ECLIPSES 



THE work of an astronomer is anything biit 

 monotonous; every day, but chiefly every 

 night, the sky changes its appearance and lends 

 itself to new observations and measurements. 

 But it is principally for eclipses of the sun that 

 greatest preparations are made. Then, many 

 months ahead, physicists and astronomers pre- 

 pare their plan of battle and complete all their 

 arrangements for making the best use of the 

 few minutes during which the occultation lasts; 

 then, when the time arrives, they do not hesitate 

 to leave the peace of their laboratories to place 

 themselves under the most favourable conditions 

 for their observations; and the great civilised 

 nations, however pressed they may be for 

 money, always find in their treasuries the 

 requisite funds for these enterprises. 



The necessity for the concentration of so 



many workers on a single task is due to the 



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