50 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



with the sun, and the point of contact, were computed for 

 the Davidson Observatory. 



This predicted time was 3 hours 46.1 minutes; and the 

 point of contact was 248 deg. 59 min. from the north point 

 reckoned round by the east, corresponding to 203 deg. 43 min. 

 from the vertex of the sun, also reckoned through the east. 



The observation was made with the full aperture of the 

 6.4-inch equatorial, using an Airy double-image micrometer, 

 with a power of about 240 diameters. The colored-glass ex- 

 hibited the sun's disk of a whitish pearl color. The position 

 thread was placed to cut off that segment of the sun's disk 

 upon which the moon would first appear. The clock-work 

 kept the image in the center of the field. 



The border of the sun was much disturbed by the unequal 

 refraction of the warm and cold strata of the atmosphere, 

 so that the first contact was obtained under certain difficul- 

 ties. The moon appeared at the predicted position, and the 

 local meantime of the contact was 3 hours 46 minutes and 

 14.5 seconds, or eight seconds after the computed epoch. 

 It is probable that this time may be a half or even one sec- 

 ond late. 



After this observation, another eye-piece was introduced, 

 and the projected image of the sun's border was exhibited 

 upon a white paper screen, showing the ingress of the 

 moon's dark limb, the groups of sun spots, and the dis- 

 turbed border and cusps. 



The time of greatest observation occurred just before sun- 

 set, when the moon had advanced .454 of the sun's diameter 

 on the disk of the latter. Owing to the abnormal refraction 

 so near the sea horizon, the sun presented the appearance of 

 a very flattened eclipse, and the moon's disk was also simi- 

 larly distorted, so that the distortion of the cusps was very 

 striking and peculiar. At that time the boiling of the sun's 

 border was excessively great. 



There were two lines of sun spots across the solar disk, 

 one north and one south of the equator; some of them were 



