Evening star., 1932-09-01
BY CAPT. ROBERT A. SMITH.

BY CAPT. ROBERT A. SMITH.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
SPRINGFIELD. Mass, September l
(NANA)-Wbile thousands of spec
tators were disappointed along the path
of the umbra tip of the total solar
eclipse in New England, my pilot, Randy
Enslow, and / climbed high above the
thick banks of cumulus clouds and
photographed from a plane the eclipse
in all its splendor. Many hours aloft
without sight of the earth have pro-
duced varying sensations to us, but none
was so phenomenal as that of the
period immediately preceding and fol-
lowing the total concealmsnt of the
sun
For five minutes before the great
corona took shape as a full ring, We
had the sensation of flying through
brilliant moonlight. Below-we were
then above $4,000 feet-the clouds
stretched. The customary rainbow,
which always follows the airplane in
its flight, was slightly changed.
In place of the huge colored ball
which ordinarily appears in the center
of the circle of color in the usual rain
bow was the black shadow of the moon.
It was like looking at the eclipse
The hillowine of the clouds at times
distorted the shape Of the rainbow and
the reflections moved erTatically as the
clouds drifted or were blown hither
and yon in the breezes.
Scenery Took Odd Shapes.
For the sight of the sun itself our
cameras made q complete record. Even
of the rainbow We obtained some good
pictures The scenery of in the dis
tance, many miles away, took on odd
shapes in silhouette against the half
light which lay beyond the zone Of
total eclipse. Mountains stood out like
SentineiS of heaven, with the light re-
fecting from their contours like huge
halos.
We followed the path Of the tip of
the umbra from East Conway, N. H,
for more than 100 miles. Only occa-
sional glimpses did we get Of the
darkened world beneath.
Here and there q light would flicker
through the veil of mists which lay
below us. 1t was cool and isolated for
the greater part Of the time. We were
flying through soft, weird and eerie
light,
The moon perimeter and that of the
sun formed two concentric circles, giving
the light of similarly to that done In
the modern systems Of indirect lighting.
The shadows of the separate banks of
clouds varied In coloring from snowy
white to deep gray and brown as the
odd lights played upon them. The
whitest were near the top of the
stratum and the color deepened as the
huge billowS opened and closed deep
chasms of the watery vapors.
Above all was clear. Family ut one
time some of the larger planets and
suns of other worlds blinked like far
off signals. They were almost as dis
tinct as the occasional ground light
We saw.
Gradually as we followed the shadow
of the moon on the clouds it gained
on us. After an hour it got far ahead
Even our fast plane was no match for
the speed of the earth's rotation.
Impression Of Two Dawns.
The five minutes following the time
of the complete obscuring of the fiery
ball were doubly interesting. The i'm
preston of two dawns in one hour was
fulfilled. The shafts of light overlook
us from the east and from directly
overhead at the same time. The east
erly ones were from the afternoon
light which had been chasing us for
the hour That from overhead was
more brilliant, coming as 1t did as
the sun and moon parted company
for another decade or more
Our tasks finished. we headed south
west for New York. 1t was getting
late. AS we dropped through the
Opaque clouds we proceeded cautiously
lest they extend farther toward the
ground than we had anticipated.
We came out over the Deerfield VAL
ley. Up ahead the fogs rolled toward
U.s. The Berkshires looked threatening
as We tried to find a pass following
the Connecticut River
With wing tips flirting with the knolls,
We followed the curving river.
Northampton burst into view so sud
denly that we decided to sit down at
the first convenient point. Enslow, who
knows the country Of those counties
well, continued doggedly on. however,
his control stick moving in all direc-
tons as We pitched about in the fog.
AS darkness fell, from natural causes
this time. he espied the airport at
Springfield. We landed to get a
weather report. Finding it worse to
the south, we decided to stay on the
ground for the night Our plates,
camera equipment and other prizes of
the eclipse We hurried on to New York.
tCopyrieht. 1882. by the North American
newspaper Alliance. Inc, and the New
York Times)
LIGHT Is MEASURED.