ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 292, 4 May 1911, Page 7

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

,-,- „rrT— —" " ' 4.tir v ,se f vingei of Oka to, writes:—ln estimating the remains of the sun, I gjqt a; blfad stick 46 inches long, fastened a'pair ,of compasses to the end, so as to' meitsujre r ,the , sun's disc, as seen through smoked glass. This, with the eye at one end, gave the sun an ap: parent diameter of half-an-inch; I then measured the bright part "from time to time. At 8.34 a.m. very nearly a quarter of an inch of sun remained. If a long scantling 12 feet in length was taken and a second person engaged to shift the compass, an enormously magnified sun would be obtained. Amateurs should practise so as to be able to locate sun .spots and measure the disr tahees.between moon and planets. The corresponding lunar eclipse begins at 3.15 p.m. of our time and ends at 7.37 p.m. The moon will rise at New Plymouth at 4.53 p.m., so some of it will he seen, but it is what is called a "penumbra!" eclipse. The atmosphere of the earth dulls the sun, and makes it appear a smoky orange color. ' Nineteen years ago, in 1892, we should have; had similar eclipses if the 10th year Chaldean periods are still respected. : ' ; The HcVt' eclipse of the sun seems designed to" honor Nelson and Trafalgar. It begins 'by Greenwich time at Lift a.m., and ends at 7.5 a.m. Really it would be a day following, as civilians count time, but, astronomically speaking, it will be on the 21st.