A VOYAGE TO THE SUN. 41 



that, at a moderate computation, this glowing envelope 

 must extend to a height of about a quarter of a million 

 of miles from the sun ; while from where we were we 

 could trace the fainter light of the surrounding atmo- 

 sphere to a distance of about half a million miles 

 from the sun's surface. As for the white streaks and 

 streamers, they were too irregularly spread and too 

 complicated in their structure for us to form a clear 

 opinion as to their extension. Moreover, it was obvious 

 that their real extension was greater than we could at 

 present perceive, for they gradually became less and less 

 distinct at a greater and greater distance from the sun, 

 and finally became imperceptible, though obviously 

 extending farther than we could trace them. 



We had passed more than two millions of miles 

 beyond the moon's orbit our progress being now 

 exceedingly rapid when we encountered a meteor- 

 stream, which appeared to be of great extent. We had 

 already noticed the passage past us of many single 

 meteors, which seemed to cross our path in all direc- 

 tions. But the members of the meteor-system now 

 encountered were all travelling nearly in the same 

 direction, coming from below (if we may so describe 

 the portion of space lying south of the general level in 

 which the planets travel) slantingly upwards, and near- 

 ing the sun, though not on a course which would carry 

 them within several millions of miles of his globe. 

 This meteor-system is not one of those which our earth 

 encounters ; nor could X. who, as you know, has 

 closely studied this subject recall the path of any 



