Extracted text
Editorial transcription, lightly normalized from the scan. Line-break hyphenation, spacing, capitalization, and unmistakable OCR errors have been repaired; the claims remain those of The Flaming Sword.
THE TOTAL ECLIPSE of the moon on the night of October 16 and 17, will turn the attention of the world for a brief period to astronomy. The eclipse was predicted years ago, and this fact will be used as a "proof" of the accuracy of modern astronomy; and the circular "shadow" on the moon will be appealed to as evidence of the earth's convexity. In view of this, it is well that we consider the subject from the Koreshan standpoint at the time public attention is directed to the matter of eclipses.
It is generally supposed by the people at large that eclipses occur very irregularly, and that they can be known beforehand only by those who are able to see through the intricacies of the Copernican system, accurately calculate the distances of the heavenly bodies from the sun, determine the velocity of their motions, and ascertain by means of a mass of figures just when the moon is in exact opposition to the sun on the ecliptic. A little critical study, however, reveals the fact that eclipses occur as regularly as the seasons; and all that the astronomer has to apply in forecasting eclipses are tables of eclipses covering centuries of observation. From the basis of these tables he is able to determine exactly, without considering any system of astronomy, just when eclipses will occur in the future. During a period of 18 years and 11 days, 70 eclipses occur—29 lunar and 41 solar. During the next period of 18 years, eclipses recur in the same order. The accuracy of eclipse predictions merely proves that men have been careful in their observations of phenomena and in recording the time of the same. No theory of astronomy has ever entered as a factor in the prediction of any eclipse.
In the coming eclipse, visible from pole to pole in the Western hemisphere, the moon will appear to merge into a haze, and then into a "shadow," which appears gray at the edges, and farther in, a deep copper red. This "shadow" is nearly circular, but it affords no proof whatever that the earth is a convex body, because it has never been demonstrated that the shadow is produced by the earth coming between the sun and the moon. If a "shadow" could be produced only by a globe, and if it were shown that the earth was the intervening eclipsor, the question of the earth's shape would be settled beyond doubt as convex. But on the other hand, if it can be shown that the "shadow" is produced by a disc, and that the earth is concave, never coming between the sun and moon, then modern astronomy is left without a semblance of proof of its premise. A mercurial disc crosses the switchboard of the universal battery in the earth's shell, and cuts off a stream of levic energy which supplies the moon with substance; as a consequence, the moon pales or swoons in accordance with the meaning of the word eclipse; and its light dims as effectually as the light of the arc light when the currents are cut off at the light plant.
The circular "shadow" is a projection of the disc. The "shadow" is not always circular, because the disc varies slightly in shape; but the earth certainly remains the same from one eclipse cycle to another. A notable fact is that the brightness of the eclipsed moon varies greatly in different years. The cause of this is a profound mystery to astronomers. The eclipsing disc is renewed periodically; when it is new, it is more impervious to ascending energies, and the eclipsed moon appears dark; when the disc is old, it is less opaque, and the brightness of the eclipsed moon is increased. According to the Koreshan Cosmogony the eclipses are of use, and the moon performs important functions in universal economy; but according to modern astronomy the moon is a useless, dead body, and eclipses are of no use whatever. The evidences of the truth of the astronomy of Koreshanity are overwhelming, and will soon lead the entire world to accept the same and to reject the absurdities of so called modern science.
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The source scans remain the record. This page preserves the periodical's argument and reported observations without presenting its conclusions as independently established results. The claims remain attributed to The Flaming Sword.
The Flaming Sword · Vol. 16, No. 46 · 3 Oct 1902 · PDF p. 10