94 LIGHT SCIENCE FOR LEISURE HOURS. 



there springs into view a glorious crown of coloured 

 light pearly white in parts, faintly pink beyond, and 

 at the extreme verge showing tints of mauve and 

 violet and green delicate and beautiful beyond de- 

 scription. Through this coronal glory there extend 

 rays of bluish- white light, reaching often to a vast dis- 

 tance from the black disc of the moon. Commonly 

 remaining unchanged in position, these rays sometimes 

 if all the narratives can be trusted exhibit very 

 obvious signs of motion, resembling in this respect 

 those streamers of coloured light which we have lately 

 so much admired in the aurora. Indeed, wonderful as 

 it may seem, the corona has lately come to be regarded 

 as associated in some way with the Aurora Borealis. 

 We know that those auroral streamers which form so 

 wonderful a display in our own skies are due to solar 

 influences. In whatever way it may be brought about, 

 certain it is that disturbances of the sun are reflected 

 in terrestrial auroral displays. The auroras which 

 have occurred lately were predicted by astronomers, 

 who know that the sun is undergoing during the 

 present year disturbances of the most amazing nature. 

 Solar spots, of various dimensions, have been counted 

 by the hundred of late ; and we now know that when 

 the sun is thus spotted our earth sympathises with the 

 central orb. Thrilling from pole to pole in magnetic 

 tremor, she spreads out over both hemispheres the 

 auroral banners that indicate the progress of electric 

 revolutions. The devices of her children for utilising 

 her electric forces are for the time set at naught, and 



