178 Solar Eclipse of July 8th, 1842. 
to see some of these appearances through the red eye-piece 
of the former, though none was visible through the green screen 
of the latter instrument. At Washington, where the eclipse was 
nearly central, no distortion of the limb of the moon could be 
seen through the double screen above mentioned, and the cusps 
of the sun just before and after the ring, were as pointed as nee- 
dles. The Committee of the Philosophical Society.of Philadel- 
phia, in their report on this eclipse, say, “This suggestion is one 
of great importance, as it seems to furnish evidence of the exist- 
ence of a lunar atmosphere, through which, as through our own, 
the red rays have the greatest penetrative power. It also leads © 
_ to new views concerning the cause of the remarkable appearances 
of the beads of light and the dark lines frequently noticed ; since 
it shows that their appearance may be completely modified by a 
change in the color, and consequently in the absorbing power of 
the screen glass through which they are observed.” It is be- 
lieved that on another account will this suggestion if well founded 
be of great importance, viz. in its obvious tendency to diminish 
if not wholly remove, the discordancies not unfrequently found 
in the best observations on solar eclipses and transits of Venus, 
and which with regard to. the latter in 1761 and 1769, were so 
great as materially to diminish the value of this method of deter- 
mining the distance between the earth and the sun. 
The elements of the eclipse were computed from the lunar tables 
both of Burckhardt and Damoiseau, and as they appeared to differ 
in their results by about 13” of longitude, the mean or average 
of the results was adopted, which it is hoped will be found more 
conformable to observation. As these tables are adapted to the 
meridian of Paris, the time of that: meridian has been retained, 
but the longitudes of the places are counted from Greenwich, 
which is 29 20” 23” Dede of the former. The ellipticity was 
considered 535th. 0 correction was applied for irradiation 
and inflection, Se if silowed would cause the eclipse at each 
place to begin about ten seconds later, and to end about eleven 
Seconds earlier than the time herein after stated. The latitudes 
and longitudes of the several places, were with a few exceptions, 
erate and wz feel Nautical Almanacs. . 
fe ice ie Cte * 
