I04 



NA TURE 



[December 5, 1907 



lllE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 

 JANUARY 3, 1908. 



ON the third day of the approaching new year, 

 according to Greenwich mean time, a total 

 eclipse of the sun will take place, the line of totality 

 passing from a point in the Pacific, about east longi- 

 tude 155° and north latitude 12°, in a curved path 

 through Polynesia and terminating in Mexico. 



Unfortunately for astronomers and others who go 

 far afield to make observations on these occasions, 

 the eclipse is mostly restricted to the ocean, and the 

 only two portions of land from which totality can be 

 seen are two Pacific islands, namely, Hull Island, in 

 the Phoenix group, and Flint Island, to the north of 

 Tahiti. 



The accompanying map. Fig. i, gives a general 

 idea of the path of the line of totality. It is taken 

 from the " Nautical Almanac " for the year 1908, but 

 has here been considerably reduced, and several lines 

 which were not required for this article have been 

 omitted, and the land areas more shaded. 



The positions of the two 

 islands to which reference 

 above has been made are de- 

 noted by two small circles on 

 the central line. Even these 

 observing stations do not offer 

 those facilities with regard to 

 anchorage, landing, shelter, 

 &c., which make eclipsing 

 easy, as the following particu- 

 lars, gathered from Dr. 

 Downing's paper in the 

 Monthly Notices of the Royal 

 .\stronomical Society, will 

 show. 



Hull Island has a lagoon 

 and a little fresh water, and 

 cocoa-nut trees 50 feet high 

 grow on it. The island is 

 surrounded by a coral reef, 

 which makes landing very 

 difficult except by entering the 

 lagoon by means of the boat 

 passages on the north-west 

 side. There is also no 

 anchorage. 



Even Flint Island does not 

 offer inore enticing facilities. 

 It is i;? feet high, and covered 

 with brushwood and trees, 

 and is 2 J miles long and half 



a mile broad. Fringing it is a steep coral reef, whicn 

 at low water is dry and extends seaward about half 

 a cable. At the northern end of the island this reef 

 extends seaward 4I cables, and at the southern end 

 25 cables. Two small lagoons of brackish water are 

 situated in the interior. Landing also is described 

 as very bad even for surf boats, and there is either 

 bad anchorage or none at all. 



So far as is known at present, no one intends 

 going to Hull Island, but as Flint Island will be 

 occupied the following data regarding the particulars 

 of totality, gathered from the above-mentioned 

 ■source, niav be of interest. -As the island is situated 

 in longitude ic,i° 48' W. and latitude 11° 26' S., 

 the duration of totality is 4 minutes. Such a long 

 eclinse will be specially suitable for the study of some 

 problems, and more especially for those connected 

 with the corona. This station is also very favour- 

 able in another respect, because the sun at eclipse 

 time has an altitude of 74 degrees, or only 16 degrees 

 from the zenith. 



The following table shows the times of the four 

 contacts of the moon with the sun in both Greenwich 

 and local mean time. 



Mean Solar Time. 



Greenwich i Local 



d. h. m. s. 1 d. h. m. s. 



January 2 



While the accessibility of the station 

 weather conditions are not all that could be wished 

 for, the length of totality, the great altitude of the 

 sun, and the importance of continuity of observ- 

 ation of eclipses are sufficiently tantalising to tempt 

 astronomers to journey to this far-off land. 



There is another reason which makes the observ- 

 ation of this eclipse of great importance. 



The last eclipse from which successful results were 

 obtained was that which occurred in 1905, the eclipse 

 of 1907 not having been seen in consequence of un- 

 favourable weather conditions. The next after 1908 



k of die tot 



jiar eelip-e of Jiuiuaiy 3, tgoi. The , 

 s of the two islands from which totality t 



NO. 1988, VOL. 77] 



will be the eclipse of 1912, which will be visible from 

 South America for one minute. The other eclipse- 

 which will take place in this interval are as follows : — 



The Greenland and Siberian eclipse of 1909 is an 

 annular one, and therefore not of any importance for 

 physical astronomers. 



An eclipse will occur in Tasmania in igio, but as 

 totality will commence at 4h. 3'5m. and end at 4h. 

 6'4m., and as the sun will set at 4h. 53ni. Hobart 

 mean time, the sun will probably be too low for any 

 extensive series of observations. 



In 191 1 an eclipse track will begin in the south- 

 eastern portion of .Australia, pass across the Pacific 

 Ocean, and finish by skirting the coast of Florida. 



It may be that some islands lie in the track, in 

 which case this eclipse can be utilised, but at the 

 Australian end of the line the sun will probably have 

 too small an altitude to warrant the sending of e.x- 

 peditions from great distances. 



In April of 1912 there will be an eclipse visible 

 in Spain, but until the calculations are published it 



