Thursday, June 25, 1964

A sudden clearing of the thick cloud covering Wednesday night at 10 o'clock enabled area residents to catch a breathtaking view of the concluding stages of the total eclipse of the moon.

The thick clouds had spoiled attempts to view the first phases of the eclipse earlier in the evening before the sudden movement occurred. However, just as the totality ended and the moon passed from the shadow of the earth, the clouds cleared to give residents a perfect view.

Nearly 200 persons turned out to view the spectacle at the Farrell High School athletic field. About half of them left discouraged by the cloudy night, though, and missed viewing the eclipse when the sky cleared.

Those that stayed viewed the eclipse from an assortment of 18 telescopes and heard lectures from noted area astronomers. According to Ted Pedas, local astronomer who conducted the program, after 10 p.m. it was one of the clearest nights in the past month.

Besides viewing the phenomenon of the eclipse, the skygazers zeroed their telescopes in on meteors, double stars and star clusters. The program, which started at 8 p.m. didn't conclude until shortly before midnight.

Prior to the cloud clearing, the astronomy enthusiasts heard lectures on what was happening above the clouds from Warren Young, professor of astronomy at Youngstown University; Leo F. Grandmontagne, president of the Youngstown Astronomy Club, Robert Lambert, amateur astronomer, meteorologist and photographer, and Pedas, who writes an astronomy column for The Herald.

The totality of the eclipse, which area residents were not able to see, began at 8:16p.m. and lasted until 9:58 p.m.