366 



NA TURE 



[February 17, 1898 



for the active interest shown in the whole of the astro- 

 nomical operations. Rarely, if ever, has the work of 

 observers been given greater facilities ; and the credit 

 for the success of the recent eclipse investigations is 

 due, to a large extent, to the help of the Indian Govern- 

 ment, as well as to the perfect weather which prevailed. 



The invaluable aid given by the oflficers and crew of 

 H.M.S. Melpomene was described by Sir Norman 

 Lockyer in last week's Nature. The results obtained 

 by this new eclipse force appear to have exceeded the 

 highest anticipations, and our only source of regret is 

 that the trained perceptions of the officers and men of 

 our ships have not previously been enlisted to advance 

 the knowledge of solar physics by observations of solar 

 eclipses. Naval officers are so familiar with optical in- 

 struments, that they need but a few hints to be able to 

 make most of the observations required during eclipses. 

 The " Melpomenes" have proved their efficiency as 

 eclipse observers, and we hope their work will be taken 

 as a model of what can be done upon future occasions 

 by enlisting the sympathies of naval officers and men 

 in astronomical investigations ; for the knowledge thus 

 obtained is both abundant and valuable. To the assist- 

 ance given by Captain Batten, who took charge of all 

 the affairs of administration and organisation, must be 

 ascribed a large portion of the success at Viziadurg. 



Sir Norman Lockyer expressed this opinion in the 

 course of a few remarks made by him at the end of the 

 eclipse. 



"You have no right to cheer me," the Times of India reports 

 him to have said, " but I have the right to cheer you, and had I 

 a hundred and fifty throats I would do it right heartily. It is you, 

 the officers and men of H.M.S. Melpomene, who have been run- 

 ning this camp, and we three have just stood by. You have done 

 all the work, and you have been making a bit of history, not only 

 for British science but for the British Navy. The records of this 

 expedition will be logged in one of the Admiralty books, and I 

 am proud to have been associated with you in this Eclipse 

 Expedition of 1898. The work you have done has not only 

 been in proportion to your numbers, a hundred and fifty to three, 

 but you have borne the burden and heat of the day, and I thank 

 you from the bottom of my heart for the admirable manner in 

 which you have behaved towards we land-lubbers. We have 

 done our best, you have done your best, and between us we have 

 today accomplished what has never previously been done in the 

 history of the world. A hundred and fifty British Bluejackets 

 have observed an eclipse just as perfectly as if they had been 

 drilled for years instead of a few days. We have been perfectly 

 successful along all the lines of work we laid down, and we have 

 done everything we tried to do. I do not really thank you a bit, 

 but I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart upon the 

 splendid success you have achieved." 



From the various reports which have now reached 

 this country, we make a few extracts to show what 

 scientific results were obtained at the eclipse stations, 

 beginning with extracts from the letter contributed by 

 Sir Norman Lockyer to Tuesday's Morning Post. 



Viziadurg. 

 " When I come to the scientific results I hardly know how to 

 begin, for there is so much to tell The 'Melpomenes' have 

 certainly beggared all former records. In the prismatic cameras 

 every plate we hoped to expose at the different times, carefully 

 thought out beforehand and bearing in mind the capacities of 

 the two instruments, now bears a precious record. In the two 

 cameras the number of spectra photographed amounts to about 

 sixty ; of these forty are distributed over four plates — ' dropping 

 plates,' as they have been called, because they drop inch by inch 

 and second by second at the beginning and the end of the total 

 phase. On each plate therefore we get a history of the visible 

 solar atmosphere for ten seconds ; the lengths of the arcs tell 

 how the different chemical constituents are distributed, and 

 their positions tell us exactly what the constituents are. In 

 seme of these records it has been roughly estimated that we 

 have to deal with a thousand lines. It is pretty certain, then, 

 that many months of careful measurements will be necessary 

 before we can form a detailed idea of the advance secured. 



NO. 1477, VOL. 57] 



"As was anticipated, the increased dispersion has distinctly 

 helped us on in our knowledge of the corona. Several beautiful 

 corona images have been secured on both of the prismatic 

 cameras. The want of any visible connection between the 

 materials of the corona and of the chromosphere is again 

 demonstrated. The definition in some of the plates is so good 

 that the bases of the streamers are depicted in the coronal 

 rings, while the prominence and chromosphere rings take no- 

 notice of them whatever. This result seems entirely in harmony 

 with the telescopic observations of the structure of the corona 

 which I made with a 3|-inch Cooke telescope. The prominences 

 seemed entirely disconnected from the corona structure lying 

 near them, and there was no increase of luminosity as the 

 prominences were approached." 



The " flash " spectrum was photographed, both at the begin- 

 ning and end of totality, with the six-inch and nine-inch pris- 

 matic cameras. The results of the six -inch camera with the two 

 prisms (see p. 295) surpass all previous records, about double the 

 number of lines photographed in Novaya Zemlya in 1896 being 

 recorded upon the plates. Photographs of the corona were 

 obtained with a four-inch telescope fed by a coelostat. Lieut, 

 Blackett, R. N., in charge of the star observations, reported the 

 appearance of some object between Mars and Jupiter, where no 

 star down to the third magnitude occurs on the chart. Prof. 

 Pedler, using a grating spectroscope, observed during the total 

 phase " that the strong arc lines of iron and magnesium were 

 visible on the inner corona, while no spark lines were seen." 



Meteorological Phenomena. 

 Mr. J. Eliot, F.R.S., the Meteorological Reporter to- 

 the Government of India, says : — 



" The meteorological phenomena accompanying the echpse 

 were much less striking than was anticipated. Observations- 

 expressive of the air were taken with a barometer and a Richard 

 Frere's continuous self registering barograph. The trace on 

 the barograph on the 22nd was practically identical with those 

 on the 2ist and 23rd, and the influence of the solar eclipse was. 

 either nil or very small, and will require careful examination of 

 the traces to detect. 



" Observations of the temperature of the air were taken by 

 means of six thermometers by Bailey, which had been carefully 

 tested at Kew, and also by means of a Richard Frere's thermo- 

 graph. The observations show that temperature rose more 

 slowly than usual from 11 a.m. until about totality, when it fell 

 rapidly about 5° F., and was constant for some time after totality.. 



'• This fall in temperature at Viziadurg was partly at first due 

 to the usual change from land winds to sea breezes, which, 

 usually takes place at noon. On the day of the eclipse easterly 

 winds prevailed during the previous night and morning until 

 about 12.15 p.m. A short period of calms and light airs 

 obtained until three minutes before totality, when the windi 

 shifted to west, and blew more or less steadily and strongly 

 during the remainder of the day. The only instrument which 

 showed any large influence due to the eclipse was the solar 

 radiation thermometer. It rose steadily from sunrise until 

 about 5 minutes after the commencement {i.e. 11. 15 a.m. ), when- 

 it read 144° F. It fell continuously and with increasing rapidity 

 until the end of totality, when it registered 81^° (practically the 

 temperature of the air.) During the latter part of this periodi 

 it fell at the rate of upwards of 4° in five minutes." 



Sahdol. 



The observations at Sahdol (says the Pioneer of January 25) 

 were completely successful. The Astronomer Royal exposed 

 seven large plates during totality, and twenty four more during the 

 partial phases. His photographs show the sun's image four inches 

 in diameter. Prof. Turner took twelve pictures during totality,, 

 and two plates in polarised light. The photographs taken by 

 the Astronomer Royal and Prof. Turner during the eclipse have 

 been developed, and are highly successful. 



Mr. Mitchie-Smith, the Madras Government Astronomer^ 

 took seven good photographs with a 4D-foot telescope. 

 Photographs of the coronal spectrum were taken by Mr. 

 Moos. Several draughtsmen of recognised ability, including; 

 General Strahan, Sir Thomas Holdich, General Woodthorpe,. 

 and Colonel Barr, made coronal drawings during totality. 



Wardhaganj. 

 The eclipse was observed here perfectly. Twelve photographs- 

 of the corona were secured and twenty-four photographs of the 

 spectrum. All the photographs developed are very good. 



