Katharine Dixon, Grace McGuire,
Eleanor M. Mellon, Florence Schepp,
Martha C. Vail, Gertrude Watson.
Rr-Adm. Willi.^1 T. Swinburne.
Rev. H. Percy Silver, D.D.
Prof. Douglas W. Johnson.
Doctors M. E. Freiman, Thomas W.
Har^^ey, Jr., Leopold Jaches, Henry D.
Prescott, Herman Sharlit, W. C. Sinnigen
Irving D. Steinhardt.
Messrs. Ed. A. Bell, L. F. H. Betts,
Emanuel Cohen, Wm. Bailey Faxon,
LiNDLEY Murray Franklin, F. W. Garn-
JOST, George Gibbs, Rudolph Guertler,
Allen Hazen, John D. Holby', Ernest
Hutcheson, Warner W. Kent, Day
Krolik, Jr., Alfred Lowenthal, A. J.
Marino, Charles Mayer, Nelson G.
INIcCrea, Hoyt Miller, Henry E. Mills,
Francis L. Noble, Mr. Lanfear B. Norrie,
Harold C. Richard, John MacBeth, A. G.
Robinson, Dudley D. Sicher, David W.
Smyth, Edward E. Spitzer, Stuart Walker,
Davenport West, Jr.
Associate Members: Mesdames Philip Ban-
croft, Cyrus Bentley, F. T. Bicknell, 0.
M. BoTSFORD, James C. Bradford, Fred-
erick F. Brewster, Geo. O. Carpenter,
George H. Cromie, Howard P. Eells, Lew-
is H. English, Henry P. Erdman, Thomas
Fleming, Jr., Gertrude K. Finch, Newton
D. Fisher, A. Y. P. Garnett, Kent Hamil-
ton, E. S. Heller, Christian Heurich,
Edward V. Huntington, Edward W.
HuTCHiNS, Edward P. Lathrop, Nena H-
McCoLL, C. H. S. Merrill, J. P. Mitchell*
Thomas L. Moore, U. G. Orendorff,
William B. Read, D. P. Rhodes, Carl
Adams Richmond, E. J. Saunders, Wallis
Craig Smith, Wikoff Smith, R. J. Sullivan,
Charles P. Taft, 2d., Maude B. Upham,
George M. Vial, H. L. Walcutt, A. Webb,
Charles M. Wilson, Lydia M. Wilson.
The Misses H. Abbott, Muriel Alvord,
Mary Chapman, Hannah B. Coffin, Sallie
Dawson, Mary L. Dexter, Louise Fitz, M.
Nellie Gobble, Lucy Olcott Hunt, Alice
Landmann, Charlotte A. Monck, Metta
G. Philbrick, Alice M. Roberts, Audrey
ScAMMEL, Mignon Talbot, Marion Ter-
williger, Elizabeth Lipham, Emily S. M.
Waite, Nellie M. Welton, Laura Wick.
Prof. Arthur J. Decker.
Doctors Howard F. Adler, B. L. Arms,
F. W. Callison, Geo. M. Cook, C. E. Cum-
MiNGS, Mattoon M. Curtis, Carl Davis,
Ernest Howe, Ernst Huber, Victor Kut-
CHiN, Chas. J. Lander.
Associate Members: P. L. Mercanton, C. W.
Milliken, Floyd S. Winslow; Major A. E.
Blythe Jackson.
Hon. M. B. Rosenberry.
Messrs. Coolidge Alden, Jr., W. P.
Alexander, E. R. Andrew, L. A. Ault, Wm.
H. B.ABCOCK, J. T. F. B.aei-ertz, W. T. Bar-
bour, William Barclay, George B. Bar-
stow, H. P. Bascom, Eugene J. Bates,
xVrthur W. Beckford, B. F. Bolt, A. V.
Booth, Edmund Boyd, Theodore Brooks,
Charles R. Capps, Elliott E. Check,
Harold Haines Clark, Charles F. Clip-
pert, William H. Coram, John Bangs Cor-
BETT, L. A. Cornelius, John S. Cra-\^ns, E.
A. Deming, Berchman R. Devlin, Mc-
Gavock Dickinson, C. C. Easley, C. A.
Edmonds, G. L. Enfors, D. C. Everest,
James W. Falconer, G. Watson French,
Egbert C. Fuller, Luciano Gaillard,
Harold J. F. Gall, Henry Gross, Rudi K.
Haerle, Wm. S. Hall, Roswell R. Hart,
W. S. Harvey, 2d., Harry D. Hawks,
Howard Heinz, L. H. Henry, Frank E.
Hering, Raymond E. Herman, Chas. J.
Herr, Francis H. Herrick, Geo. H. Hess,
Jr., j. D. Hightower, Bernard C. Hoch-
muth, Ferd L. Hollweg, James N. Iknayan,
W. R. J.AMES, Joseph Y. Jean^es, Harry R.
Jones, E. R. Kauffnan, Chambers Ivellae,
Julius Kespohl, F. M. Kirby, A. S. Krebs,
Alfred J. Kyle, Randell Larson, Howard
340 NATURAL HISTORY
W. Lester, P. N. Lilienthal, Jr., 0. W. Salverda, W. B. Sampson, Jos. A. Santens,
Lucas, Chas. J. Lynn, Oscar E. Mack, Geo. E. H. Satchell, W. E. Saunders,
Edward H. Magee, John Hanson Thomas M. G. Schneckenburger, A. D. Schindler,
Main, Francis E. Manierre, George James Schlesinger, John Merrill Scott,
Marchand, Henri Marchand, Paul Mar- Oakley Mitchell Shelby, Stewart Ship-
chand, Reginald S. Martin, J. Wyckoff ton, Donald W. Smith, Edgar M. Snow.
McClees, M. H. McDonald, F. K. Mc- Frank J. Sulloway, H. W. Suydam, E. G.
Farlan, Wm. N. Meigs, A. F. Millet, W. B. Swartz, F. F. Thomas, Jr., Howard J.
MossMAN, Thos. D. Murphy, Edmund Thompson, Ethan W. Thompson, Charles
Nelson, L. W. Neustadter, Andrew A. L. Tilden, Fred A. Treat, Arthur J.
Nichol, James E. Osborn, M. M. O'Shaugh- Trussell, Leonard Tufts, Richard Vonne-
NESSY, E. F. Pabody, Augustin H. gut, Oliver A. Wallace, W. G. Wanzer,
Parker, Robert Patterson, Mason Frank M. Warren, Carl Weeks, Leslie
Phelps, Edward G. Reinhard, Fedor Weil, A. Wertheimber, Windsor T. White,
Reusche, Henry Richards, John T. Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, Andres M.
Roberts, Seymour N. Robinson, Ashton Wilson, Joseph Wurtzel.
Rollins, E. G. Ruder, C. P. Ryman, A. Masters David Hunter, Carl D. Laine.
ASTRONOMY
JULY-AUGUST
The forthcoming issue of Natural History will be devoted to the subject of Astronomy,
a most timely arrangement, since the plans for the proposed Hall of Astronomy have just been
completed. One article will deal particularly with the plans for this addition to the buildings
of the American Museum of Natural History. This has been written by Mr. Howard Russell
Butler, adviser to the architects. Another paper on the use of models in an Astronomical
Museum has been contributed by Dr. Henry Norris Russell, professor of astronomy at Prince-
ton LTniversity and director of the Halstead Observatory.
The three recent total eclipses of the sun visible in the United States are vividly described
by one of the leading authorities in this branch of Astronomy, Dr. S. A. Mitchell, professor of
astronomy at the University of Virginia and director of the Leander McCormick Observatory.
This is especially fitting since the American Museum now has on exhibition in the Pro-Astronomic
Hall oil paintings of these eclipses arranged as a triptj^ch. This series of eclipse paintings had
its inception in the engagement of Mr. Howard Russell Butler, N. A., by Mr. Edward Dean
Adams, to paint the solar eclipse of June 8, 1918, at the Station of the LT. S. Naval Observatory
at Baker, Oregon, and the subsequent gift of this painting to the American Museum. A physi-
cist by early training and an artist by life training, Mr. Butler is probably the best qualified
man in this country, if not in the world, to undertake the painting of this thrilling phenomenon
which lasts at most only a very few minutes. Mr. Butler has prepared an article telling how he
paints echpses and lunar landscapes.
Other astronomical topics will be treated in this number by men who are leaders in their
respective fields. Dr. William Wallace Campbell, president of the University of Cahfornia
and director of the Lick Observatory, will have an article on the American Museum's Collection
of Meteorites; Dr. George Ellery Hale, honorary director of Mt. Wilson Observatoiy, will
write about Electrical Vortices of the Sun; Dr. Charles P. Berkey, professor of geology at
Columbia University, will contribute an article on The Early History of the Earth; and
Dr. W. J. Luyten of the Harvard College Observatory will discuss Outer Universes.
Dr. Clyde Fisher, in charge of astronomy at the American Museum, will describe the new
Zeiss Projection Planetarium, which he examined last summer in Jena and in Munich. It is
now a part of the proposed plan to include this wonderful piece of apparatus in the Astronomic
Hall.
1918, 1923, AN
H of the painting to the ik
Museum methods of educe
M., and since
'as nearer the
ice of a speck
itural History
seqi
and
thai
not
THK THKICI': SOLAR ECLIPSES SEEN IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1918, 1923, AND 1925
From the paintings by Howard Russell Butler
r/,i;r. Bi.lfcr/nrrt.
• ^ yi'vinL nisTORY, jutti-Avgutt, ma
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
FOUNDED IN 1869
Board of Trustees
Henry Fairfield Osborn,
George F. Baker, First Vice President
J. P. Morgan, Second Vice President
George F. Baker, Jr., Treasurer
Percy R. Pyne, Secretary
George T. Bowdoin
Frederick F. Brewster
Douglas Burden
Frederick Trubee Davison
Cleveland Earl Dodge
Cleveland H. Dodge
Childs Frick
Madison Grant
Chauncey J. Hamlin
William Averell Harriman
President
Clarence L. Hay
Archer M. Huntington
Adrian Iselin
Walter B. James
RoswELL Miller
Ogden Mills
Junius Spencer Morgan, Jr.
A. Perry Osborn
Daniel E. Pomeroy
George D. Pratt
A. Hamilton Rice
Leonard C. Sanford
William K. Vanderbilt
Felix M. Warburg
James J. Walker, Mayor of the City of New York
Charles W. Berry, Comptroller of the City' of New York
Francis D. Gallatin, Commissioner of the Department of Parks
MEMBERSHIP MORE THAN EIGHTY-NINE HUNDRED
For the enrichment of its collections, for the support of its explorations and scientific research,
and for the maintenance of its pubhcations, the American Museum of Natural Historj' is de-
pendent wholly upon membership fees and the generosity of friends. More than 8900 members
are now enrolled who are thus supporting the work of the Museum. The various classes of
membership are:
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Subscriptions by check and inquiries regarding membership should be addressed: George
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NATURAL HISTORY: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
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as one of their privileges. Through Natural History they are kept in touch with the activi-
ties of the Museum and with the marvels of nature as they are revealed by study and explora-
tion in various regions of the globe.
AUTUMN AND SPRING COURSES OF POPULAR LECTURES
Series of illustrated lectures, held in the Auditorium of the Museum on alternate Thursday
evenings in the fall and spring of the year, are open only to members and to those holding tickets
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Illustrated stories for the children of members are presented on alternate Saturday mornings
in the fall and in the spring.
MEMBERS' CLUB ROOM AND GUIDE SERVICE
A room on the third floor of the Museum, equipped with every convenience for rest, reading,
and correspondence, is set apart during Museum hours forthe exclusive use of members. When
visitiTig the Museum, members are also privileged to avail themselves of the services of an
instructor for guidance.
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY has a record of fifty-six years
of public service, during which its activities have grown and broadened, until today it occupies
a position of recognized importance not only in the community it immediately serves but in
the educational life of the nation and in the progress of civilization throughout the world.
Every year brings evidence — in the growth of the Museum membership, in the ever-larger
number of individuals visiting its exhibits for study and recreation, in the rapidly expanding
activities of its school service, in the wealth of scientific information gathered by its world-wide
expeditions and disseminated through its publications — of the increasing influence exercised by
the institution. In 1925 no fewer than 1,775,890 individuals visited the Museum as com-
pared with 1,633,843 in 1924 and 1,440,726 in 1923. All of these people had access to the
exhibition halls without the payment of any admission fee whatsoever.
The EXPEDITIONS of the Museum have yielded during the past year results of distinct
value. The collections being made by Mr. Arthur S. Vernay in Angola, Africa; the studies of
Andean avifauna pursued by H. Watkins in Peru; the three fossil expeditions in the western
United States, in New Mexico, and Nebraska and Montana; the extensive survey of Polynesian
bird life conducted by the Whitney South Sea Expedition; the work pursued in selected faimal
areas of Venezuela by Mr. G. H. H. Tate; the field observations and collections made in
Panama by R. R. Benson; the studies of microscopic pond life of Mt. Desert Island by Dr.
Roy W. Miner and Mr. Frank J. Mj'ers; the archeological excavations at two important
sites in Arizona; and the continuation of the brilliant work of the Third Asiatic Expedition
during the past season — these (and the list might be extended) are among the notable
achievements of the past twelve months.
The SCHOOL SERVICE of the Museum reaches annually about 6,000,000 boys and girls
through the opportunities it affords classes of students to visit the Museum; through lectures
on natural history especially designed for pupils and delivered both in the Museum and in
many school centers; through its loan collections, or "traveling museums," which during the
past year circulated among 410 schools, and were studied by 977,384 pupils. During
the same period 672,479 lantern slides were loaned by the Museum for use in the schools,
the total number of children reached being 3,941,494. 1,076 reels of motion pictures were
loaned to 48 pubhc schools and other educational institutions in Greater New York, reaching
333,097 children.
The LECTURE COURSES, some exclusively for members and their children, others for the
schools, colleges, and the general public, are delivered both in the Museum and at outside
educational institutions.
The LIBRARY, comprising 100,000 volumes, is at the service of scientific workers and others
interested in natural history, and an attractive reading room is provided for their
accommodation.
The POPULAR PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, in addition to Natural History,
include Handbooks, which deal with the subjects illustrated by the collections, and Guide
Leaflets, which describe some exhibit or series of exhibits of special interest or importance, or
the contents of some hall or some branch of Museum activity.
The SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS of the Museum, based upon its explorations and the
study of its collections, comprise the Memoirs, of quarto size, devoted to monographs requiring
large or fine illustrations and exhaustive treatment; the Bulletin, issued since 1881, in octavo
form, dealing with the scientific activities of the departments, aside from anthropology; the
Anthropological Papers, recording the work of the staff of the department of anthropology;
and Novitates, devoted to the publication of preliminary scientific announcements, descriptions
of new forms, and similar matters.
For a detailed list of popular and scientific publications with prices apply to:
The Librarian, American Museum of Natural History
New York City
ixnK!^'iAAmit^'A<nm^^^^
M ASTRONOMY NUMBER
wmXJ RAL
H 1 S'SO RY
::^^^m^^^^^^^miii^m mm^^ m^
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
*" EXPLORATION RESEARCH-EDUCATION "*
m
•PERMARE • PER GRBEM • PER ASTRA
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Scientific Staff for 1926
Hexry Fairfield Osborx, LL.D., President
George H. Sherwood, A. M., Acting Director and Executive Secretary
Frederic A. Lucas, Sc.D., Honorary Director
Robert C. Murphy, D.Sc, Assistant Director fin Scientific Correspondence, Exhibition, and Labeling)
James L. Clark, Assistant Director fin full charge of Preparation;
I. DIVISION OF MIXERALOGY, GEOLOGY,
AND GEOGRAPHY
Astronomy
G. Clyde Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D. (In Charge)
History of the Earth
W. D. Matthew, Ph.D., Acting Curator in Geology
Chester A. Reeds, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Inverte-
brate Palseontology
Minerals and Gems
Herbert P. Whitlock, C.E., Curator
George F. Kuxz, Ph.D., Research Associate in Gems
Extinct Animals
W. D. M.vtthew, Ph.D., F.R.S., Curator-in-Chief
Henry Fairfield Osboen, LL.D., D.Sc, Honorary
Curator
W.\LTER Gr.^nger, Associate Curator of Fossil Mammals
Baknum Brown, A.B., Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles
Charles C. 2vIook, Ph.D., Associate Curator
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Associate in Palaeontology
Childs Frick, B.S., Research Associate in Palaeontology
II.
DIVISION OF ZOOLOGY, AND ZOO-
GEOGRAPHY
Marine Life
Roy W. Miner, Ph.D., Curator
WiLLARD G. V.AN Name, Ph.D., Associate Curator
Frank J. Myers, Research Associate in Rotifera
Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Research Associate in Para-
sitology
A. L. Treadwell, Ph.D., Research Associate in Annulata
Insect Life
Frank E. LuTZ, Ph.D., Curator
A. J. Mutchlbr, Assistant Curator of Coleoptera
Frank E. Watson, B.S., Assistant in Lepidoptera
William M. Wheeler, Ph.D., Research Associate in Social
Insects
Ch.vrles W. Leng, B.S., Research Associate in Coleoptera
Herbert F. Schwarz, A.M., Research Associate in
Hymenoptera
Fishes
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
Bashford Dean, Ph.D., Honorary Curator
John T. Nichols, A.B , Associate Curator of Recent Fishes
E. W. CJuDGER, Ph.D., Bibliographer and Associate
CH.4.RLES H. TowNSEND, Sc.D., Research Associate
C. M. Bkeder Jr. Research Associate
Van Campen Heilner, F.R.G.S., Field Representative
Amphibians and Reptiles
G. Kingsley Noble, Ph.D., Curator
Bertram G. S.mith, Ph.D., Research Associate
A. B. Dawson, Ph.D., Research Associate
Birds
Frank M. Chapman, Sc.D., Curator-in-Chief
W. DeW. Miller, Associate Curator
Robert Cush.man Murphy, D.Sc, Associate Curator of
Marine Birds
James P. Chapin, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Birds of the
Eastern Hemisphere
Lud-low Grisco.m, >I. A., Assistant Curator
Jonath-an D wight, M.D., Research Associate in North
American Ornithology
Elsie M. B. Naumburg, Research Associate
Mammals of the World
H. E. Anthony, M.A., Curator
Herbert Lang, Associate Curator of African Mammals
Carl E. Akeley, Associate in Mamnrialogy
Comparative and Human Anatomy
William K. Gregory, Ph.D., Curator
S. H. Chubb, Associate Curator
H. C. Raven, Associate Curator
J. Howard McGregor, Ph.D., Research Associate
Human Anatomy
Dudley J. Morton, M.D., Research Associate
III. DIVISION OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Science of Man
Clark Wissler, Ph.D., Curator-in-Chief
Pliny E. Goddard, Ph.D., Curator of Ethnologj'
N. C. Nelson, M.L., Associate Curator of Archseology
Charles W. Mead, Honorary Curator of Peruvian Archae-
ology
H.AERY L. Shapiro, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Physical
Anthropology
Margaret Mead, Ph.D., Assistant Curator of Ethnology
William K.Gregory, Ph.D., Associate in Physical Anthro-
pology
Clarence L. Hay, A.M., Research Associate in Mexican
and Central American Archaeology
MiLO Hellman, D.D.S., Research Associate in Physical
Anthropology
IV.
DIVISION OF ASIATIC EXPLORATION
AND RESEARCH
Central Asiatic Expeditions
Roy Chapman Andrews, A.M., D.Sc, Curator-in-Chief
Walter Granger, Associate Curator in Palaeontology
Charles P. Berkey, Ph.D. [Columbia University], Re-
search Associate in Geology
Frederick K. Morris, A.M., Associate in Geology and
Geography
Amadeus W. Grabau, S.D. [Geological Survey of China],
Research Associate
Clifford H. Pope, B.A., Assistant in Zoology
V.
DIVISION OF EDUCATION AND
PUBLICATION
Library and Publications
Id.4. Richardson Hood, A.B., Acting Curator
H.AZEL Gay, Assistant Librarian
Jennette May Lucas, B^., Assistant Librarian — Osborn
Library
Education and Public Health
George H. Sherwood, A.M., Curator-in-Chief
G. Cly-de Fisher, Ph.D., LL.D,, Curator of Visual In-
struction
Grace Fisher Ramsey, Assistant Curator
Ch.4.rles-Edwaed Amory Winslow, D.P.H., Honorary
Curator
Mary Greig, Assistant Curator of Public Health
Public Inforynation Committee
George N. Pindar, Chairman
George H. Sherwood, A.M.
Wayne ^I. Faunce. ScB.
Natural History Magazine and Advisory Committee
Geohge H. Sherwood, A.M., Chairman
The Departmental Editors
A. K.4.THERINE Berger, Assistant Editor
Frank M. Ch.apm.\n, Sc.D. : W. D. M.\tthew, Ph.D.
Frank E. Lutz, Ph.D. Cl.ark Wissler Ph.D.
NATURAL
THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
DEVOTED TO NATURAL HISTORY,
EXPLORATION. AND THE DEVELOP-
MENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
THROUGH THE MUSEUM
ASTRONOMY NUMBER
CLYDE FISHER. EDITOR
JULY-AUGUST, 1926
[Published August, 1926]
Volume XXVI, Number 4
Copyright, 1926, by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y.
RAL HIST
Volume XXVI CONTENTS FOR JULY-AUGUST Number 4
Cover: The 1925 Solar Eclipse as seen from Jumel Mansion, New York
City, N. Y.
From a copyrighted photograph by Dr. Clyde Fisher
Excerpt from Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida 343
Color Supplement : Triptych depicting the Three Solar EcHpses seen in the
the United States in 1918, 1923, and 1925.
Painted by Howard Russell Butler, N.A. and now on exhibition at the American Museum through
the gift of Mr. Edward Dean Adams and the Morris K. Jesup Fund
Personal Experiences at EcHpse Expeditions S. A. Mitchell 344
An eclipse-specialist writes with special reference to the most recent American eclipses for the lay
reader
Painting Eclipses and Lunar Landscapes Howard Russell Butler 356
A rare combination of artist and scientist, Mr. Butler tells us how he uses shorthand in color
and how he transports himself to the moon for an imaginary picture
With a reproduction in color of Howard Russell Butler's painting "The Earth as Seen from the
Moon"
Solar Tornadoes George Ellery Hale 363
With the celebrated instruments of Mt. Wilson Observatory, some of which were invented by
Doctor Hale, the sun is studied as one would observe a wild flower in the hand
Early History of the Earth Charles P. Berkey 374
How the geologist sees the astronomical history of the earth fit into the early geological story,
related in plain, non-scientific terms
Ancient Concepts of the Universe 383
With two illustrations from Maspero's Dawn of Civilization
Island Universes W. J. Luyten 386
Modern concepts of the universe set forth by an astronomer of the Harvard College Observatory
An Ideal Astronomic Hall Howard Russell Butler 392
A description of the proposed astronomic hall of the American Museum of Natural History by
the Adviser to the Architects
Use of Models in an Astronomical Museum JHenry Norris Russell 399
Correct and adequate models make astronomy much cleaier ard consequently much more interest-
ing, believes Doctor Russell, professor of astronomy at Princeton
The New Projection Planetarium Clyde Fisher 402
The story of an examination of the new Zeiss Projection Planetarium at Jena and at Munich
A Nature Trail in the Sky Frank E. Lutz 411
A study of the sky by the originator of the Nature Trail Idea
Notes 429
Published bimonthly, by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y. Subscription price $3.00
a y«ar.
Subscriptions should be addressed to George F. Baker, Jr., Treasurer, American Museum of Natural History,
77th St. and Central Park West, New York City.
Natubal History is sent to all members of the American Museum as one of the privileges of membership.
Entered as second-class matter April 3, 1919, at the Post OfBce at New York, New York, under the Act of
August 24. 1912.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized
on July 15, 1918.|
"and tliml)e5ato,toitl) MI atiMsimiEtit,
ffil)' erratic $tnm IiearK'nm^ Ijarmmitj,
Klfth 0i}uniie0 fullof hcatjetiltj mefoiitj
Sni io ton from tljmnh M Iji^ $qti aMm
♦ ♦■♦■-♦•♦•♦■♦♦♦-♦.•♦•■♦•■♦•4
Photograph by John A . Miller
THE LATEST PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SOLAR CORONA
Taken by the Swarthmore College Expedition in Sumatra on January 14, 1926, with a
camera of 15-feet focus. The shape of the corona is nearly circular, exhibiting the type asso-
ciated with a maximum of sun-spots
344
NATURAL HISTORY
Volume XXVI
JULY-AUC.UST, l'.)2()
Number 4
Personal Experiences at Eclipse Expeditions
By S. a. MITCHELL
Director of the Leander McCormick Observatory, University of Virginia
WithaSupplementixColorof theThreeSolarEclipses Seen IN THE United States in 1918, 1923, and 1925'
THE observation of a total eclipse
of the sun is one of great excite-
ment and nerve-racking tension.
The life of an eclipse astronomer may
be likened to that of a hunter after big
game. Many months and even years
are spent in quietly investigating the
problems, a costly equipment is accu-
mulated and each piece of delicate
apparatus is carefully tested at home to
see that it will properh^ perform its
designated functions at the critical
moment. After some weeks spent in
the field erecting the instruments and
most carefully adjusting the cameras
and spectroscopes, the eventful day
approaches. Each and every one of the