m 



Those who hear me will gather from these quotations the immensity of 

 the subject matter for thought, brought out in these and similar investigations : 

 but I must hasten on to notice brefly, in concurrence with the request of our 

 esteemed president for last year, Dr. Bull, one or two other matters of astro- 

 nomical interest, which have been either under observation of the telescope, or 

 under discussion as to cause and effect, within the last year. 



"When I name the sun spots and their causes ; the meteoric ring of 

 November last ; the effect of tidal action on the rotation of the earth ; the 

 sudden outburst of a world, or star " on fire," for such it literally was ; and 

 finally, a suspected change in the condition of the lunar crater, as evidence, 

 possibly, of present volcanicaction in the moon, and as bearing upon the 

 question of a lunar atmosphere ; it will be evident to you all that the matter on 

 hand far exceeds the limits of the time at our disposal. I can, therefore, but 

 touch upon some of them, and that in the most cursory manner. This I regret 

 the less with regard to the star "on fire," for it has been admirably discussed 

 by the president of the Astronomical Society in a deeply interesting paper, 

 which appeared in the number of "Good Words" for April last. I will pass, 

 therefore, to the other subjects. 



To sum up, as briefly as I can, a connection has been discovered between 

 Sun spots and planetary action, especially that of Venus and Jupiter. But, 

 again, I prefer to quote the words of the report :— " The period of recurrence 

 of similar phenomena in the case of sun spots is 19 or 20 months. Evidence 

 points to Venus, as the planet which apparently exerts the most predominating 

 influence, although an influence of other planets, particularly Jupiter, is dis- 

 tinctly traceable. 



" The nature of this planetary influence consists in a tendency to produce 

 the maximum of Sun spots on that side of the Sun which is turned atvay from 

 the inAuencing planet ; and on the other hand, in a tendency to diminish the 

 size of the Sun spots on that side which is turned towards it." So far the 

 report. 



It would seem, indeed, a puzzle to connect the action of Venus, not with 

 Sun spots on the side of the Sun next herself, or the obverse side, but with 

 those on the other, or the reverse side of the Sun ! 



But the answer to this puzzle is suggested in the E. A.S. Monthly Notices for 

 March last. A foreign astronomer, IM. Hoek, of Utrecht, assumes, and with 

 reason, I venture to think, that the Sun is throughout a fluid, or acriiorm, 

 gaseous mass : that tides are produced in the aeriform envelope by the action 

 of (especially) Venus ; that by this tidal protrusion of the layers of the Solar 

 atmosphere such layers, or strata, lose more readily something at least of 

 their heat by radiation. In consequence the density of such strata is increased, 

 until, at last, gravity carries them downwards through the underlying layers of 

 fluid or vapour, which are less dense than those above them. The cavitie* 



