Eclipses 



eclipses, that of 30th August 1905, which was 

 observed in France as a partial eclipse. It 

 appeared under the most favourable conditions. 

 Firstly, owing to the geographical position of 

 the countries crossed; starting from North 

 America and moving in the general direction 

 from north-west to south-east, the circle of 

 total umbra swept diagonally across Labrador, 

 the Atlantic, Spain, the Balearic Isles, Algeria, 

 Tunis, Tripoli, Egypt, where it passed near 

 Assouan; it crossed the Red Sea and part of 

 Arabia, after which the travelling shadow lost 

 touch with our planet, which it had crossed in 

 its course during only two hours, forty-eight 

 minutes. A long line of suitable stations, from 

 Spain to Egypt, was thus available for the 

 observers, a condition of great importance, 

 considering the weight, the number and the 

 delicacy of the instruments having to be trans- 

 ported to the sites selected. On the other hand, 

 the season and the geographical position of the 

 regions traversed justified the hope of clear 

 skies, without which observations are im- 

 possible. 



M 197 



