NATURE NOTES FROM ACADIA

THE SUN'S ECLIPSE AT ACADIA

On the afternoon of August 31, at least 3000 people armed with fogged film negatives and colored glasses assembled upon the summit of Cadillac Mountain to witness the sun's eclipse. In this region this most spectacular of celestial phenomena was 98 per cent total. The afternoon was fairly clear with very little wind.

Shortly after 2:15 (standard time) the first exclamation, "It's starting on the right," was heard and by 2:30 the nick in the sun was prominent. At least 50 per cent of the sun was obscured by the moon's shadow at 3:00 o'clock. At 3:20 one of the members of the Ranger-Naturalist's party who had brought a thermometer as part of his equipment remarked that the temperature had dropped exactly 14 degrees since 2:35. At this same time (3:20) readings en a photographic exposure meter indicated that photographically the sunlight was approximately one-fifth as strong.

An air of tenseness was felt throughout the group at 3:25 when the sun was almost obliterated by the moon. The eclipse was now at a maximum (98 per cent total) for this region. The air had become cool and the distant islands were enveloped in a noticeably dim grayish light. Overhead the sky was blue. The sun now appeared as a very narrow crescent. Little clouds of gnats suddenly became noticeable on the mountain top.

But the climax was soon at an end. Slowly the sun's bright crescent began to increase in size and the crowds on the summit began to disperse. The grand celestial performance was now on the wane.

- Ranger-Naturalist