TOTAL ECLIPSE OE THE SUN, JANUARY 22, 1898. 
187 
At 25 minutes before totality, the image of the crescent of the disappearing sun 
was to be thrown by Mr. Steel, E..N., on the slit of the spectroscope, so that the 
north edge of the sun was on the slit, and the cusp just cut the slit, which was 
j^laced almost perpendicularly to the limb of the sun. The cusp was then kept by 
the driving clock and by the use of the fine adjustments by Mr. Steel on the desired 
part of the slit until the call of “ totality.” During this period the time keeper, Mr. 
Ross, was to give the time, calling 10, 7, 5, 3 and 1 minutes before totality, so that 
Brown, the recorder, could note the time against every observation which was made 
by myself at the observing telescope, and dictated to him. 
At the call of “ 127 seconds,” or the commencement of totality, Mr. Steel was to 
work the fine adjustments of the telescope to bring the slit of the spectroscope 
gradually round the edge of the dark moon, and to place the slit tangentially to the 
east of the equator of the sun at a distance of about one-twelfth to one-tenth of the 
diameter of the dark moon from its edge. A card with lines marked on it at fixed 
distances was placed over the slit of the spectroscope to enable this position to be 
judged with considerable accuracy. This one-tenth to one-twelfth of the diameter of 
the moon was taken to the jDOsition of the “ inner corona.” 
Thirty seconds after, or at 97 seconds call, the slit was to be moved slightly out¬ 
wards from the edge of the moon, so that it was about one-sixth or one-fifth of the 
moon’s diameter away from its edge, and this was taken as the jjosition of the “ outer 
corona.” 
At 67 seconds call I was to leave the observing telescope, and Sir Norman 
Lockyer was to observe any spectrum of the outer corona from 62 seconds to 32 
seconds call, and at 32 seconds call Mr. Steel again had to move the slit on to the 
inner corona within about one-tenth or one-twelfth of the diameter of the moon from 
its edge, when Sir Norman Lockyer would observe the spectrum of the “inner 
corona.” 
At the call of “ totality over,” Mr. Steel was to place the slit perpendicularly on 
the north point of the cusp of the reappearing crescent of the sun, and was to keep it 
at the cusp so long as observations were required, the calls of time after totality being- 
similar to those before totality. 
Mr. Steel did his work very successfully, and so did all the other three assistants, 
and Brown took down every word I dictated to him. 
The Observations made. 
The following is a statement of the notes written down l^y Brown during the 
time of observation at the eclipse. These I recojDied and made complete on the after¬ 
noon of the day of the eclipse, so that no details should be lost by allowing any 
interval of time to elapse between the observations and their full record. 
12 hrs. 20 min. —Commenced observing edge of the sun close to the point of 
disappearing crescent. Shortly after “ F ” came into view, bright and short. 
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