First U.S. eclipse expedition begins travelIn 1780, the first U.S. astronomy expedition to record an eclipse of the sun left on this day from Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., for Penobscot Bay, led by Samuel Williams. A boat was supplied by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with four professors and six students. Although the country was at war with Britain, the British officer in charge of Penobscot Bay permitted the expedition to land and observe the eclipse of 27 Oct 1780. The eclipse began at 11:11 am and ended at 1:50 pm. They set up equipment to observe the predicted total eclipse of the sun. A solar eclipse occurred, but the expedition was shocked to find itself outside the path of totality. They saw a thin arc of the sun instead of its complete obscuration by the moon. |
