SATURDAY'S ECLIPSE.
We have all seen the comet, but th<3
total eclipse of the sun which is to take place to-morrow, Bays Friday's P es r and whioh is being eagerly awaited by scientific men of at least three countries, will be lost to us. If the sun is to be blotted out, as astronomical forecasts say that it is, n iture has at least taken care that its temporary effacemenb wi 1 be dißcernable from only a very narrcW strip of the earth's surfacs. The zone in question stretches from the Bouth of Madagascar across Mauritius, through Central Sumatra, and onward through Borneo and the Celebes as far as NeW Guinea, and it is only 150 mites wide. The nature and surroundings of the sun have never been fully u derstood. Around it flies an aureole-like envelope, called the corona, whose light is ovtr, powered by that o? the sua, making ib quite imperceptible except during eclipse. The questions of its extent, of i 0 rotation, of tha measure in which ib shines by its own light, or by that of the sun, the reason and manner of its chan e of form between eclipses—all the. a Questions are full of interest for the astronomers, and the chanoe of gaining
Knowledge is not being misßed ExpHitions for purposes of observations have been sent to Sumatra from Eigland, Germaoy, and Holland. The Dutch have been making preparations for several years, and, as they were nob previously experienced in these observa-" tions, Dr Nyland, the Professor of Astronomy at Utrecht, went to America twelve months ago purp>sely to observe an eclipse there. The Government, moreover, has distributed accur fce maps of the country, with details of the rainfall and probable amount of clouds at various stations, and the parties have been advised to separate widely, so th-1 some of them, at least, may be ee * tain of clear weather. The finglioh Admirality ha 3 sent its observers in the Pomone, a cruiser specially detailed fcr the purpose. The eclipse wilt be visibl , by the way, for six minutes at Sumatra* against the minute or minute and a-half duration of the eclipse observed in India some years ago. A Bpecial English expedition has been sent also to Mauritius, where the eclipse will be perceptible only three minutes. Fortunately, the expeditions cannot entirely fail, even if the weather should >e adverse, for magnetic observations will also take place to determine the change made in magnets by the passage of ths moon's cold shadow across the earth. When ■ such elaborate precautions are being made we may hope that, at least, [some of the mysteries of the corona wilj be revealed to the investigators.
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Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 152, 21 May 1901, Page 4
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449SATURDAY'S ECLIPSE. Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 152, 21 May 1901, Page 4
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