ASTRONOMICAL.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14909, 24 February 1914, Page 7

ASTRONOMICAL.

— » —«- ■ . ANNULAR ECLIPSE OP THE SUN. THE TftAN'SIT OF MERCURt. There trill bo an aarnilar eolipse oi the £un to-<lay. The moon will be at emoh a. distance from "the earth to-day, that it will nob cover tho whole diameter of the sun. The jnOon'6 diataetei will bo a little over 2 mimitfes lese that the sun's apparent diflineter by fingulai measurement. Mr H. t< , . Bkey, IHrector of thd Magnetic Observatory, informed j>. "Press" reporter that the lino of simple confcacl will pass through Ohrifitchuich in a north-oaat artel sbuth-tfest direction. T< the ndrfch'Wefit of th&t lind tio pftrt oi the ecliose will bd visible, while to the BOuth-paßb ib will be only partially vieible. Tlie liho of central CcHjpso will describe a eenii-oval arc betft-eon Ke«f Zealand and Oapo Hdni. but will bo ttiucli nearer to the latter pointi if Dr. MawBoii is still in tho Ah+afdtio he will obectro a partial eclipse of the sun. On Auijuat 21st there will be ft total eclipse of thft t?Un, as a partial eclipse at Gfefenwicl), and as a total eclipse in Eastern Gertfiany, Persia, and the Black Sea. It will be a very fine eclipse for solar observation, but will not be visible-in New Zealand. There Will be no total eclipee of the moon this year, but there will be partial ellipses on Starch 11th and September 4th. A very interesting phendihendn will be the transit of Mercury across the sun's disc on Xoromber 7th. It will hot bo visible in New Zealand, but will he seen in longitudes between 2GJ degreos East and 36i degrees West of Greenwich. •