378 Solor EcUjyse of July, 1S60. 



part of the solar disc at one time, I saw a third peak a little high- 

 er also tooth-formed, and resembling the two others in colour and 

 form, differing only in its larger dimensions. The remainder of 

 the disc offered nothing remarkable, and on returning to the upper 

 region I found the two first described clouds unchanged. As the 

 moment of reappearance of the Sun approached, and while wait- 

 ing for the first rays, I made, during about 20', perhaps my most 

 important observation. The margin of the di«c which two minutes 

 before was entirely white was now tinged by a delicate fillet of un- 

 apreciable thickness of a purplish red — then as the seconds glided 

 by, this fillet enlarged by degrees and formed soon around the 

 black disc of the moon, over a breadth of about 30°, a red border 

 perfectly defined in thickness, crescent-formed and with an irregu- 

 lar outline above. At the same instant the brilliancy of the part 

 of the corona which during the last second emerged from behind 

 the moon's disc was exalted so rapidly that I was in doubt if the 

 sun's light was not returned. It was only on the reappearance 

 of the direct rays, the brightness of which obliterated in turn the 

 corona, that I was sure of the nature of three phenomena present 

 at the same time, which I thus sum up. 



1. The visible parts of the emergent sun over its whole breadth 

 and up to the height of seven or eight seconds was covered by a 

 bed of rosy clouds, which appeared to gain in thickness as they 

 emerged from behind the disc of the moon. Must we believe that 

 the entire surface of the sun is ov^erspread at a small elevation, as 

 it is strewn with faculse, and that the roseate clouds are emana- 

 tions, appearing hke spots on the sun's disc ? 



2. The intensity of the light in the corona which is always 

 white, varies with great rapidity in the immediate vicinity of the 

 sun's disc. 



3. The reappearance of the direct sunlight was at 3*^ 0™ 49^-0. 

 Total obscuration continued 3°" 14^-3. The disc of the moon com- 

 pletely cleared the sun at 4*" 6"^ 20". 



(M. Focault's interesting observations on the photographs, etc., 

 are unavoidably postponed for want of room.) 



Le Verrier goes on to state that the observation of his party au- 

 thorise, in his opinion, important modifications in the generally 

 received notions respecting the physical constitution of the sun. 

 Arago in his notice of solar eclipses, says — " where exist the red- 

 dish flames with well defined outlines which durino; the total 

 eclipse of the 8th of July, 1842, passed considerably beyond the 



