326: On the Natur? and Conftru€hon 
the elevated fpots on its furface will feem to be cavities, and 
all cavities will aflume the fhape of mountains. But then, 
at the fame time, the moon, inftead of having the convex ap= 
pearance of a globe, will feem to be a large concave portion , 
of an hollow fphere, As foon as, by the force of imagination, 
you drive away the fallacious appearance of a concave moon, 
you. reftore the mountains to their protuberance, and fink 
the cavities again below the level of the furface. Now, when 
JI faw the fot. lower than the fhining matter of the fun, and 
an extended plane, alfo deprefled, welch fhelving fides rifing 
up to the level, I alfo found that the fun was convex, and 
appeared in its natural globular ftate. Hence I conclude 
that there could be no deception in thofe appearances, 
How very ill would this obfervation agree with the ideas 
of folid bodies bobbing up and down in a fiery liquid? with 
the fmoke of volcanoes, or feum updn an ocean? And how 
eafily it is explained upon our foregoing theory. The re- 
moval of the fhining atmofphere, which permits us to fee 
the fun, muft naturally be attended with a gradual diminu- 
tion on its borders: an inftance of a fimilar kind we have 
daily before us, when through the opening of a cloud we fee 
the fky, which generally is attended by a furrounding hazi- 
nefs of fome fhort extent; and feldom tranfits, from a perfect 
clearnefs, at once to the greateft obfcurity. 
Aug. 26, 1792. I examined the fun with feveral powers, 
from go to 500. It appears evidently that the black fpots 
are the opaque ground, or.body of the fun; and that the 
luminous part is an atmofphere, which, being interrupted or 
broken, gives us a tranfient glimpfe of the fun itfelf. My 
»-feet reflector, which is in high perfection, reprefents the 
fpots, as it always ufed to do, much depreffed below the fur- 
face of the luminous part. 
Sept. 2, 1792. I faw two fpots in the fun with the 
naked eye. In the telefcope I found they were clufters of 
fpots, with many fcattered ones befides. * Every one of them 
was certainly below the furface of the luminous difk. 
Sept. 8, 1792. Having made a {mall fpeculum, merely 
brought to a perfect figure upon hones without polifh, I 
found that,*by ftifling a great part of the folar rays, my ol- 
9 ject- 
