New Britain herald., 1924-11-11
SUNS ECLIPSE
 ON JANUARY A
Yale Professor Tells Of Coming
 Solar Phenomenon

NeW Haven, NOV. 11.---For a few minutes on the morning of January 24 next, the moon will get between the earth and the sun and cut off all the light we get from that body. This eclipse will be visible in the United States, and 1t doubtless will be seen by more millions of people than any such occurrence in tho past, according to Professor D. w. Brown, of Yale university.
 An eclipse is not a rare event, one or two occur every year, but the one next January is notable for the fact that 1t occurs in a territory from which the light of the sun has not been wholly obscured by the moon wlthin'the memory of any one living.
 If we look over the records a past eclipses, Professor Brown said, and the predictions for future eclipses we soon see that in any one place there will be a total eclipse of the sun only once in every few hundred years. The coming eclipse will produce darkness over a narrow band of territory which stretches from point somewhat west of Du- luth and, after crossing northern Michigan and Wisconsin, is seen in Connecticut and then passes out to sea. The hour of the phenomenon Is between nine and nine-thirty. eastern standard time."
 There was an eclipse in 1919, Ms- ible in Brazil and Central West Africa, and another last September seen by the people of California and northern Mexico, -
 Accuracy of Prediction
 The accuracy with which the time and position can he predicted for an eclipse is high, Professor Brown went on to say. The staff of the United States Naval observatory at Washington is always at work cal- 'cuiating the positions of the heaven ly bodies years in advance in order that the predictions may be useful. IThe northern and southern edges of the shadow band can be laid down within a mile. Hence, when the almanac predicts that the southern edge will cross the upper end of Central Park in New York city, it is fairly certain that the shadow will not keep off the grass. All this knowledge, however, is not prod uct of the present generation. It has been slowly accommodating through many centuries. Most of it is due to the proof of the law of gravitation which was given by Isaac Newton toward the end of the 17th century.
 Back 2,5OO Years
 But we have to pay our homage to observers for their industry much further back than that" the pro- lessor continued, More than 2,50O years ago the Chaldeans were abA to predict when eclipses would oc- cur, because they had learned that there is a long series of them re- peated in little over IS years, It is remarkable that they should have been able to get this knowledge be- cause any eclipse does not cover quite. the same part of the earth's sruface as the corresponding one which occurred IS years before. They must have kept records over at least a century, perhaps over many centuries, before the cycle was dis covered. The eclipse of next Janu- ary will be seen by many millions of people. In the map which has been issued by the naval observatory it is seen that the southern boundary of the band over which the sun will be totally eclipsed just covers Du- luth, Minn.; Menominee, Mich.; Frankfort, Mich; London. Ont: Dunkirk, N. r.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa. i; and New York city north of Central park. We'll inside the northern edge are Manistique, Mich; Toronto, Ont; Auburn. Hudson, N. Y; New Bedford. Mass, while a mile or twb outside are Syracuse. N. Y, Spring field, Mass, and Providence, R. I.
 The observations which are to be made by the observatories within the region of totality are not yet fully known. Some of them will de- vote the brief two minutes during which the eclipse lasts ito photo graphing that marvellous fringe of light which is never seen except at a total eclipse, is known as the corona. Others will try to get &C., curate positions of the moon and also photographs of 1t so that it's size and shape shall be better