t 
4:66 - "ASTRONOMICAL AnD 
XH. tx Account of the Obfervationi made in Providence, in 
- the State of Khode-Iland, of theEchpfe of the Sun, which bap- 
pened tbe 23d Day of April, 1781. By Benjamin West, 
o Efquire, P, ur A, jCunmritiicaded by the Reverend Prefident 
“WILLARD, Hil 
[H AY E thought proper to draw up a particular account-of 
L this e clipf, as well knowing that proper obfervations -of 
eclipíes 1 make an important: article in the theory of aftronomy. 
It was by! thefe kind of obfervations the lunar theory was bro't 
to. it's prefent. degree of. perfection : And every Aftronomer 
knows of what confequence it is to navigation, to haye the 
moon's motion fettled to a certain degree of accuracy. 
This eclipfe was obferved in Providence by Mr. ‘fofepb Bow 
and myfelf, at Mr. Brown’s houfe, - The morning of the 23d 
of April was cloudy, and I defpaired of feeing the fun that 
day ; but a little before twelve o'clock, the clouds feemed to 
break, and the fun, now and then, made it's appearance, which 
gave me fome hopes of feeing fome part of the eclipfe : But 
after twelve o'clock the fun was again obfcured by the clouds, 
and remained fo till five or-fix minutes after the firt conta& of 
the fun’s and moon's limb, when we had again a flight view of 
the fun through the clouds, and (aw the eclipfe was coming 
on. The air continued unfavourable to our obfervation till a 
few minutes before the middle of the eclipfe, when the fun 
again appeared, and gave us a good opportunity of obferving 
the quantity of the eclipfe when at the greateft ,—for which . 
purpofe, Mr. Brown applied the micrometer, and found the 
.Jucid part of the fun, when in its leaft ftate, 1288 microme- 
^ ter 
