"It always occurs precisely at new moon, and consequently the moon is invisible until it begins to obscure the sun. Steadily the moon moves over the sun's disk; and, as the instant of totality draws near, the light rapidly fails, animals become restless and everything takes on a weird appearance. Suddenly a shadow rushes across the surface of the earth at the rate of more than 1300 miles an hour, the sun is covered, the stars flash out, around the apparent edge of the moon are rose-colored prominences of vaporous material forced up from the sun's surface to a height of perhaps 200,000 miles, and all around the sun extending out as far as half its diameter are streamers of pearly light which constitutes the sun's corona. After seven minutes at the very most, the western edge of the sun is uncovered and daylight suddenly appears." In "New Astronomy," Langley tells of the sensations of an observer as the moon's shadow passes furiously on its way: "The bright cloud I saw distinctly put out like a candle. The rapidity of the shadow, and the intensity produced a feeling that something material was sweeping over the earth at a speed perfectly frightful. I involuntarily listened for the rushing noise of a mighty wind." On June 8th, 1918, September 10, 1923, and on January 24th, 1925, many people in the United States were privileged to view the wonderful spectacle of a total eclipse. Scientists came from all over the world to witness the solar eclipse of 1923, for not only was it visible from an attractive corner of our country at a pleasant time of the year, but the sun was at a convenient altitude for observation. Many photographs were taken of the great flaming corona, some even from airplanes. Although people now travel halfway across the earth in order to be able to witness an eclipse, in olden days such an occasion was marked by the greatest terror. [Figure 139: THE SOLAR CORONA. Photographed during the eclipse of June 8, 1918, at Green River, Wyoming, by the Mount Wilson Observatory Expedition.] To the ancients they were without the order of nature, and in Rome, at one time, it was blasphemy, and punishable by law, to talk publicly of their being due to natural causes. The Chaldeans believed the sun and moon to be black on the hidden side, and upon the displeasure of the Gods, the darkened side was turned to the earth thus causing an eclipse. [Figure 140: SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, RECORDED WITH THE AID OF A KODAK. Photographed by Edith Carlson at Palo Alto, California, September 10, 1923.] Many people among the European nations covered their wells and fountains for fear that the water would become contaminated by the poisonous, mists which arose during an eclipse. The notion was probably due to the fact that the drop in temperature is often accompanied by a fall of dew.