ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13336, 27 March 1911, Page 2

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

SCIENTISTS AT AUCKLAND. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, March 27. Several members of the scientific parties which proceed to Vavau to observe the solar eclipse on April 28 arrived by the Maheno from Sydney. They leave Auckland to-morrow by the Atua. FOUR SEPARATE EXPEDITIONS. There are four parties of astronomers on their way to Vavau to observe the solar eclipse. Two arc British expeditions—one ed by Eev. A. L. Cortie, S.J., and the other by Dr* Lockver. Eev. A. L. Cortie, who is chief of the Government official expedition, is to be joined by Father Piggott, of Eiverview College, Sydney', as a volunteer The Admiralty has placed a man of war—the Encounter—at his dis posal, so that ho might have the expert iasistance of the officers and crew in erectmg the instruments, A party accompanied by another official oxpedition, under the Board of Education, leaded by Dr Lockyer, and by an Ausiralian contingent of astronomers, led by VTr P. Baracchi, were to have sailed from Sydney in the Encounter on March 25, for Vavau. In some references to the Australian weather conditions. Dr Lockyer said: 'All Australians ought to study the sun. hoped to find a solar physics observatory istablished here. Australians get their weather from the west, consequently it s a mistake to build an observatory in the southern regions. You should have one to the west of Australia. If I were king of this country I would place one with a wireless station on Kerguelen Island, where you would be able to indicate the approaching weather.” Dr Lockyer goes to America from the ■South Seas. An American expedition will probably make observations from Nassau Island, ind a German expedition, will operate from one of the Samoan Islands. Eev. A. L, Cortie, leader of a party of British astronomers proceeding to Vaveu, dated in the course of an intervi >w ! 'mt he was teh chief of the Government official expedition, the appointment '■i. that position being made by the joint- permarent eclipse committee of the Eoyal So;iety and the Eoyal Astronomical Society. Te belonged to Stonyhurst College, in Lancashire, a Jesuit College, where they had a large observatory. Ho taught physics in the college, besides assisting in the observatory. He had brought an assistant rom Stonyhurst Observatory, Mr W. MeKeon. “We expect,” continued Father Cortie, “that the general form of the corona this time will he what is called the minimum type—that is,' associated with a few sun •ipots. There will be long wings or dreamers in the equatorial regions. The crater of the sun and the Polar regions will be open, but fdled with more or less drong rays. These will be the main features. But in every eclipse there are special features that have to be photographed and studied. The time of the legality of the eclipse will be Iff minutes, a brief space for us to come so far for, nut the whole eclipse will extend over two hours. We have to go to the South Sea Islands because that is the only place where there will be totality. At Melbourne there would be a total eclipse if the sr.ii rose early enough, but when the sun rises lore the shadow of the moon will be passing over it. You will only see the finish of it here. The. moon will take about two lours to .cross the sun, and the shadow then passes across the track of the earth, is soon as the moon covers the sun the solar corona, which can only be observed at such times, comes out. A knowledge rf the physics of the sun is important, and .t sonly at times of total eclipse that wc 'an get a knowledge of some of the nliern--nena of the sun. We know nothing at all ibout the corona, and; it is only »t times )f total eclipse that we can study it. 7< r'estial magnetism is connected with the ■hanges in the sun, and in these changes ' r hc corona plays a great part. We cannot got an adequate knowledge of the physics ■>f the sun unless wo know something about '■he corona, and, taking the chances ot s ad weather, Ido not suppose that lh„re ire more than five minutes for ■ bserving the corona in two years.”