ECLIPSE OF SUN THIS AFTERNOON

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LI, Issue 8095, 21 September 1922, Page 3

ECLIPSE OF SUN THIS AFTERNOON

Mil AT MAY BE SEEN OF IT

HERE

(By Col. G. A. Ward). What is commonly called the coming in of the new moon” this evening will be heralded by one of those rarely seen celestial phenomena — a total eclipse of the sun. Tins means that the earth's own particular little satelile, the moon, in its moiitidy and somewhat wobbly course around our globe, happens to pass directly between it and the sun, instead of passing, as it much more frequently does, somewhat to one o r other side. Though our moon seen by earth people, seems nearly as large as the sun, this impression is caused by the fact that it is only some 240,000 miles distant from us, or, put another way, is some 380 times closer to- us than the sun. Hence it follows that a total eclipse cf the sun by the interposed body of the moon, will be seen as such from only a small portion of jtlie earth’4 surface, and to observers around this portion, for- a, few thousand miles, as a partial eclipse, while no eclipse will occur at all, so fa. r as visibility is concerned, for all the rest of the earth. Tailtanga, unfortunately, is not in the path of totality, as it. is called, as this passes mostly over the Indian Ocean, and Australia; however, if The evening be fine, we shall have an opportunity of seeing a partial eclipse, which will show about seventeuths of the sun's face, as being hidden by the moon, by the time of sunset. The first contact, will occur just before 4 p.m., when the western edge of the sun. will lose its outward rotundity, and appear as if it were being squeezed inward, this action continuing until just as the sun sets, it will appear like the moon usually does when "a few days old,” —a crescent. Child ion, and perhaps others, should be cautioned against attempting to watch the phenomena with unprotected eyes, the simplest safe expedient being to look through a piece of glass one side of which has been evenly and not too heavily smoked by being held over the flame of a candle. A piece of clear but heavily coloured glass, preferably ;:j dark green, will serve equally as well, or a double thickness consisting- of two pieces of lighter tint. On the present occasion, scientists attach unusual importance to the observation of the eclipse from points where it will be seen as total as it is reckoned that most valuable data will oblhinied,, supporting or refuting Professor Einstein’s nowly* propounded “theory of re-lativity”—-a theory, bo it said, which, Hi true, will revolutionize many accepted theories, on a great variety of subjects, but which very r -. r . -... i —u arfi , as y o p able to comprehend. J To put the eclipse la form, let us suppose an observer who could see the. earth at the time of the eclipse, from the dark side of one of our fellow planets, and having a powerful telescope. Suolii a person might see the shadow of our moon pass over the brightly illuminated face of (he earth like a tiny brownish dot, while our moon itself might be seen as a tiny point of light a short distance from the earth's disc, just such a sight as Jupiter presents to us, a fellow planet and its satelito shining in a dark night sky.