Star Points for April, 1998; by Curtis Roelle Gain Some Lose Some Did you remember to move your clocks forward one hour today for the start of "daylight time?" This is one of two days in the year when I reread all the manuals and change the digital clocks on the VCR, microwave oven, wrist watch, computers etc. At any other time of the year, such as after a power outage, only the most used electronic digital clocks are reset at our house. When the time change rolls around quite a few clocks have blinking displays. Sometimes daylight time is referred to as "daylight savings time." This name must have been invented by a politician because it implies getting something for nothing. We do pay a price for the increased hour of evening sunlight: one hour less of sunlight in the morning. Yet the length of daylight is gradually increasing each day as we approach the Summer Solstice. Today has three more minutes of daylight than yesterday for instance. Of course, this would be happening whether or not we set our clocks ahead. On February 26 along a 90-mile-wide path that crossed a portion of Central and South America as well as several Caribbean islands, up to four minutes of daylight was lost as the sun was totally eclipsed by the moon. I observed the eclipse with my wife and two daughters from a cruise ship located off the Venezuelan coast between the islands of Aruba and Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. In all ten members of the Westminster Astronomical Society ended up on two Caribbean islands and several cruise ships during the eclipse. For nearly one and one-half hours the dark moon slowly crossed in front of the sun. As the formerly round sun took on the appearance of a disappearing cookie it was easy to understand how people in Asia once held the belief that during a solar eclipse the sun was being devoured by a flying dragon. When the moon had covered up the last ray of sunlight suddenly stars and planets sprung into view in the middle of the afternoon. My daughter Shannon (12) took the accompanying photograph during the period of "totality". It was the first total solar eclipse for her and sister Erin. Upon returning home I was pleased to learn there had been a front page article about the eclipse in the Carroll County Times. On page 1 were photographs of the partially eclipsed sun taken from Westminster and of a 6-year-old child using a home-made eclipse projector like the one described in this column for February. This month an interesting naked eye grouping of planets and the moon occurs on the morning of April 23. Find the moon and you will see to its upper right the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter. The planets are so close together that you can see them both in the field of a low power telescope. Of course the grouping will be so bright that no optical aid is required. However, as is usually the case, binoculars will greatly enhance the view! The next planetarium programs at the Bear Branch Nature Center will be on the nights of April 24 and May 2. For reservations call the nature center at 410-848-2517. Visit the planetarium's web page at www.erols.com/roelle/was/bearbranch.html.