SOLAR ECLIPSE

Hokitika Guardian, 9 June 1930, Page 5

SOLAR ECLIPSE

AID FOR NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION.

(By Telegraph—Press Association)

WELLINGTON, June 6

Although the Government announced a few days ago that it would be unable to finance the New ' Zealand Eclipse expedition next October, it reconsidered the matter to-day and is prepared now to assist by granting a subsidy.

The New Zealand Astronomical Society went carefully into the matter of cost and found that the project could he undertaken satisfactorily without exceeding £SOO. The Government has decided to subsidise voluntary contributions toward this amount on a £ for £ basis up to £2OO, being £IOO grant direct and £IOO through the New Zealand Institute. This leaves £3OO to be subscribed, and the New Zealand Astronomical Society launched to-day an appeal to those interested for the amount.

Preparations for the New Zealand ex pedjtion which isi to he led by the Dominion Astronomer, Dr 0. E. Adams, have been going forward ' steadily for some time. The island itself, known popularly-as -Tin Call Island,” is about halfway between Samoa and Fiji and lies in the narrow belt of totality which slopes downward from west to east across the Pacific. It is thus most favourably situated/ and work of enormous importance should be possible at the eclipse in October. Negotiat-ons between the New Zealand Astronomical Society and the British Eclipse Committee resulted in the loan of some of i-lie finest instruments in the world. These arrived in Wellington a few months ago for use by the New Zealand partv. The coronagraph happens to be the historic one used at Sobral in ir.iq when Einstein’s famous “star shift” was first out to the test, -teelffioi-i Ape fi nsna