SOLAR ECLIPSE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21102, 12 August 1930, Page 9

SOLAR ECLIPSE.

OBSERVATIONS AT NIAUFOU. THE DOMINIONS REPRESENTA- ■ , v TIVES. (Special to Dallt Times.) WELLINGTON, August 11. Preparations for the part' which New Zealand hopes to play in the solar eclipse next October are being taken actively in hand by the Dominion astronomer (Dr C.. B. Adams) and Mr P. W. Glover, B.Sc., F.R.A.S., both of whom are experimenting with the instruments at the Kelburn. Observatory. When the Government first found itself unable to finance thesexpedition, and promised later a £ for £ subsidy up to £2OO, the New Zealand Astronomical Society set out to, gather the remaining £3OO which it thought necessary for the work of the expedition. This was done ' by means of a public appeal, and £2OO is ' already definitely available. Six weeks remain now before the expedition hopes to leave., and in that time the additional £IOO must, if possible, be The personnel of the expedition, assuming that the whole of the money will eventually be found, has not yet been definitely decided upon, although Dr Adams and Mr Glover will certainly be of the party. The first subscription list to the appeal fund ■ was* by Dr Adams to-day. Of the subscriptions already received by the society, totalling £159 0s 6d, Wellington’s share is £6O 10s. This, like the complete list, is made up mainly of subscriptions of a single guinea. Christchurch is responsible for £l2 18s fid, Dunedin for £l3 12s fid, Auckland for £3B 11s, and the remainder of New Zealand for £33 6s fid. In addition to this amount, further subscriptions, totalling about £3O, have, been received in Dunedin, £l2 is to come from ,New Plymouth and £5 from Hawera. The society is renewing its efforts to secure the remainder of the money. Emphasis is to-be placed on the Value of the work which will be undertaken at Niaufou, and a determined appeal made for even the smallest subscriptions. Dr Adams has been in touch with the American expedition which is going to Niaufou under the control of the United States Navy Department and, with Mr C. S. .Ramsay, a resident trader on the island. The American expedition is to be led by 'Commander C.H.J. Keppler, U.S.N. With mm Will be Lieutenant H. C. Kellers, medical officer in charge of the health of the party, and a number of scientists. Chief among them is Professor S. • A. Mitchell, of the Leander-M'Oormick Ob-, servatory, University of Virginia,- -probably the leading • authority on solar eclipses in the world. With his ; assistant. ■ Mr Kempton Adams, he' is in charge of ' the wpectrographio Work. Professor R. W, Marriott, with Dr Weld Arnold, will conduct the coronal photography, and make observations for the Einstein effect,’using' a 63 feet camera. Mr J. J. Johnson is the photometric observer, and Mr B. P. Sharplesa will also be working on coronal' photography. Dr T. A. daggers will, perhaps. accompany the expedition for seismic • and volcanic work, and there' will be a kmematograph photographer. The New Zealand expedition will-be leaving Auckland, it is hoped, by the Niagara on September 23. Arriving at Suva three days later, the_w will be taken from Suva to the island of Niaufou by .HM.S. Laburnum, and will reach the island at the beginning of October. Their" route . and transport back to New Zealand at the end of October is not yet settled. The American and the New Zealand expeditions will be the only ones on the island. It lies < ?“}? few miles from the centre of the belt of totality, which slopes downward from west to east across the Pacific,-and is about halfway between Fiji gnd Samoa.