

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, JULY 28, 1851. 341 
hold a black sun surrounded by a pallid halo of light in a sky of sombre leaden 
hue. The darkness at first seemed very great, owing to its contrast with the 
recent sunshine; and Mr Lane found it necessary, in reading the chronometer, 
to use a candle which had been previously lighted. The horizon, however, to- 
wards the north, was filled with light of a magnificent yellow-orange or amber 
colour, which contrasted strongly with the dark purplish-gray of the sky over- 
head. I neglected to try whether it was possible to read by this light; but I 
have no doubt I could have done so, as there was no difficulty in writing down 
the time of commencement of the total phase ;* and on looking towards Goteborg, 
the spires, and eminences in the neighbourhood of the town, were dimly discernible. 
The surface of the moon, to the naked eye, seemed slightly luminous, especially 
towards the edges; but this might be caused by light reflected from the thin 
cirrous cloud which intervened between it and the eye. The light of the corona 
also gave the moon a sharpness of outline, and an appearance of being raised from 
the sky, which made it look very near. 
These observations were completed in a few seconds, and I instantly proceeded 
to examine the corona through the telescope, having first removed the dark glass. 
The beauty of the corona and its red mountains} at once made me forget the 
frightful appearance of the eclipsed sun as seen by the naked eye; and I never 
witnessed any spectacle which so powerfully fascinated both the imagination and 
the senses. I gazed at the wondrous sight with intense pleasure; and it was with 
a feeling of painful regret that at length I saw the increasing light on the moon’s 
western limb, which warned me it was about to depart for ever. 
To the naked eye the corona seemed white, slightly tinged with faint purple or 
lavender colour. This, however, might be merely a complementary tint, occasioned 
by the contrast of the strong amber-coloured light in the horizon; for when viewed 
through the telescope, it was silvery white. Its structure was distinctly radiated, 
the light appearing to stream out from behind the moon in vivid needle-like rays, 
as if it emanated from some source of intense ignition. Its appearance has been 
aptly compared by Mr Baty to that of the sun shining through a grove of trees, and 
a similar apparent emanation of luminous particles may be seen in looking at the 
lime-ball or the electric light.. Haury says, that at the eclipse of 1715,t “there 
were perpetual flashes or coruscations of light, which seemed for a moment to dart 
out from behind the moon, now here, now there, on all sides.” I saw nothing 
resembling this except the apparent motion of the light outwards, to which I have 
just referred; but that motion was tolerably uniform, and did not cause a flash- 
ing appearance There was no circular motion in the corona, neither did it exhibit 
* It may be proper to mention that my vision is rather highly myopic, and that I can read 
with less light than most persons. 
+ It is not meant to indicate by this term any opinion as to the nature of the red prominences. 
t Phil. Trans., vol. xxix., p. 249. 
