Australian'Plans to Test Einstein's Theories The announcement from Adelaide that the Government of South Australia is preparing an expedition to observe next year's solar eclipse from a South Australian station, and that an invitation is to be gent to England offering facilities for a party of British astronomers to use the station selected, adds another to the several places along the land portion of the path of the moon's shadow which have already been provisionally scbeduled by astronomers of different nationalities. 7 The eclipse, which will take place on September 22, will be the first favourable total eclipse since May, 1919, when for the first time efforts wore made to obtain a definite proof of the revolutionary theory formulated by Einstein concerning the curvature of space and the deflection of the light of stars passing near the sun's limb.
The observations then made were undertaken entirely by English astronomers, one party of which was stationed in Brazil and_ the other on an_ island off the West Coast of Africa.
Though the results obtained have been generally accepted as verify ing Einstein's mathematics, many have been unable to accept them og conclusive, and for that reason the much more favourable opportunity which next September's eclipse will provide. is to be utilized at as many stations as possible With the exception of a few islands in the ocean, however, the total phase. will be. restricted to Australia, across which the shadow will pass from an almost mac sible part of the coast of Western Australia to m point on the opposite coast a little south of the boundary between Queensland.and New South Wales, and including a belt of South Australia about 150 miles wide.
Practically nowhere will the total phase last longer than five minutes, and as the weather conditions are an importance factor, the more stations that can be used the better the chances of making sufficient observations—which, se far as the Einstein theory is concerned. will consist of photegranhs of the stars near the sun when totally eclipsed—to ensure the success of the programme.
The Astronomer-Royal has selected an island rather more than 1,000 miles off the west coast of Australia as the locale of the Greenwich Observatory party, but. if arrangements for a second Greenwich expedition can be made in time it is probable the invitation
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