamilton. II the angular dis
tances between the stars on the two sets