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lery " than the cluster about Kappa Crucis to which 

 he applied that picturesque description. 



OF A MOON-ECLIPSE 



There was something unreal about that November 

 moon-eclipse. It was ushered in theatrically, for 

 earlier in the evening there were intermittent double 

 coronae of the most exquisite hues, as if the " Queen of 

 heaven's bright isles " were desirous of proclaiming 

 to all men her coming conflict with the earth's shadow, 

 from which she would triumphantly emerge more 

 radiant than ever. 



When the moon's lower left-hand rim first showed 

 indications of flattening, the time was 10.40, with the 

 atmosphere very transparent and the temperature 

 below freezing-point. The penumbra then appeared 

 to be rolling over the disk like volumes of grey smoke, 

 driven forward by the advancing shadow. At eight 

 minutes to eleven the shadow had taken a substantial 

 bite out of the lunar features, and it was possible to 

 predict a " light " eclipse. It is, indeed, singular how 

 " light " or how " dark " a moon-eclipse can really be, 

 for a greater contrast in that respect than the phenome- 

 non in question and, say, the eclipse of April, 1903, it 

 would be difficult to imagine. The shaded portion of 

 the moon at 10.52 was of a distinct reddish brown, 

 making the segment quite bright compared with what 

 happened at the 1903 eclipse. 



By eleven o'clock the moon was nearing the meridian, 

 and was in a direct line with, and midway between, the 

 head of Aries and the ruddy star Aldebaran. The 

 shadows on the snow-covered ground and on the 



