566 Chronicles of Science. [ Oct., 
uniformity of size, of form, and of mode of grouping of these 
incandescent bodies ” ? 
In an essay lately issued M. Chacornac expresses the opinion 
that the sun is a liquid incandescent mass, surrounded by a dense 
and imperfectly transparent atmosphere. In this atmosphere solar 
vapours, raised by evaporation from the liquid nucleus, ascend until 
they are acted upon by the cold of celestial space, when they con- 
dense into luminous crystals. He is of opinion, further, that 
the sun’s spots are caused by the engulfment of vast areas of the 
photospheric crystals, which lose their brightness as they smk. In 
this connection we may mention an observation made by Mr. 
Brodie of “several roundish, isolated portions of luminous matter 
(having the appearance of icebergs floating on a black sea) in the 
centre of an umbra.” 
M. Chacornac discusses, also, the phenomena presented during 
total eclipses of the sun, Mr. Carrington’s discovery that the velocity 
of rotation of solar spots is a function of solar latitude, and the 
influence of the planets on the solar atmosphere. 
Professor Haughton states that on July 14, 1860, at 2.15 p.m. 
a meteoric stone fell at Dhurmsalla, the fragments of which were 
so intensely cold as to benumb the hands of the coolies who picked 
them up, a peculiarity not easily explicable. The analysis of a 
fragment sent to the museum of Trinity College, Dublin, presented 
the following result :— 
Chrysolite (peridot or olivine) . . . . 47°67 
Nickelsirontag, iliac ae Oise Si ieroniee 8:42 
Protosulphuret ofiron . . . +. »« « « 5°61 
@HTOMENTON, ci5 ste blemeaia gee sak lee 4:16 
Minerals insoluble in muriatic acid. . . 34°14 
100-00 
Lieut.-Gen. Sabine, Pres. F.R.S., states, in ‘ Proceedings of the 
Royal Society,’ that from seven years’ observations at Kew, compared 
with observations in other parts of the world, it appears that there is 
a magnetic variation obviously dependent upon the moon’s position 
relatively to the terrestrial meridian, agreeing in its principal 
features in various localities. He considers that this variation is 
“ascribable with great probability to the direct magnetic action of 
the moon.” 
In a paper published in the ‘ Philosophical Magazine,’ Mr. Croll 
has endeavoured to show that the Earth and Moon are approaching 
each other, and that they will one day be brought together. We have 
not space to discuss the points raised in this paper, but we believe 
that the gradual retardation of the Earth’s rotation is the only per- 
manent result that can be legitimately ascribed to the action of the 
tidal wave. 
From letters published in the ‘ Astronomische Nachrichten,’ it 
