ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13097, 9 February 1906, Page 5

ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

Thk total eclipse of the moon, which occurs this evening, will cause the moon to rise either invisible, or to appear of a copper colour, the latter, most likely. The eclipse of the moon has quite an historical celebrity, as ancient writers have rioted its appearance in ' Europe as a total eclipse for the past 325 years. Ricciolus, an enthusiastic calculator of the 17th century, noted that it would 1 be visible in 1581, 1599, 1635, 1653, 1671. 1689, and other computers marked it for 1725. 1743, 1779, and 1797. It was also noted in 1815, the year of Waterloo, and several times in the 19th century. Of these appearances those of 1671 and 1725 occurred in Europe under the same conditions as the one this evening, the moon rising fully eclipsed. In the present instance the total phase ends at six minutes past eight p.m., seconds omitted, for it is neither possible to calculate nor to observe the pheomenon with so much accuracy as to make it worth while to quote them. It would be an interesting experiment for observers with opera-glasses and other such aids, as also by naked! eye, to watch the ending, and see by how much they will differ from each other, for experienced observers have been found to vary more than a minute.