Evening star., 1926-12-26
THE STARRY SKIES IN JANUARY
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Aswe have done in the past, we in
clude, in ortr discussion of the events
or January a brief statement regard.
ing @the more important events ex.
pected during the year just beginning.
There Will be five eclipses during the
YEAR three of the sun and two of the
moon. On very rare occasions there
may be as. many as five of the sun
tneXt in 1880, and there may be as
many As three of the moon next in
1882, but not in the same year with
the slve of the sun. There must be
two eclipses at least, both of the sun,
in any one year. Thus 1927 has more
than the average number of ecllpses
Last year we had but two ecllpses,
The minimum number.
n happens that each of the eclipses
&C the sun is of a different kind. The
fiTsh occurs January 3. This is an an
huIhr eclipse. The shadow OF the
inoon IS not quite long enough to
reach the earth, hence no one is in
the cone of shadow and no one sees
= total eclipse. Those who are near
The axis of the shadow cone, beyond
it's verteX, have the moon directly be-
tween them and the sun and ii ap-
pears to them asa black disc Supere
posed on the sun, not quite large
enough to cover ii. There remains a
little ring (annuluSt Of the sun eX-
posed This little ring of light is
enough to obliterate the corona and
other features which give importance
To total eclipses. The region in which
this annulus may be seen is a long,
narrow strip, the ma aXimum width OF
which iS about 25 miles and which
tapers until ii is only mile wide in
the middle There the annular phase
of the eclipse lasts only "a seconds.
1t is close TO being total eclipse. 1t
sometimes happens that the eclipse is
annular for a part of the track and
total in the middle: such eclipses are
called central eclipses. This is the
only kind of an eclipse of the sun pos
Sible which does not occur this year.
It rarely occurs. Figure shows the
regions in which the eclipse may be
seen. Outside the narrow strip the
partial phases of it only may be
viewed. The eclipse has no scientific
Importance. Observations of some
value might he made from the mar
rowest part of the strip. but there is
no land from which to make observa-
tons. AS the outermost boundaries
do not include any part of the
United States. it is evident that we
shall not see the eclipse here at all.
The second eclipse of the sun is
total eclipse This occurs on June 90.
No part of the eclipse can be seen
from the United States. The eclipse
track crosses England. Norway,
Sweden. the Arctic Ocean and Siberia.
The maximum duration Of the eclipse
is about so seconds and on land 46
seconds. The short duration and the
inaccessibilty of the regions from
which it might be observed will make
it one which will be little observed
scientifically. The third eclipse OF the
sun is a partial eclipse on December
"a. In the case of partial eclipse no
part of the earth at any time is within
either the shadow cone or its extern
sion, but some part of the earth is In
the penumbra of the shadow. Under
most favorable conditions only little
over half OF the suns diameter will
be covered by the moon. Like the
others, this eclipse cannot be OBJ
served from the United States.
Two Total Moon Eclipses.
The moon is not the only body
which can come between the eartn
and the sun. The planets Mercury
and Venus may do so. Venus does 1t
very rarely--next in 2004. Mercury
does it about IA times in century.
1t will make a transit over the suns
disc November 10 of this year. Again
cannot be seen from the United states.
There will not be another transit or
Mercury until 1910.
Both eclipses of the moon are totai
The first occurs on June Is. This
eclipse, we are happy to say, may be
seen very satisfactorily from the
United States. But there Is fly
in the ointment for those at least
who are not astronomers. for the time
OF the eclipse is from 3:13 am. to 1885
am. Eastern standard time. The
other total eclipse Of the moon occurs
December s. This is another eclipse
which we can only read about. so.
even with the occurrence of fve
eclipses this year. the chances are
large that very few will observe any
eclipse in the United States.
The Planets.
On January 6 Jupiter for time
will apparently have only one satei-
lite. instead of the usual four pflgnt
ones. The other three will either be
behind the planet or i'm its shadow.
The first one to reappear emerges
from it's eclipse at 1907 pm, Eastern
standard time, when Jupiter is pretty
low in the sky, and the others reap