THE SUNS TRUE ATMOSPHERE. 115 



prominences. This agrees very satisfactorily with my 

 own anticipatory description of the probable nature of 

 the sierra, when I suggested that the sun's surface is 

 probably ' covered at all times with small prominences, 

 bearing somewhat the same relation to the gigantic 

 " horns " and " boomerangs " seen during eclipses 

 that the bushes covering certain forest regions bear to 

 the trees.' 



But the larger prominences have been shown by 

 Zollner and Respighi to be phenomena of eruption. 

 They are masses of glowing gas, which have been flung 

 from great depths beneath the visible surface of the 

 sun. May we not conclude that the smaller prominences 

 which constitute the sierra are of like nature ? that they 

 also have been flung from beneath the sun's visible sur- 

 face ? As respects the larger prominences we can have 

 no manner of doubt, because they have been seen to be 

 flung out in eruptive sort. And this refers to all orders 

 of prominences, except only those very numerous and 

 relatively very small prominences which crowd together 

 so as to form the seemingly continuous coloured sierra. 

 These cannot be watched as the others have been. But 

 it seems highly probable that those among them which 

 are not the remains of loftier prominences, are, like 

 their larger fellows, phenomena of eruption. 



Again, as respects the corona, all the evidence we 

 have is opposed to the conception that the phenomenon 

 is atmospheric. It shows two regions, which, though 

 not separated by well-defined limits from each other, 

 may yet be regarded as, in a sense, distinct. There is 



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