CHAPTER VI.
A TRIP TO THE MOON.
This is the title of an illustrated lecture which has been very popular in Berlin, and which was also produced in New York a few years ago. The lecture as used in the United States, was rewritten by Mr. Garrett P. Serviss. The first scene is the reproduction of a solar eclipse as seen from the shores of one of the small lakes called Havel, near Berlin, on the morning of August 19, 1887.
SUNRISE ON THE HAVEL, NEAR BERLIN, AUGUST 19, 1887.
On this morning the sun arose with the greater portion of its disc obscured by the moon. As the sun ascended, the crescent diminished, and at the moment of totality a wonderful corona flashed into view. The scene gives the audience an idea of what the astronomers mean when they attempt to describe this wonderful phenomena. The moon passes slowly before the sun until the earth is fully illuminated and the sky and landscape assume a normal appearance. Interesting as these imitations of celestial and terrestrial phenomena are, the manner in which they are effected is still more so, and our [engravings] give a peep behind the scenes and explain the means by which the illusion is produced. The trees and foreground are set in front of a transparent scene upon the back of which the opaque parts are silhouetted in black, leaving the sky and water translucent.
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| THE PRODUCTION OF THE SOLAR ECLIPSE. | |
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Two optical lanterns are provided, one of which carries the crescent and the other the corona slide. They are mounted upon a box movable along the inclined side of a triangular frame by a drum and cord, and are thus enabled to imitate the appearance and course of the heavenly bodies. The screen immediately below the horizon intercepts the image of the luminary below that line.