COMING ECLIPSES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 22 November 1928, Page 9

COMING ECLIPSES

SUN AND MOON

LATTKK VISIBLE IN NEW

ZKALANi)

During ilio current month both the sun and 'liio moon will be eclipsed, ' tho former partially and the latter totally, lnil, it. is only' tli!! eclipse of the moon which will be visible in New Zealand. The ellipse of the moon takes placo <fii Tuesday, 271 h November. The moon, then full as it always is at tho time of an eclipse, enters the penumbra at 6.2!') p.m. (.summer time) ami the umbra al 7.23 p-m. But as the moon does not "rise in Wellington thai day until 1.22 p.m., the beginning of the eclipse will not be visible. However, if the night. Ls clear, the whole of the total phase will be visible. This begins at 8.33 p.m. and lasts until 9.29 p.m., the lunar orb thus being obscured for nearly an hour. The eclipse will not be finally over until 11.37 p.m., but by Ihiil.'lime most observers, except the keenest of astronomers, are likely jo have retired to bed. Astronomers will he particularly interested between 8.30 and 9.30 in observing, or attempting to observe, the oecuitation of some seven faint stars, details of which will be found in the British Astronomical Association's handbook. The beginning of this total eclipse of the moon will be visible in the west and north borders of Europe, in the Atlantic, in North and South America, and in the Pacific. The end will be visible from North America and westward thence from Australia, New Zealand, and part of Asia.

On .Monday next most of Europe will be treated to the spectacle of a, partial eclipse of the sun, the sun rising eclipsed in tho north of England and Ireland, and setting eclipsed in India. No part of this eclipse will be visible in this part of the world.

NEXT YEAR'S BIG EVENT

On 9th May next year a small favoured part of the world will be able to witness a total eclipse of the sun, the line of totality embracing a wide track of the South China Sea, Sumatra, Malacca, and the Philippines. As totality on tli is occasion lasts over five minutes, astronomers from all parts of the world will make special efforts to obtain observations. Two British expeditions will be formed, one going to Siam and the other to Kedah in tho Malay States. New Zealand has been invited to participate, but no decision has been reached as ye: as to whether anyone will be sent officially. The opportunity, however, is a good one, as shortly after the eclipse the Fan Pacific Congress opens at Batavia, so the same representative or representatives could attend both. Tho comparatively long period of totality in this eclipse will give astronomers lime, if the weather is kind, to make observations testing Einstein's theory. Special spectrophotometry observations of the calcium lines in the chromosphere, of hydrogen fines, and of the continuous spectrum of tho corona will also be made. The Government of Siam is extending a welcome to the British expedition which will have its headquarters at Pattani, and is admitting all apparatus and equipment free through the Customs.

No total eclipse of tbe sun can last more than 7i minutes, and for one to last over five minutes is a comparatively rare occurrence, so the coming eclipse is looked upon as an important one ' from an astronomical point of view. In 1937 a total eclipse of the sun lasting a fraction over seven minutes wiii be visible in Colombia, Brazil. and South Africa. In 2168, if the motion of celestial bodies is as stable as it is now, will occur an eclipse of the sun with a totality extending over a record length of time, namely, 7 minutes 28 seconds, only two seconds short of the possible. In 2150 there will be one of 71 minutes, but until those _ two dates come round astronomers will have to be content with shorter periods of totality, counting themselves lucky to have as much as five minutes of totality as in the coming eclipse.