394 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1883. 



Hirn, starting with the supposition that the sun's temperature is 

 20,000° C, writes, that, although the dissociated gases might unite in 

 the chromosphere, they would, on passing down through the sun's at- 

 mosphere, be again dissociated, and absorb as much heat as they had 

 given out on combining. — (Science.) 



THE SOLAR PARALLAX. 



Transit of Venus, 17G9. — Professor Newcomb has lately taken advan- 

 tage of a visit to the Imperial Observatory of Vienna to make, with the 

 consent and support of its director, Prof. E. Weiss, an examination of 

 Father Hell's manuscript record, with reference to deciding on the al- 

 leged falsification of these observations by Hell himself. The result of 

 his examination was so different from that generally accepted, that Pro- 

 fessor Newcomb prepared and presented to the Royal Astronomical So- 

 ciety a statement of the evidence and his conclusions. The story of 

 Hell's supposed tampering with his observations of the transit, made at 

 Wardhus in 1769, is, in substance, that he delayed publishing them so 

 long as to give rise to the suspicion of intending to alter them ; that he 

 showed them to no one until after he had received the observations 

 made at other stations ; that a cloud was thus thrown over their genu- 

 ineness ; that the suspicions thus excited were confirmed in 1835 through 

 the discovery and publication by Littrow of Hell's original manuscript 

 journal, which its author had neglected to destroy ; and that the exam- 

 ination of this journal showed numerous cases of alteration and erasure 

 of the original observed figures, including the seconds of first interior 

 contact, which had been completely erased, and replaced by new num- 

 bers inserted with different ink at some subsequent time. And the 

 reason for all this was supposed to be, that Hell desired to publish, not 

 his true observations, but results which should be in the best possible 

 accordance with the observations of others. 



In his discussion, Professor Newcomb makes but slight allusion to 

 the absence of many circumstances which might be expected to accom- 

 pany manufactured observations ; but he has presented all the positive 

 evidence within reach so fully as to enable every one to draw his own 

 independent conclusions. His own conclusions are — 



First. The belief that there was any suspicious delay in the publica- 

 tion of Hell's observations, or anything in his course to give reasonable 

 ground for a suspicion that he intended to tamper with his observations, 

 is a pure myth. 



Second. Excepting the time of formation of the thread of light at 

 ingress j excepting, also, a discrepancy of one second in the time of 

 internal contact, and a change of two seconds in one of Sajnovics's times 

 — it is proved, not only negatively and presumptively, but by positive 

 evidence and beyond serious doubt, that all the essential numbers of 

 observation given by Hell, whether relating to the transit, time, or lon- 

 gitude, are printed as concluded upon and written in his journal at 



