392 Messrs. W. H. M. Christie and F. W. Dyson. 



"Total Eclipse of the Sun, 1900, May 28. Preliminary Account 

 of the Observations made at Ovar, Portugal." I'.y W. H. M. 

 CHRISTIE, C.B., M.A., F.R.S., Astronomer Royal, and F. W. 

 DYSON, M.A., Sec. R.A.S. Read at Joint Meeting of the 

 Royal and Koyal Astronomical Societies, June 28, 1900. 

 MS. received October 18, 1900. 



[PL4.TK8 25.] 



I. General Arrangements. 



An expedition to observe the total solar eclipse of May 28 having 

 been sanctioned by the Admiralty, it was arranged, in concert with the 

 Joint Permanent Eclipse Committee, that the Royal 01 wervatory party 

 should take photographs of the corona on a large scale for structural 

 detail, and on a smaller scale for the coronal streamers, and should 

 also photograph the spectrum of the " flash " and of the corona. The 

 programme thus naturally divided itself into two parts, Mr. Christie, 

 assisted by Mr. Davidson, taking charge of the first part, and Mr. 

 Dyson of the second. 



The party are much indebted to the Portuguese Government for the 

 liberal arrangements made for the conveyance of the observers and 

 their instruments in Portugal free of all charge to and from their 

 observing station at Ovar, and for the great assistance rendered in 

 erecting the instruments, and for a daily time-signal from the Lisbon 

 Observatory direct to the observing station. 



They are also indebted to Mr. Frank Rawes, of Oporto, for making 

 all arrangements for a suitable observing station at Ovar, and for 

 much thoughtful provision for the comfort and convenience of the 

 observers. 



The party further received valuable assistance from Mr. J. J. Atkin- 

 son, who went with them from England, and from Mr. Arthur Berry, 

 who joined them in Portugal on May 20 ; they readily joined in all 

 the work of the expedition, such as the erection of huts, instruments, 

 iV.c. The party are also indebted to them, and to Mrs. Kennedy and to 

 Mr. Rawes, for assistance in the observations on the day of the eclipse. 



Jtineritri/. The observing huts and instruments were sent to South- 

 ampton on May 8, with the exception of the 16-inch ccelostat mirror, 

 and two boxes of photographic plates which were taken with the 

 observers' personal baggage. The observers left Greenwich on the 

 morning of Friday, May 11, sailing from Southampton by the Royal 

 Mail steamship "Clyde," and reaching Lisbon about noon on May 14. 

 After an interesting visit to the Royal Observatory at Tapada, Lisbon, 

 on May 15, the observers left for Ovar on the evening of May 16, and 

 arrived there on the morning of Thursday, May 17. 



