LUNAR ECLIPSE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8527, 17 September 1913, Page 10

LUNAR ECLIPSE

MONDAY NIGHT’S SPECTACLE. (By Miss Mary Proctor.) On Monday evening. great interest was shown in the total eclipse of the moon, to judge from the hundreds of visitors to the Hector Observatory at Kelbume and to the Wellington College Observatory. Fifty college boys and their friends availed-themselves of the opportunity to visit the latter observatory, and, under-the able guidance of Mr C. Gifford, theyi were enabled to observe the moon through the excellent five-jnch telescope. ' Mr Gifford explained how the lunar eclipse .was due to the interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon. The sun is at night under our feet at the other side of the earth, and the earth throws a long shadow upwards. If the moon enters into this shadow, it ia plain that the sunl.ghr. is cut off, and since the moon shines by no light of its own, but only by light borrowed from the sun, it follows that when it is buried in the shadow all the direct lighlj is intercepted and the moon loses its brilliancy. This is exactly what happened on Monday evening, and by the time the moon was entirely in the shadow, it glowed with a copper-colour-ed hue. Early in the evening the light moonlight made artificial lights unnecessary, but as the moon became immersed in the shadow, the increasing darkness resulted in a general illumination of the cijty, as on moonless nights. At the same time, it was observed that the stars which had been dimmed by the moon’s lustre, now shone brightly, and even the outline of the Galaxy or Milky Way became visible. While at Kelbume the telescope was turned constantly in the direction of the moon until nearly midnight, Mr Gifford, at the College Observatory, varied the programme somewhat, by showing the wonders of Kappa Crncis, the so-called Jewel Casket, with its many varied coloured stars; the Omega Centaur! cluster of stars, Alpha Centanri, the nearest star, a double star of great beauty, and finally the nebula in Andromeda, which was fairly well placed for observation during the latter part of the evening. It was a quarter past twelve before the celestial entertainment was Drought to a close, but there was no doubt from the interest shown by those who were present at the College Observatory that the telescope is arousing an interest in practical astronomy. The same may be said with regard to the Government astronomer’s experience at the Hector Observatory, where it was found • almost impossible to give more than a brief glimpse of the moon through the telescope to those who eagerly awaited their turn. To judge from the remarks in the visitors’ book, those who had journeyed to Kelbume felt well rewarded for their trouble, and it was undoubtedly a unique experience. Th© conditions were excellent. While returning home, it was interesting to note the disappearance of constellations such as the

Scorpion, which had occupied a prominent place in the heavens earlier in the evening, and to see Orion, Sirius and the Pleiades—stars -which are usually associated with the , summer nights in this part of the world—climbing the eastern, horizon.

OBSERVATIONS IN SYDNEY.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright SYDNEY, September 16. The lunar eclipse was fairly observed by the Government Astronomer. Special observations were made with a view to determining more accurately the existence or otherwise of a lunar, atmosphere.