Smyrna times., 1932-07-20
AWAIT ANOTHER
SUN ECLIPSE
Will Be Keenly Watched In
Canada and New England
On August 31st
NATIONS SEND EXPERTS

number of astronomical parties OBJ
serving a total eclipse of the sun
will be set on August 81 Of this
year, when the moons shadow
passes across eastern Canada and
New England.
Word has already been received
of 16 institutions whose representa-
tives will be in the path of the
shadow, and probably a number of
others will also send astronomers to
make observations only possible
when the moon hides the sun.
Eight Of the scientific parties now
planned are from American institu-
tions, two from Canada, four from
England, and one each from Rus
sia and Japan. The path along
which they will be located is about
100 miles wide and passes south of
Hudson bay, across Quebec, over
the st. Lawrence river from point
about eight miles west of Montreal
to one about twenty-five miles east
of Three Rivers. Both of these
cities are therefore well within the
band of totality.
Entering the United States, the
path is across northeastern Yer
mont, all Of New Hampshire except
the southwestern corner, south
western Maine, the northeastern cor
ner of Massachusetts, and Cape Cod.
The shadow will cover all of the
Atlantic coast between Salem,
Mass, and Boothbay. Maine.
Observers in Canada.
The most northerly accessible
point from which to observe the to-
tai eclipse is Parent, Quebec, on the
Canadian National railway, about
1S5 miles northwest of Montreal.
Two expeditions, those of the Do
minion observatory at Ottawa and
the Royal observatory at Green
wich, England, are expected to
make this town their headquarters.
At Sorel. Quebec, on the st. Law
renee river, close to the center of
the path, the expedition from the
Mccormick observatory of the Uni
versity of Virginia will be located.
Astronomers of AIcGill university
at Montreal will make observations
from their own city, where they will
be joined by group from the Uni
versity of London. Astronomers
from Cambridge university will &c
to Magog, Quebec.
Most of the parties located in the
United States have chosen the vi
cinity Of Conway, y. H., including
North and Center Conway, and
Fryeburg, Maine. as observation
points. Groups from the Lick OBJ
servatory of the University of Cali
fornia and the Sproul observatory
of Swarthmore college will go to
Fryeburg. Near Center Conway
will be a party from the Van Week
observatory of Wesleyan university.
Representative from the Franklin
institute, Philadelphia, will 60 a
little further west, to Conway. ac-
cording to tentative plans. The
group from the Perkins observatory
of Ohio Wesleyan university will To-
cate at Douglass Hill, near Sebag0.
Maine. At this same location will
be a party from the Royal Astro-
nomical society, London.
Other expeditions from the Mount
Wilson observatory, the University
of Indiana, the Kwasan observatory
Of the Kyoto Imperial university,
Japan. and the Central Astronomi-
cal observatory at Pulkova, Russia.
are expected.
Most of the observations to be
made by these astronomers. If
cloudy weather does not make the
elaborate preparations in vain. will
be photographs Of the solar corona.
The corona is the outermost part
Of the sun. so faint that it is gen.
orally invisible because of the great
glare from the light of the inner
part. When the solar disk is COW
cred by the moon. at the time OF
total eclipse, the corona becomes
visible.
Moving Pictures Planned.
In addition to direct photographs,
in black and white, natural color
and motion, made through cameras
ranging from small kodaks to huge
astronomical instruments as much
as IS feet long, spectroscopic pho
| tographs will be made of the corona
to determine its composition and
motion. Other spectroscopic obser-
vations will be of the flash spec
trum, seen when the last silver of
sun is visible just before the moon
completely covers it, or when the
first bit reappears just after the
total phase is over Such observa-
tions give valuable information
about the suns atmosphere.
Still other observations TO be at
tempted will be photographs of the
shadow bands which appear on the
ground before and after the total
eclipse, and Of the shadow of the
moon as 1t sweeps over the earth.
One observation that has engaged
the attention Of astronomers at re
cent eclipses will be lacking, how