The Vineyard, an important part of the Earth which was scheduled to plunge through the tail of Halley’s comet last night beginning at 10.55, may well be congratulated upon its successful emergence from the passage. The early night was damp and foggy, and nothing startling locally occurred until just before midnight, the Earth then having penetrated possibly two or three hundred thousand miles into the tail, when peals of thunder and vivid lightning accompanied by a smart downfall of hailstones, convinced many that our good old Earth was stirring up the comet’s tail somewhat.
The wonderful total eclipse of the sun by the moon scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24, has come and gone, and in viewing the great show Martha’s Vineyard’s residents and visitors occupied very desirable seats in the first balcony.
A feature of the eclipse which greatly impressed watchers here who were fortunate enough to observe it, was the crescents of the sun on the ground when the sun shone between the leaves of the trees. Miss Martha A. Hurlbut of Hurlbut-by-the-Sea, Oak Bluffs, describes the phenomenon as follows:
“Although we did not see the total eclipse, we did have the privilege of watching a most interesting and beautiful display of the crescents.
“Millions viewed the eclipse.” So said the mainland newspapers, and the Vineyard added its thousands to the common mass. Plans for obtaining the best view of this unusual display in the heavens were formulated days previous in many cases, several of the larger pleasure craft of the Island ports setting sail early Wednesday morning with groups of guests on board, bound easterly where the eclipse was more nearly total.
On Monday a total solar eclipse will cover a wide strip of the country in darkness. While the Vineyard is a long way from the path of totality, Islanders can witness a partial eclipse.
