Evening star., 1925-01-25
PLANES GET FINE
ECLIPSE PICTURES
Some of Results Declared
Most Valuable Ever Achieved
in Astronomy.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
mitchell FIELD, n. Y. January "a.
One of the oldest sciences, astronomy,
colaborated with one of the newest,
areonautics, today In adding to the sum
total of the accumulated wisdom of the
ages.
Uncle Sans Army Air Service aban-
doned the pursuit of war lore to work
with scientists lifting them or 3 miles
above the earths crust that they might
better record data of the total solar
eclipse. Although 1t was yet too early
tonight to forecast the exact scientific
value of the data gathered. those en-
gagged in the work said they were as
sured the results ranked with the best
ever achieved in this form of investiga-
! ton.
DIR. Todd in Charge.
DR.. David Todd, venerable emeritus
professor of astronomy at Amherst, who
has spent most Of his 70 years in star
gazing, was in general charge or opera
tions at the military post here
DR.. Todd, in a preliminary and un-
official report, said he considered the
greatest work of the Mitchell Field
expedition the knowledge gained con-
cerning the jumping rabbits, the
phantom shadow bands of the moons
sha dow at the moment of the eclipse's
totality. Hitherto there had been but
little accurate knowledge of these
strange ebon bands, which leap and
frolic grotesquely before the shadow
OF the moon at an incredible speed.
Photos of shadows.
Mai. Davenport Johnson of this
post and his observer, DR.. w. ]. Luy-
ten of Harvard. centered their atten-
tion on this phase Of the phenomena
with their plane floating above West
Point, they got couple of excellent
photographs OF the mysterious shad
ows. Capt F. w. Flickinger, in
charge Of the ground observers of
this particular phenomenon, also got
pictures recording the mad gallop OF
the jumping rabbits" across the
SHOWS of the flying field. Still other
ground observers noted the race of
the bands across the faces OF build
ings.
Valuable data concerning the
Jumping rabbits" were believed to be
also contained In a photograph OBJ
tanned by Lieut.. G.. w. Goddard, chief
of the Photographic division of the
Air Service.
Goddard's photograph, made with
specially designed camera, shows vir-
tually all the area Of darkness In Its
perspective. and details of sky and
earth are plainly discernibie at a dis
tance of 100 miles. In the middle
ground are plainly pictured the
Jumping rabbits" while in the wa
ters Of Long Island is reflected the
slender crescent of the almost totally
obscured sun a bare second before the
moon obliterated its surface and re-
leased for a scant life the chameleon
brilliance Of the corona At the end
Of the long finger of Long
Island is reflected the glistening
horizon.
Pictures Are Released.
Copies of this and other Of the re-
markable pictures obtained by the
airmen will be seen by people
throughout the country, for Maj. VII
liam n. Henzly, jr., post commander
ordered their release to news photo
graph agents this afternoon. More
than 100 photographs were obtained
by air and ground men, many Of them
near duplicates.
Another interesting development of
the Armys air work, which probably
will keep the men Of science con-
occurring for some time, was the
phenomena OF heat and cold develop
ed Immediately before, during and
after the eclipse.
Twenty-Five planes and pilots took
the air in the scientific expedition
and each of the pilots reported on
returning that his thermometer had
dropped from IS above zero at the
very instant of totality to 20 below
1t was not a gradual drop in temper
ature. The mercury in each ther-
mometer dropped like a plummet, the
pilots agreed, and rose again to IS
above zero directly totality ceased
The climb upward was not so fast
as the downward plunge, but it was,
nevertheless, faster than temperature
climbs on the earth's surface
DR.. Todd surmised this indicated
that the atmosphere at the elevation
of the planes-from $4,000 to 5000
feet-had taken on characteristics of
theh atmosphere that envelops the
moon. This atmosphere, he said, is
believed to contain less inertia than
that enveloping the earth, as a re-
suit of which it is so sensitized as to
record heat and cold changes almost
instantly.
Cold ON Moon.
Study Of this phenomenon. he added
might lead scientists to the conclu-
sion that the air surrounding the
moon is constantly subject to these
instantaneous changes, with the re-
suit that when Luna turns her back
to the sun her face Immediately is
visited by the most piercing cold-a
degree of cold untmag ginable to earth
inhabitants.
Others of the flying expedition
brought back excellent photographs of
the corona. Several of these were
made with big Bertha" a replica of
German camera, the largest aerial
camera in existence, which was taken
aloft of Greenport, Long Island, by
Lieut.. c. f. Crumrine of Boiling Field,
n Nd
vision of the United States Army.
big Bertha" narrowly averted the
ignomony Of remaining on the ground.
The oil in the cylinders of the big
DH-4 especially equipped with lashihgs
for the big camera, froze in the morn
ing'S bitter cold. A dozen mechanics
worked feverishly transferring the
big box" to another plane in whose
cylinders hot oil had been poured The
substitutes engines were kept roaring
| throughout the operation to avert an
other freezing up process, and "Big
Bertha" was taken aloft Is minutes
after the "a other planes had taken the
air.
Big Bertha justified the troubles
| taken in her behalf. Dr. Todd said
| her pictures of the corona unuuestion-
ably were the most valuable in exist
| ence.
All the pilots reported it was so
dark at the exact moment of totality
that 1t was impossible for them to
| read their instruments. 1t was un-
| Questionably darker in the air than
on the earth's surface, they contend
| ed. They also reported having looked
| down upon a haze over the earth's
surface, shutting off their view of
the earth. Ground observers at the
same moment had reported that the
view of the phenomena from the field
was unobscured.