44 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



that he saw ITinbriel in 1801, that he probably saw it in 

 1793, and may possibly have seen it in 1790 and 1794. It is 

 thus evident that Ariel and Umbriel were truly discovered 

 by Herscliel, but that he was unfortunately prevented from 

 identifying them by the fact that his telescope could never 

 show them on two successive nights. Bull. Phil. Society of 

 Washington ,1874. 



SOLAR SPOTS AND FACULJE. 



Bredichin, from some observations made in the neighbor- 

 hood of Moscow, and at the observatory of that city, con- 

 cludes that the theoiw of ascending* and descending- currents 

 is sufficient to explain the formation and development of 

 solar faculae and spots. If on any portion of the solar sur- 

 face an increase of temperature takes place, there must at 

 that place soon be an ascending current. The head of this 

 ascending current will form a cloud as soon as it reaches a 

 proper height. The lower portions of the chromosphere 

 How from all directions toward the base of this column of 

 ascending air. Subsequently, they ascend above the solar 

 surface, and flow off to one side, and thus continue the circu- 

 lation. 19 C, 1874, 194. 



PROFESSOR YOUNG'S VIEWS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE 



SUN. 



Professor Young states that he is disposed to accept a very 

 simple view of the constitution of the solar atmosphere. He 

 assents to the views of Zullner as to the existence of a crust, 

 either solid or liquid, through which, from time to time, 

 masses of incandescent hydrogen burst out. Over this crust 

 lies the atmosphere, composed of vapors and gases, each ar- 

 ranging itself, as if it were the only one in existence, accord- 

 ing; to the views of Dalton on the diffusion of g;ases and va- 

 pors. All the gases are therefore contained in a state of in- 

 timate mixture in a certain lower atmosphere, probably less 

 than five hundred miles in thickness, immediately above the 

 surface of the sun, this is the birthplace of the Fraunhofer 

 lines, and he supposes himself to have obtained a glimpse of 

 it during the eclipse of 1870, at the moment when totality 

 began. Ascending, we successively pass the limits above 

 which the different gases do not rise, these limits being low- 



