Evening star., 1938-11-08
Moon S Eclipse Most
CoIoriuI Of Kind
In a Century
Tinted by AftereIow Of
Sunset, Orb Gives OFF
BIockish- Copper Hue

Through pink ashes froth OF
clouds tinted by the sunsets after
glow a blackish-copper harvest
moon climbed the eastern sky as
dusk changed into starry night yes
terday.
1t was 1885 second total eclipse
of the earth's satallite and the most
,colorful phenomenon of the kind in
a century. The earth was between
the giant sun and the little moon.
ITS great shadow, thrown 25O,OOO
miles into space. completely blotting
out the light Of the lamp of night.
Had conditions been ideal, there
would have been black moon in
the east and scarlet sun in the
west at the same time. Actually
the eastern horizon was banked with
light, frothy clouds suffused with
earth mist at 4:45 pm the time of
moon rising, and there was nothing
visible from the Georgetown Univer-
sity Observatory, on heights west of
the city, where the Rev DR.. Paul J..
McNally, the director, had set up his
apparatus for color photography of
the phenomenon, until about $50
Moon of Copper Color.
Then the full moon rose clear of
the clouds, already close to the stage
of total eclipse, but with a little of
It's face still left in the penumbra,
or half shadow of the earth, where
a little sunlight still could reach it.
In few minutes the whole orb was
darkened as it rose like a toy bal
loon beyond the cross-topped college
towers. At no time was it a COM
pletely black moon. The color was
that Of old, smoke -darkened copper
due to the reflection of the earth
light which was shining upon it.
The place for watching such an
eclipse, astronomers reflected sadly,
would have been from the top of
some high mountain in the moon,
where it would have appeared as a
total eclipse of the sun by the gigan-
tic blue-green moon which the earth
would appear to a moon dweller.
For the hour following total
eclipse as the moon swan out of the
searth's shadow watchers saw tele-
scoped the lunar phenomena of an
entire month. First came the tiniest
curved straw of silvery gold on the
northern edge of the copper disk
the newest new moon any of the
watchers had ever seen. Minute by
minute this broadened into a cres-
cent, a quarter moon, half moon,
3 three-quarterS moon. Finally at
7:12 pm. the orb slipped free of
the last Wisp of black on its south
ern edge and the full harvest moon
sailed In a starry autumn sky over
the college towers and the city
lights.
Moon Looked Like Ball.
During the hour of its emergence
out of total eclipse the decreasing
s.black copper shield gave a curious
three -dimensional effect so that the
moon looked like an actual ball, a
curiously colored child's balloon,
mounting slowly up the Eastern sky
Probably few astronomical events OF
a generation have attracted more
watchers. At both the Georgetown
and Naval Observatories color pho
tographs were taken of the progress
sive stages Of the eclipse The East
ern sky was scattered with billowy
pink clouds, sometimes great masses
of them, being blown rapidly from
south to north, and every now and
then the moon would be swallowed
up completely, to the despair of the
photographers at their telescopes
Then. as quickly as it disappeared, it
would come into full view again in
a patch of cloudless sky standing out
among the clouds like little lake.
Difficulty of photographing the
phenomenon was increased at both
local observatories by the fact that
the picture had to be taken across
the city lights. Members of the Ma
tional Capital Amateur Astronomers
Association got around this by going
to Cedar Hill Cemetery, on the Marl-
boro road, about the highest point
east OF the city. Although they
were unable to see the moon at the
instant of its rising because of the
earth mist around it they had a
much earlier view of it than any of
the professional astronomers.
Check on Time Schedules.
Scientifically, both the George
town and Naval Observatory as
tronomers said, the phenomenon
was of no Importance. The chief
value of an eclipse from their point
of view is that it enables them to
check up on their time schedules for
celestial events. but this is true only
when times can be observed very
precisely. This is usually impossible
in an eclipse of the moon and was
especially so last night because of
the poor observing conditions.
But from the standpoint of sheer
beauty the black moon at twilight
In a pink sky was such a sight as
probably will not be seen again for
a generation. Although there is at
least one total eclipse of the moon
every year, it usually comes in the
middle of the night and far from
any place where it can be observed.
7 h ousa n ds of Washingtonians
watched the phenomenon last eve
ming from roof tops and street COR
ners.