444 



[Feb. 26, 



III. " Note on the Lines in the Spectra of some of the Fixed 

 Stars." By WILLIAM HUGGINS, Esq., F.R.A.S., and 

 WILLIAM ALLEN MILLER, M.D., LL.D., Treasurer and 

 V.P.R.S. Received February 19, 1863. 



The recent detailed examination of the solar spectrum, and the 

 remarkable observations of Kirchhoff upon the connexion of the 

 dark lines of Fraunhofer with the bright lines of artificial flames, 

 having imparted new interest to the investigation of spectra, it has 

 appeared to the authors of the present note that the Royal Society 

 may not consider a brief account of their recent inquiry upon the 

 spectra of some of the self-luminous bodies of the heavens unworthy 

 of attention, although the investigation is as yet far from complete. 



After devoting considerable time to the construction of apparatus 

 suitable to this delicate branch of inquiry, they have at length 

 succeeded in contriving an arrangement which has enabled them 

 to view the lines in the stellar spectra in much greater detail than 

 has been figured or described by any previous observer. The 



n 



apparatus also permits of the immediate comparison of the stellar 

 spectra with those of terrestrial flames. The accompanying drawing 



