ANNUAL RECORD 



OF 



SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



18 71. 



A. MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 



XATUKE OF THE SITN's COROXA. 



Mr. Proctor, in a recent article upon the solar eclipse of De- 

 cember 22, 18 70, remarks that especial effort will probably 

 be directed toward the solution of the problems connected 

 with the character of the sun's corona ;. and he sums up in a 

 few words the different hypotheses that have been heretofore 

 presented on the subject. These assign to the corona very 

 different positions in space. The first places the corona 

 around the sun, the second around the moon, and the third in 

 our own atmosphere. Whichever of these may be considered 

 as established, we shall have three different degrees of mag- 

 nitude and importance to assign to the corona. If it be a 

 solar appendage, its extent exceeds that of any body within 

 the solar system, save, perhaps, one or two of the most re- 

 markable comets ; if belonging to the moon, it is relatively 

 insignificant, but still has a volume far exceeding that of the 

 earth ; lastly, if confined within the bounds of our atmos- 

 phere, it no longer is to be considered as possessing any real 

 existence any more than the beam of light which shines 

 through the clouds can be regarded as an actually existent, 

 measurable mass. These hypotheses he discusses in their or- 

 der, and finds reason to consider them all untenable ; and 

 finally presents a different view from any, namely, that the 



A 



