Total Eclipse of the Sun, July 28, 1851. 365 



the reflection of the atmosphere, beyond which the shadow 

 was already leaving ; villages and houses much nearer to the 

 eye were far less distinct, and in some places, patches of 

 darkness prevented any certain outline from being distin- 

 guishable. 



Corona, — ^When these hurried observations which took up 

 about ten to twelve seconds had been made, I cast my eyes 

 up towards the eclipse, and saw that the corona had started 

 into existence, and was shining in all its glory. I immediately 

 directed the telescope towards it without any darkening glass, 

 and discovered Baily's pearls or beads, which I judge to have 

 been formed simultaneously with the corona ; which latter 

 shone with a white light, rather inclining perhaps to a 

 leaden colour, and was obviously both a little broader and 

 brighter in the upper half than in the lower (as per drawing). 

 I should judge its breadth to have been about two-thirds or 

 three-fourths of the diameter of the moon, say 20' or 27', 

 consequently its extreme diameter from 1° 15' to 1° 25'. It 

 seemed pretty steady, but nevertheless it appeared to pro- 

 ceed from the rim of the moon in diverging rays, neither in 

 breadth nor colour did it undergo any considerable change, 

 though I should think it had reached its highest point in 

 both respects, about the middle of the totality ; neither blue, 

 red, nor yellow tints were visible in it; rotatory motion was 

 not perceptible ; the light gradually lost itself against the 

 dark sky, and was strongest towards the edge of the moon ; 

 it however seemed to me that the rim of the moon was sur- 

 rounded by a narrow ring of a darker colour than her " lumiere 

 cendree," which ring gradually shaded off into the light of 

 the corona, so that the latter did not emanate direct from the 

 body of the moon ; this whole appearance of the ring may, 

 however, have been an optical delusion, and its existence 

 must be maintained with caution ; it may have been the effect 

 of light. From the way in which the corona appeared, I 

 should say it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, 

 to have ascertained, with any degree of certainty, whether it 

 was concentric with the body of the sun or moon, even with 

 the most perfect instruments.* 



* Upon re-reading Avhat is stated about the heads, it appears to me that I 



