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VOL. X. NO. 30.
PHILADELPHIA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 18G9.
DOUBLE SHEET THREE CENTS.
EGL1P
OK
THE 8 U IU
The Great Event of
August 7.
IIo7 it will Occur, and How
it will be Observed.
The Theory of Solar Ecllpscs
Their Peculiar Phenomena
. i rm urn. tiio uorona
The Flame.
Eclipses of the Past Darkness
Noonday Consternation and
Awe Science Pierces the
Shadow, and Light is
Revealed at Last.
at
Am when the min, now risen,
l ooks through the horizontal, niln v nlr
Hliorn of his bcRnist or, from behind the .Moon,
Id dim erllpne, tllNiiNtroiiit twllluht sheds
(Id hull the nation, and with tear of chanKn
Perplexes tnonnrrliH. iMIl.TON.
OUR ECLIPSE.
On the afternoon of Saturday next, August 7,
n eclipse of the sun will occur, noteworthy
and important.
It will be visible as a partial eclipse from the
barren eteppes of "Western Siberia, across the
whole breadth of Alaska, British America, the
United States, and the West Indies. This will
be the most interesting eclipse that has occurred,
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ii-riiii!' F".st if. !!!!!!;::;: .TTV . .J;JH.ii;iiiiii!i!iir!L
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FlorPE 1. S represent the Sun : M the Moon ; E the
Earth ; r the Penumbra; and H the shadow.
or will occur, in the United States for many
years. The sun will rise eclipsed as far west
ward as the islands of Japan, but to the inhabi
tants of Sitka, in Alaska, the observation will
begin at 1140 A. M. The people of San Fran
cisco will need their glasses at V22 P.M.; and
they had better have them well smoked, as they
are so far to the south west ward as to see only
one-half of the sun's disc darkened. The little
town of Logan, in Nebraska, is the first point in
the United States on the line of total obscura
tion; the time of "totality" will be 4-31 P. M.,
lasting 24 minutes. Lincoln, O'Brian, and
Booricsboro, iif Iowa, will rejoice in a three-minut-es'
totality, greater than any other by six
seconds; while Bowling Orecn, in Kentucky, and
Knoxville, in Tennessee, must be content with
the fact that they are permitted an obscuration,
even though it should be so short as to defy eye
eight, and require to bo mathematically repre
sented by -0 minutes. May the Parson be a'tdc
to preserve his equilibrium of spirits under
these trying circumstance; and may the Presi
dent that was and is to be no more, bo duly
toothed by his customary spirits copiously im
bibed !
Newborn, North Carolina, will be the last
point in the United States participating in the
total phase of the eclipse. Its beginning
(shadow) will bo 0-58 P. M., and its ending 0-8
P. M., giving 22 minutes' duration. This
thinker Cltv will witness if a cloudless sky
nermit. 1 1 d'urlts out of 13 of the sun's disc
eclipsed. The penumbral phases hero willlbe:
Beginning, 5-8 P. M.; middle, 00 P. M.; end,
iv.w P. M.: shortly before sunset. St. Louis,
Chicago, and Cincinnati will slightly exceed
this observation, while New York und Boston
,..;n ih,v nn inferior decree.
Eclipses, more than any other celestial phe
nomena, prove the perfect regularity of the
motions of the heavenly bodies, demonstrating so
legibly the unerring workings of the simple laws
that govern their mighty revolutions in spaco
upon the diagram of the sky, that the little child
can understand, iruiy,
The undevout astronomer Is mad."
And as the wondrous accompaniments of the
total eclipse culminate in darkness on the earth,
"and in a flashing, blazing crown of glory alone
left to mark the blotteu-oui ngut 01 mu DU...
...... .,ivpn fazer. be be savani or wvu.
. ,.r,ih then in his heart the sentiment
Tim teaveiiB declare the glory of God, and ttie
firmament showcth his handiwork !" Thus pre
eminently does its magnificent phenomena pro
claim the marvellous order of the heavenly tost.
Every heart must beat a startled throb when the
watchful eye notes the first sweep of blackness,
like the overhanging monster wings, or the
thndow of a dark cloud, obedient to the very
Mving of the pendulum, Die very tick of the
watch, that the astronomer has predicted months
or years before.
In view of the rarity of such a total eclipse of
the sun in our own land; the popular interest
that now centres in its occurrence, causes, and
effects- the excellent and comprehensive prepa
rations made by our professional astronomers to
obf erve and record its phenomena, we present
the readers of Tin: Evf.nino Tbi.ehiiaph with
nn article os exact and exhaustive of the sub
ject as our columns will allow. For the benefit
of our younger readers, we introduce an expla
nation of the reason of the coming eclipse, pur
jioFcly given In as plain language as the subject
vtill allow; if they cannot understand any point,
they Miould ask au elder friend for assistance.
TJIE NATURE OF AX ECLIPSE.
As seen by the accompanying illustration
(Figure 1), an eclipse of the sun is caused by the
shadow of the moon falling on certain parts of
the earth like the passing shadow of a wind
drifted cloud on a river and hiding the face, or
disc, of the sun at those districts. In exact lan
guage, it is the earth, not the. 6un, that is eclipsed;
and should the much-looked for Man in the
Moon take a celestial observation on the coming
Snturdny, he will see the great sun shining with
all its dazzling splendor, while part of our big
globe will bo enveloped in unusual darkness.
And this is how our light will be taken away
from us.
How Solar Kcllimes Occur.
The earth and moon are two spherical and
opaque bodies, and the halves of both are con
stantly illuminated by the sun, while the other
halves are in the shade. While the moon's dia
meter is 21(0 miles and the earth's 7925, the sun's
diameter is 852,584 miles. Thus, as above re
presented, each of the two former throws behind
itself, of course in the direction opposite from
the sun, a shadow conical in its form, and deter
mined as to its magnitude, shape, etc., by iuua
riable mathematical principles.
This cone of shade extends over all the parte
of space from which the rays of sunlight are
excluded by the interposition of the opaque
body. It has two degrees of intensity. The
inner portion, s, is called the shadow or umbra,
and if within its bounds, a spectator beholds a
total eclipse. The outer section, r, on either
6ide, is culled penumbra, and the section of the
earth over which it extends experiences a par
lial eclipse. The changing from the penumbra
to the umbra is quite insensible, owing to the
gradual Mendings of the shadings; but at the
outer extremities the eclipse is bnt slight.
The moon and the earth carry with them in
their revolutions these cones of shades, and it Is
by the projecting of these partial or total
shadows upon each other that the phenomena of
eclipses are caused.
The calculation has been made and verified
that the greatest length of the moon's shadow
is 59-73 semi-diamctcrs of the earth, at the same
time that we know that the least distance of the
moon from the earth is 55-95 semi-diameters.
It is thus plain that when a conjunction of the
sun and moon happens at a time wnen the
length of the shadow and the distance of the
moon from the earth are identical, or nearly so,
with the foregoing values, the moon's shadow
extends beyond the earth.
Fig. 1 explains, by its central bodies, the
reason ot the approaching onseuration, ana
shows that an eclipse of the sun can only hap
pen at the time of new moon, for then alone
occurs the conjunction of her interposition be
tween the earth and the sun, with the projection
of her cone of shade upon the earth. The lower
figure of the moon exhibits the phase of its
eclipse by the projection of the earth's shadow
directly upon it at the time of full moon.
In brief, eclipses may be defined as a short in
terruption in the passage of light to the earth,
which is either real, as in the case of the intru
sion of the moon between the earth and the sun,
or apparent, as occurs when the earth itself
passes between the sun and the m,oou. The
former comprises all phases of solar eclipses
and the latter the lunar eclipses. Solar eclipses
always begin on the west side of the sun and
terminate on the east side; that is, the moon
moves over tho sun from west to east. The
whole duration of a total eclipse is about two
hours, and that of the total phase two or three
minutes, more or less, lhere Is no promonltion
of a solar eclipse, the moon (whose dark side is
towards us) being invisible in the intensely bril
liant beams of the adjacent sun, until her eastern
limb (or rim) actually touches his western limb.
Different Kinds of Nolar KcllimeN.
There are three classes of eclipses of the sun.
It is total when tho dark disc of the moon en
tirely covers the sun; partial, when only a por
tion of one side of the sun is covered; and
annular, when the moon is at her furthest dis
tance from the earth, so that her coue of sha
dow blot out only the centre of tho sun, leaving
the rirg-likc border uuobscured. The visibility
or invisibility of tho eclipse at any point de
pends wholly upon the fact whether the cone
like shadow is projected upon that particular
surface of tho earth or not.
Theory and obsrvation alike prove that in
the period of eighteen years and eleven days
in which the moon passes to the same position
in reference to the sun and its nodes i. e., one
of the two points in which the orbit of the
satellite intersects that of its primary thero
are in general seventy eclipses, of which forty
one are of tho sun and twenty-nine of tko moon.
There cannot be more than seven eclipses in
one year, nor less than two; and if tho latter,
they must both be eclipses of the sun. Eclipses
of the sun can only be seen at one zone of tho
earth, and that a very narrow one; for tho
dimensions of tho shadow of tho moon are
small as compared with tho earth. Out of tho
forty-biio solar eclipses which may occur in
eighteen years, there are in general twenty-eight
of those which may become central according
tociicumstanceg that is, either total or annu
lar. It results from Du Sojour's calculations
. that the greatest possib e duration of an eclipse
of the sun cannot bo more than 4 hours 29 miu.
44 sec. at tho equator, or 3 hours 26 min. 32 sec.
for the latitude of Paris. In total eclipses tho
greatest possible duration of total obscuration
may only bo 7 min. 58 sec. at the equator aud 0
min. 10 sec. at the latitude of Paris. Such com
binations are, of csurgc, very rar
Fiouiie 2.
THE GREAT SOUR ECLIPSE OF AUGUST 7, 1869.
I l EQUATOR ' V3j
13(1 tin 80 Jo 40 it) L. I
triif iM wwn mi urn in in ii maamwiiHiii m m m Mill I il. iltTiTI
In oil the dark part of the engraving the eclipse will be visible and partial, except along tho
heavy black line, where it will be total. Along the Hue described above, tho eclipso will bo total,
and at nil other places in the United States it will be partial. The partial eclipso ends on the
earth at sunset, In hit. 14 dcg. 48 min. 54 sec. N.. Ion. 13 dcg. 10 min. W., being near the city of
(iiintcmala. Along the Atlantic const in the United States ti e eclipse ends at about sunset. This
eclipse occurred last in 1851, July 28, and the total phase was visible in the arctic regions of
America, and in Sweden, Norway, and Russia.
rilEAOMJSJVA OF A TOTAL ECLIPSE.
The chance of beholding a total solar eclipse
in one's life-time is very small. On the 13 .li of
July, 1800, this opportunity occurred in Eng
land, and the one previously observed at Green
wich was in 1715, while an interval of 375 years
had elapsed between that and its forerunner.
Those who have enjoyed this rare spectacle say
that no more startling novelty can be wit
nessed or conceived of by mortal mind, and that
the discomforts of a trip of hundreds of miles
would bo amply repaid by the spectacle. No
approach to totality can give the slightest con
ception of the effect produced the instant that
the last ray of light is extinguished. The light
of the sun is so intense, that while the slightest
part of the disc is visible, the darkness is by no
means alarming. In partial eclipses the dark
ness is oftentimes not greater than that made by
a passing cloud, and sometimes the obscuration
is not noticed at all. Partial and annular
eclipses are matter of simple curiosity; but the
reverse is the case with tho totality.
The Durhncs.
The gradual creeping of tho moon over the
disc of the sun gives no warning of the instan
taneous extinguishment of all light. It is not
a matter of gradation, so startling' sudden is
the blackness of darkness. All living nature
thrills with awo and mysterious appreheusion,
ond the human heart quakes as if the horrors of
the Great Assizes were about to dawn. The
earth, sea, and skies assume a lurid, unearthly
hue. An unearthly silence reigns at the moment
of totality. Every earthly being acknowledges
the influence, and cowers under the strange
blackness of the heavens.
Beasts of burden lie down with their loads on
the road, and refuse to move. Swallows in their
bewilderment dash against the walls of houses,
and fall down dead. The dog drops the bone in
his mouth, aud does not venture to seize it again
until light returns. Little chicks huddle under
the motherly wings of the hen; and even tho
nuts halt in their tracks with their loads, and
remain immovable until the shadow is past.
The learned professor, as well as the unsophisti
cated pcusant, acknowledges the feeling of mys
terious awe. The bright stars and planets will
then be seen at noonday while the black pall en
shrouds that surface of our glober The birds
hush their songs and seek their nests, flowers
fold their petals, tho temperature falls, and the
moisture of the atmosphere condenses in a
heavy dew. Orange, yellow, and copper tints
singularly checker the sky, giving it a startling,
sometimes livid hue.
HiiIIt'm Iteiiiln.
In some cases when the margin of the moon
comes in contact with that of the sun, instead of
the faint and regular thread of light which
would be expected to ensue, the appearance pre
sented is a broken glimmer of light a scries of
bright spots interspersed witii dark spaces
which was first noticed by the lato Mr. Baily,
who compared it to beads of light. These were
noticed in total as well as annular eclipses, and
were seen by different observers in tho eclipse of
1851. They are generally regarded as being due
to tho rough aud mountainous edges of the moon
coming in contact with the margin of the sun,
and the light proceeding from the latter shining
through the chink or valleys. of the moon, tho
effect being greatly increased "by irradiation.
The Corona.
Even during tho greatest obscuration, and
when tho disc of tho sun Is completely hidden by
that of the moon, its place Is still made appa
rent by a halo stretching off an immense dis
tance into space (Figure 3.) This light appears
in tho remarkable form of a corona or lustrous
ring, and it has sometimes been so bright as
to be observed and mistaken for an annular
eclipso. It has been compared to tho crown of
glory encircling the heads of saints. It is irre
gularly illuminated, giving tho appearance of
rays, and has been observed of curious shapes,
as that of a Greek cross in the eclipse of 1800,
and an hour-glass in 1842. Iu 1507 this lu iiinoup
ring was seen, and mistaken for the ii).ir;rin of
the solar disc; it was equally visible in 1598. lis
radiating appearance seems to have been first
noticed in the eclipse of 1052, and appeared to
be endowed with a sort of rotatory motion. In
every subsequent eclipse, observed under any
favorable circumstances, tho corona has been
noted with equal plainness, generally 0f ai)OUt
one-tenth or one-twelfth of the diameter of tho
moon, and of a pearl-white, color; or, in tho
words of an observer, of "that bluish tint which
distinguishes the color of quicksilver from that
of ft dead white."
In the eclipses of 1842 and 1851, it was the
principal circumstance to which the attention
of the observer was directed; and M. Arago was
able to perceive what might be termed two
rings the inner one, or that which bordered on
the moon's limb, being of a uniform brightness,
whence it faded imperceptibly outward, and
terminated irregularly. The inner ring was 3
or 4 ruins, in breadth; but the whole breadth of
the corona was differently estimated by various
observers as 8 miu., 10 min., aud 25 miu. in
breadth.
The appearance of this ring of light is now
generally attributed to the effect of the atmo
sphere of the sun, rather than to anything of the
fame nature in tho case of tho moon. The latter
was the supposition of Kepler, and before tho
waut of an atmosphere was established by nu
merous proofs, it was tho most natural theory;
although the great breadth of the ring would go
to prove that its height must be three or four
hundred miles, or ten times the extent of the
earth's atmosphere. No such difficulties exist
in tho case of its being supposed to be the solar
atmosphere, while its concentric form, iu regard
to the sun at different periods of observation,
tends still further to confirm this conjecture.
iuo corona, However, cannot be identlaea as
forming the zodiacal light; for it has mostly
been observed of a circular form, whilst the
latter is elliptical.
Ilea I'lnmcH.
In the eclipses of 1715 and 1733, when the sun
was wholly eclipsed, and only the corona was
visible, the margin of the moon was noticed to
be marked with some red spots, which remained
visible for some seconds. Whilst observing the
corona in 1842 these appearances again became
unexpectedly conspicuous to the different ob
servers. They were first observed a few seconds
after the time of total obscuration, and were of
a fine crimson tint, being compared by one ob
server to the peaks of the Alps illumined by the
setting sun, and by another to beautiful sheaves
of llames, which remained visible even after tho
sun had emerged. The length of the most con
siderable was, by actual measurement, found to
be equal to minutes of arc. Only two or
three isolated prominences were perceived by
the observers stationed in the south of France;
but to M. Struve and Schidlowsky those rose
colored llames burst out at several parts of the
lunar disc, a very large portion of the periphery
being'garnished with the crimson bordering. M.
Littrow noticed that they changed their color as
tho eclipso advanced, being at first white, then
rose color, and finally violet, passing afterwards
iu a reverse order through tho same tints. In
the eclipse of 1851 these crimson projections
were of rare beauty, and appeared in great num
bers. Some seen in this instance were crooked,
nnd resembled a flame bent aside by the wind
(Figure 4).
Those rose-colored prominences seen In the
iuncrmost aud brighter zone present the most
remarkable phenomena, baffling to science. They
ure curiously shaped. In 1851 one observer com
pared them to a boomerang, another to a bal
loon. Some have been compared to flames
bursting from tho housetop, others to tho teeth
of a circular-saw. Airy aud Arago were tho
first to conjecture that these belonged to the
sun; and the former showed it to be probable
that these llames did uot change during tho mo
tions of the moon. In 1800 Mr. Do la Rue, by
means of the Kew heliograph, set the matter
completely at rest. From tho pictures that he
obtained, Mr. Do la Rue was able to show that
the flames only changed apparently, not really,
owing to the moon in its motions covering one
portion and disclosing another; so that when
the clock of his instrument was adjusted to
the sun's motion, that portion of tho flames not
covered by the moon stood still. These results
were verified by Father Secchi, and fact is now
established that no change occurs Iu their form
during tho interval of totality observations lu
the solar eclipse. Thus, equally with the
corona, the i resent theory is that theso ap
pearances aro in tho atmosphere, of tho sun,
r.ud ore in nowise connected with the sun.
Their reddish color would seem to show that
they wero of a cloudy nature, resembling our
terrestrial clouds, and absorbing all tho rays of
the spectrum except tho red.
ECLIPSE OF AUGUST 7, 18(19.
It l'aae.
It will be remembered that our earth regularly
rotates on its axis once in twenty-four hours,
travelling at the rate of 1000 miles per hour to
the cast; and though to eomo this may appear
startling, yet how will their wonder be Intensl- '
fied when they comprehend that it hat an nddi- ,
tional motion In Its orbit of 08,0K) miles per .
hour to the west! The moon is revolving
nround the earth at tho rate of about 2903 miles ;
per hour from west to cast. It is plain, there- J
fore, that the cone-like shadow of the inowi,
which at the coining eclipse will be 1 10 miles In i
diameter, cannot and docs not remain long on !
the same part of the earth's surface. For the I
moon is flying around the earth in her orbit from
west to east with the velocity, on the 7th of !
August, of about 40 mile per minute; and the
rhadow passes over the earth's curved surface
with the increased velocity of about 44 miles
per minute, or nearly three-quarters ot mile
every second of time. Hence the wholo
circular shadow, of one hundred and
forty miles diameter, sweeps over the earth, In a
ciicrnl direction from the west toward-) tho
cast, forming a belt of Its own width, more than
tlx thousand miles long, In the short time of
about two hours and a half. The penumbra
covers a circular spaecof 4900 miles in diameter,
the eclipse happening exactly at tluiiiode. Thus,
the axis of the shadow is Inclined to the piano
of the ecliptic, the shadow will be cut obliquely,
ami tlmt part of the earth in the shade will bo
oval. Such a chart as the spectator would ob
serve from outside of the earth, and the astrono
mer compile by calculation, is presented in
Figure 2.
1 f that cut be compared, as the parallels of lati
tude and longitude allow, with a large map of
the United States, it will be found that the cen
tral lino of the path of the umbra enters tho
territory of the United States about two hundred
miles northwest of Fort Union, which is situated
at the junction of the Ycllowstono and the Mis
souri rivers. It sweeps southeast across the
Territory of Dacotah, and enters the State of
Iowa near Its northwestern boundary, near Lin
coln, at 4-29 P. M. Tho gigantic wings of dark
ness, 140inilc6bro"id, will sweep across the whole
length of Iowa in less than thirty minutes.
Springfield, Illinois, will be enshrouded at 5-05
P. M., Vincenncs, Indiana, at 5 15, Louisville,
Kentucky, nt 5-25, Abingdon, Virginia, at 5'42,
Morgantown, North Carolina, nt 5 44, and at 6 5
the corona of glory will be reflected in tho Jbil
lows of the Atlantic dashing upon the islets of
that State.
Hh riinHPH in Philadelphia.
Neither corona nor rosy-hued llames nor co
ruscated rosaries of beads will be visible to tho
good dwellers in Philadelphia. The ill-conditioned
klne left to browse on the scanty herbage
of commons will not chew the cud of wonder;
the grunters left to run loose among piles of
bricks and mortar, and half-built houses aud un
savory garbage, will not homeward plod their
weary way on a doubled trot; the roosters
penned up in city cellars will not huzzah out
their cock-a-doodlc-doos as the sun just sinks
below tho horizon. None of these wondrous
things will bo witnessed by our citizen, for
Philadelphia will not be deprived of all her sun
light on that occasion. Attention to the follow
ing hints, however, will, If the weather permit,
euable the partial eclipse to be enjoyed as It
well deserves to be:
Where nothing better eau be had, a bit of
plain glass, smoked over n candle or lamp,
in some parts more deeply shaded than
in others, to suit the varying inteusity of tho
sun's rays during the progress of tho eclipse,
will enable tho observer to see most of the phe
nomena. In the city it will be easy to procure
pieces of the red or ruby-tinted glass, of dif
ferent shades or depths, from most of tho gla
ziers, which maybe used with advantage, in
stead of the smoked irlass. Those who can
command a good opera-glass, or small telescope
of any kind, provided with a shade glass to
screen the eye, will of course have a better view.
To those whoso eyes require caution in using,
nnd to others for variety sake, it will pay to take
a large card with a small round hole in tho cen
tre, aud hold it against the sun's rays, so that
the shadow will fall on the floor, pavement,
wall, or other dark and smooth surface. Iu the
middle of the shadow there will be a true Image
of the sun, and the eclipse can bo stu
died in its progress without strain
ing the cyeB, and without smutting face or
hands with smoked glass. This simple process
was suggested by the familiar circumstances
that the light spots in the shadows during a
solar eclipse take the shape of the luminous
portions of the sun's disc, and the perforated
card has been used with perfect success.
Points of Observation.
The exact astronomical figures of interest to
this city are as follows: Tho eclipse begins at
5h. 8'6 P. M.j it is greatest at Oh. 51m.; it end
at Oh. 57-0m. Its duration will be lh. 49in.; its
magnitude 10 9 digits (a total eclipse being 12); and
Its poiutof beginning 132 dcg. Thosouthsido will
be eclipsed. Applied practically iu observation,
all the above calculations are valuable, as they
direct the attention to tho exact time and point
of tho commcncenientof the partial obscuration.
Let the spectator, while looking at tho du
cliuing sun, imagine a straight line drawn
through tho sun from top to bottom, and auothor
through tho middle from right to left, as if it
wero to bo sliced into quarUrs like an apple.
Tho upper point of the line will be 0 deg., the
right hand point of course, as tho person must
bo faclug to tho west, his right hand will bo
towards the north will be 90 deg., and thq
lowermost point 180 dc. Midway between tho
latter two points may bo Inserted 135 deg.; at
this point practically the first obscuration will
be Visible. Tho lino of shade will creep gra
dually up over tho disc of tho sun, covering tho
lower limb regularly in its progress. At its
greatest obscuration, about eleven-twelfths of
the sun's surface will bo darkened, and the
small rim unobscured will be tho upper section
of its disc. As tho sun sets on Saturday at 7-0
about ten minutes will elapse between the end
ing of tho eclipso and the sinking of tho sun,
giving time for gay tinted clouds and tho beau
tiful twilight, should tho weather permit.
IiitvrcHtluK Point of Tolalitv.
For tho beuefit of thoso readers who may have
tho privilege of witnessing the totality, the chief
points of popular interest, and thoso also which
can bo seen by the naked eye, are brletly recapi
tulated as follows:
1. Tho changes in tho color of tho sky aud tho
clouds, and iu tho colors and shades of tho dis
tant landscape, and also of near objects. 2. Tho
approach and retreat of the dark shadow, which
may bo stated approximately to bo at the rato of
amilo a second. 3. The degreo of darkness
during the totality, its effect upou animals aud
plants, and whether stars can be seen; and if so,
how many, what stars, and of what color. 4.
The corona, or halo o." Ujjtat, which surround I
the moon, nnd which usually nppunrs three or
lour seconds previous to the total extinction of
the Min's lijrht and continues visible for about
the mine interval nfter lis reappearance. In
general, It may be compared to the nimbus
commonly painted around the heads of
the saints. To the naked eye, the
corona appears to start out from tho dark
body of the moon jun at tho moment of total
eclipse. It Is the most startling and impressive
Incident of the ccllpsc-tlic climax of the whole
phenomenon nnd perhaps tho most thrilling
effect in nature. 5. The mm-mlorvd projections
which appear around the margin of the moon's
di -k, arc often (though not always) visible to
the naked eye. 0. 1 he sphericity of tho moon,
which has sometimes been seen projected upou
the bright sky; also the effect of tho moon's
hanging out in the sky between the earth and tho
sun, and sometimes apparently very near tho
former. 7. The moments of the four contacts
should be noted bv all who have even small
lasses and who can obtain the correct time, and
should be communicated to Professor Stephen
Alexander of Princeton, N. J., who is the chair
man of tho committee on this eclipse, appointed
by the National Academy of Sciences.
FiorKK 3. Appearance of tho corona nt Beaufort,
Pouth Carolina, during the total eclipso ot November
80, 1834.
The ProRrenit of the Eclipae
is given in the following table, which presents
the time of beginning, tho middle, and the end,
at various points in the United States, together
with the number of digits obscured:
TRACES.
II
ft
New York
Philadelphia
ltuhiinore
Boston
New Orleans
Cincinnati
St. Loniu
nhienffo
Buffalo
Newark, N. J
LouiRTillo, Ky
Albany, N Y
Waahinston
San Kranciauo
Providence
Pittaburif
Rochester
lotroit
Milwaukee
('loTeland
Charlt'Btnn
New Havtn
Richmond
Ijowell
Mobile
Hnrtfora
Syracuse...
fortland,
Utica
Savannah
Wilmington, Pol.
Indianapolis
Trenton
Nashvillo
OsweRo
Banner, Me
Dubuque
Auputtta, Uti
Si. Paul, Minn. . .
Juebeo
Mimirpal
Raleigh
Toronto
Havana. Cuba
Little Rock
Portland, OreKon, .
5 1
6
I?
Me
S
3
24
24
80
6
7
4h
11
24
12'
2:
2rt!
47 !
4H,
iii!
ll
84,
Iri'
1
21:
2?l
t
23:
fin!
l
II
5
6
4
4
4
4
4
6
4
G
5
1
6
4
4
4
4
4
5
A
5
6
4
5
4
6
6
4
5
4
5
4
4
5
3 W)
5 23
h. m. I h. m.
H 11 Sun-sot
6 Ii 6 B7i
M o 53
IS Sun-ant,
W 6 13
23
4,
7
4l
24
4
57
6 Bit
6 M
10
11
H
9
IVi
11! N.
J 1.4! .
B.
8.
8.
8.
N.
8.
2 i 3 3S
6 1 Sun set
41 B 35:
421
2d
48 1
13 Sun-set
ftt 6 51
17 Sun set
20 6 30
1 1 Sun set
53 A J7
8 21 Sun-set
5 tf 6 .VI
52
6 4t
tt 51
6 141
6 Mi
6 2ll
2.1 Sun-snt
52 6 53i
7 Sun set;
36, 6 3rti
la
10
12
if
11
8'
9',,
S
9
lu s
lira
1'
ll'.i'
9!
8.
8.
S.
8.
N.
8.
8.
8.
8.
8.
8.
N.
8.
8.
8.
N.
8.
8.
8.
8.
N.
8.
8.
8.
N.
8.
40
6 59
6 54 1
6 5H
6 3d
7'ii 8.
11 S.
11 N.
11' H.
1(1 Invis.
1 6 1
2 3 28
7
U'ai
8
111'.,'
8.
8.
8.
8.
N.
N.
N.
SCIENIIFIC OBSERVATIONS.
Important scientific expeditions havo been
organized by tho National Observatory, the
!Jantical Almanac Office, the United States .Coast
Survey, by many of the leading universities,
and by liberal citizens, to view the totality phe
nomena, with all the facilities for scientific in
vestigation. The sun in various stages of eclipse,
will be photographed; the time and incidents of
the phases noted, nnd material secured for a
special and exhaustive analysis of the spectro
scopic phenomena.
Fiuuke 4. Appearance of the corona aud of tho
rose-colored names lu tho total eclipse of July 28,
lsM, iu Sweden, and of that of August 18, lbtks, iu
India. " '
The Alaska Corps.
. The naval appropriation act of March 3d last
having appropriated $5000 for the observation of
the eclipse, to be under tho direction of Pro
fessor Collin, tho superintendent of tho "Nauti
cal Almanac," that gentleman at first decided to
6dect either Ochotsk or Pensjinsk in Siberia,
and Norton Sound in Alaska, as tho most favor
able positions for observing tho eclipso. lie
applied to the Secretary of tho Navy to send a
ship to either or both of thoso regions in season
for tho observation, and Mr. Borio directed Rear
Admiral Rowan, commanding the Asiatic
Squadron, to meet the observers at Yokohama
by the first of July. Instructions were also sent
to Rear-Admiral Turner, commanding tho
Pacific Squadron, to allow the party the uso of
tho vessel stationed in the waters of Alaska for
tho purpose of making tholr observations.
Two parties were organized for this Territory,
which is by far tho best point of observation.
With ' reference to the duration of tho total
phase, there will be a maximum of about threo
minutes and forty-seven seconds at a point
north of Now Archangel, lu Alaska, to a mini
Jflumof. two minutes aud twonty-eighj Recori
Cvntviuvi h th Skcotul ruyt.)