Evening star., 1925-01-23
CAPITAL PREPARES
To VIEW ECLIPSE,
95PCT. TOTAL HERE
Marqin of Uncovered Surface
to Be Scarcely Visible
to Layman.
SHADOW TO REACH FULL
SCOPE AT 9:O4 O'CLOCK
Event First Ever Seen Here.
United States Scientists Plan
Thorough Study.

Washington and most of Northeast
ern America is waiting today for the
phenomenon that will be revealed in
the heavens tomorrow morning when
the moon sweeps out OF the west and
blots out the light of the sun in the
first total eclipse white man has ever
beheld in this part of the world.
Although Washington falls just be-
yond the line of totality, the sun will
be e5 per cent covered from here, and
the difference will scarcely be notice
able to any but the scores of astron-
omers and scientists who will train
telescopes and cameras upon the un-
usual sight from the Naval Observa-
tory and ether points of vantage.
At exactly 1855 o'clock tomorrow
morning the moon, passing between the
sun and the earth, will make its first
contact with the sun. From that mo-
ment it will slowly move across the
face of the sun, until, at 9:04 o'clock, it
will have obscured 95 per cent of it here
and completely obliterated 1t to OBJ
servers in a narrow belt in a few North
eastern States.
Millions to See Eclipse.
Then the shadow will begin to pass
and at 1922 o'clock the sun Will
emerge completely, if predictions for
fair, clear weather are accurate. The
eclipse will occupy hours and p
minutes, during which time millions of
persons. including hundreds of scien-
fists, will have viewed it.
Aside from the fact that 1t will
be the first time that Washing
ton has seen the sun so nearly
blotted out by the moon, there are
many interesting things observers
may see if the weather is clear and
the sky at least moderately void of
interfering clouds. One of these will
be, perhaps, the first family reunion
of the stars in our own solar system
within the time of history.
When the eclipse reaches its peak
here. at 1904 o'clock, Mercury. Venus,
Jupiter and the moon all will be seen
near the sun. The moon, of course,
will be directly in front of the sun,
and the other three planets just 10
the west. Missing from that extraor-
dinary reunion will be only Mars,
Saturn and Neptune.
Like Celestial Homecoming.
Scientists explaine ed that it will look
almost like a Homecoming, since it is
generally believed that all of the
units of the solar system were once
part of the sun. This hypothesis sup
poses that another star swerved too
close to the sun when it was a much
larger body and pulled out great
tides of its flaming gases.
Gradually huge masses of these
tides scared away to their own evo-
luton. Being 50 much smaller the
radiation of their heat went on at
tremendously more rapid rate, and
century by century they cooled until
finally they reached the stage of
planets, or dead stars, of which the
earth is one and the moon, its nearest
neighbor, another.
Far off in the distance some other
stars that are we'll known units of
the universe will become visible as
the eclipse progresses Among these
possibly will be Vega, Arcturus and
Antares. The distinctness with which
these stars may be observed with the
naked eye, however, will depend upon
atmospheric conditions.
City to BE Dnrkened.
During the eclipse Washington will
gradually grow darker until. at 1904
o'clock, the natural light here be-
comes like that of dusk. Then the
scene will begin to change and little
by little it will be lighter until the
sun finally energies from behind It's
least favored child and continues on
its own way for perhaps another 500
years, 50 far as these parts are con-
cerned.
In order to make observations here
5 distinct as possible, District offl-
cials decided today that they will not
order street lights turned on. In
spector Headley announced, too, that
motorists might use their own judg
ment about using their lights. The
Potomac Electric Power Co, however,
has made arrangements to handle an
unusual daytime load during the phe-
nomenon in the skies.
Cities to Light Streets.
New York. Philadelphia and other
cities. where the darkness will be
Dronunced, have prepared. however
to burn their street lights fully. In
addition extraordinary precautions
viii be undertaken to guard against
bandit outrages. A number of banks
will remain closed until the eclipse
Is near its end, and the New York
Stock Exchange will not open until
the sun is we'll on It's journey from
behind the moon.
Although most of Washington sci
entists already have gone to New
York, Connecticut and Long Island
in order to be well within the area
of totality to observe the eclipse,
a group of astronomers and physicists
Will assemble at the Naval Observa-
tory. They will devote their entire
time to making accurate notations
of the time the eclipse begins, its
progress and its final conclusion, and
to photographing the suns corona
The corona remains one of the out
standing mysteries of the sun 1t ap-
pears only during an eclipse such
rs this and then as beautiful,
Heece-like cloud. Two theories are
advanced as to its composition One
Is that 1t represents clouds OF cleo
irons darting from the flaming mass
of the orb, some OF which reach
this earth and make life here pos
eible.
Dust Theory Advanced.
Another is that the corona is a cloud
OF dust similar to those of Saturn.
whirling around old helios. Although
It may seem strange to speak of dust
particles existing so close to the sun,
that is quite possible, according to
astronomers. because they could not
be consumed because there is no
oxygen there to permit the heat to
destroy the particles.
Up in New York and Connecticut,
however, where scientific parapher-
MALTA worth millions of dollars has
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