ASTRONOMY. 2Sd 



in the heavens on the riglit of the sun an unmistakable scimetar. The 

 eclipse liad indeed revealed the existence of a new comet. Despite the 

 short totality (one minute and twelve seconds) many valuable results 

 have been obtained. I am permitted to send a copy of the collective 

 telegram sent to the various Governments, showing many new facts 

 touching the sun's atmosphere, though matters have not become much 

 simpler, which means more work. The layer to which much absorption 

 has been ascribed seems vanishing from existence. The band K in the 

 spectrum of the corona fully explains the eclipse coloring. 



"Among the results, the most satisfactory are photographs of the 

 corona, and a complete spectrum obtained by Schuster on Abney's 

 plates. H and K are the most intense lines. A study of the red end 

 of the spec; rum of corona and protuberances was made by Tacchini. 

 A comet near the sun was a striking object; it was photographed, and 

 was observed by the naked eye. Bright lines were observed before and 

 after totality at different heights by Lockyer, with intensities differing 

 from Fraunhofer's lines ; by Lockyer and Trepied an absolute deter- 

 mination was made of the place of the coronal line 1474 in KirchhofiPs 

 scale; by Thollon and Trepied the absence of dark lines from the coronal 

 spectrum was noted. Tacchini and Thollon, with very different disper- 

 sions, noted many bright lines in the violet. Thollon observed the spec- 

 trum of the corona, and Schuster j^hotographed it. The hydrogen and 

 coronal lines were studied in the grating spectroscope of Buisieux, and 

 with direct-vision prism by Thollon. Rings were observed in the grating 

 by Lockyer, of the first, second, and third order. The continuous spec- 

 trum is fainter than in 1878, stronger than in 1871. An intensification 

 of the absorption lines was observed in group B, at the moon's edge, 

 by Trepied and Thollon. The whole spectrum, with blue lines on a con- 

 tinuous background, has been i>hotographed. The prominences were 

 photographed with the prismatic camera (showing, of course, ring spec- 

 trum). Three photographs were taken of the corona. The comet close to 

 the sun was photographed with the prismatic and also with ordinary 

 cameras." 



Solar eclipse of May, 1883. — The following is a summary of a paper pre- 

 pared by Mr. 0. H. Rockwell, New York, and read at the meeting of the 

 American Association : 



" The great astronomical event for 1883 will be the solar eclipse to 

 occur on the (jth day of May. At the points of greatest obscuration 

 the totality will last nearly six minutes. Unfortunately, the line of 

 totality is almost exclusively a water track, running from a point about 

 200 miles back of the east coast of Australia, going northeasterly to d^ 

 south latitude, 130° west longitude, thence toward the coast of South 

 America, terminating about 500 miles from the coast. 



" The only island crossed by this line is a small coral reef called Car 

 oline Island; this was discovered by Ca]itain Nares, the Arctic ex- 

 plorer, in 1874, who gave its length at nine miles and width at one mile. 

 H. Mis. 26 19 



