THE ECLIPSE.
The Total Eclipse Visible From Arsenal Hill.
SALT LAKE CITY, January 12th, 1880.
Editors Herald:
Yesterday, a party of three of us went on the bench, where the magazine exploded, to view the eclipse that took place true to prediction. It commenced at 3.31 o'clock, according to the time on the City Hall—which was the only time we had. We did not go so much to view for scientific purposes as for [its] beauty, as we were not sure that the totality would occur before the sun would sink behind the western mountains; therefore we did not take a thermometer with us to note the change of temperature. We were very happily disappointed, however, in getting a clear view of the totality, which was grand indeed. The corona was beautiful in colors, rendered so by refraction through a slight streak of clouds which lingered over the mountain tops; otherwise the sky was as clear as could have been desired[.]
Total darkness lasted only a few seconds, but the scene for those few seconds was one that will not be soon forgotten as seen through my four-inch telescope with a power of 88 diameters. The corona was brilliant in colors. But the crowning phenomenon for beauty was the iridescent colors which shot out in a triangular form in various parts of the edge of the moon. They were very brilliant and beautiful. The colors were a pure blending of purple and red, and of a brilliant transparency perfectly indescribable. The corona was marrad [sic] by refraction through the slight cloud, giving it colors, which detracted very much from its pure, indescribable whiteness, which I had seen in the eclipse of 1869. I regret that I did not take my thermometer to note the change of temperature, for during the darkest part of the eclipse there seemed to be a perfect polar wave sweeping over us.
I see by notes of the eclipse of the 7th of August, 1869, that the thermometer fell from 77° at the commencement of the eclipse to 66°, at totality, and immediately rose to 68° at the end of the eclipse. I am sure the fall was as great, if not greater, yesterday. The cause of the sudden fall in temperature during the sweeping of the moon's shadow over us, being so much greater than the shade of a mountain or the passing shade of a cloud, may well be considered an interesting subject for scientific investigation.
W.R. FRINK.
(Any information about eclipse viewing procedures provided in historical articles should be considered unsafe)
