216 OBSERVATIONS OF THE ECLIPSE 



Maine,) on the subject of the solar eclipse, of June 16, 1806. 

 I send it to you as I have received it from the respectable Pre- 

 sident of that institution, the Rev. Dr. M'Kcen. 



I shall begin by an extract from the letter of President 

 M'Keen. 



Brunswick, August 22d, 1806. 

 "DEAR SIR, 



"On several days previous to the solar eclipse of June 16th, 

 "I paid particular attention to my clock, and by a great num- 

 "ber of double altitudes ascertained the rate of its going. Pro- 

 " lessor Cleaveland and Mr. Parker observed with me. 



" We rated the beginning of the eclipse Ht. . 10 h 14' 00" 7 A .• 



"the end . . . . 12 55 20 J A PP arent umc - 



"As we had no micrometer fitted to either of of our tele- 

 " scopes, we could not determine accurately, the quantity 

 " eclipsed ; but by receiving an image of the sun through a 

 " reflecting telescope, upon a plane surface with twelve con- 

 " centric circles drawn upon it, we were assured that it ex- 

 " ceeded eleven digits. We did not find it easy to keep the 

 " limb of the sun's disk long in perfect coincidence with the 

 "arc of the greatest circle, and therefore could not measure it 

 " with perfect accuracy. The Rev. Mr. Jenks, who assisted 

 " me in this observation, thought it exceeded 114 digits; I 

 "judged it to be somewhat less. It may be presumed there- 

 " fore, that at the greatest obscuration, 1 14 digits, nearly, were 

 "eclipsed. 



"The latitude of the College is about 43° 53' N; and its 

 "longitude, as determined by an eclipse of the moon in Ja- 

 "nuary, 1805, is 69° 50' W. of Greenwich. 



" Three or four stars, about the middle of the eclipse, were 

 " easily seen with the naked eye. 



" Professors Abbot and Cleaveland noted a series of observa- 

 " tions of the thermometer, barometer and hygrometer of Du- 

 " luc, during the eclipse. The barometer did not appear to 

 "be„at all affected by it; the mercury in the thermometer fell 

 " 6 degrees and rose again, and the hygrometer varied from 



