Trnimltion Stiulieg 



9 



It Hf<<me(l scarcely |)OWiiblo t<i believe that the light of the Corona wni .>tti«-r than th^ ray« 

 friirii tlin sun iiiiwlc visihlo in sdine inc<miprchon.sil)lc tnanrior nmiiil tl 

 appeiiriinco Ix^iii^; eminently KU({(,'i'stiv« of 11 hriiliiint j,'liil«-riin>; Ixxly, I; 

 The nearest rem-nibliince I can tliink of, to exprens my nieaninj; (not that I am to Ik- i. 

 aH siippoNing the reniotefit analogy Ixitween the t-ituseH of the two ap|M<araiiL')>N), iH th' : 



a jet of wat««r, playing from b(!hin<l agninHt some obstacle, ami throwing an irregular halo of 



spray arounil it, on all sides. That a reasonable foundatioD may exist for ii-  ■^-■■■- ''■•• '" n 



tosonuMlivorsionof the ordinary rays of the sun, however uninU'lligible the c. 

 may lie, and not t<i a luminous atmosi)lieru surrounding the sun, was powertiiiiy inn i 



me by certain apisMirances that were observed when totality was pa8w<l : they \\ 

 Four or five minutes after the reappearance of the sun, Mr AIwckkI calle<l uttention tu n-n: 

 able luminous radiations, like suids'ams ylanting through a cloud, and priK-e«!diiig in luu . 

 but long brushes from the cusps of the sun. They changMl their lingular dirwtions an<l even 

 their sha]K's with such rapidity, thai I was almojit bewilderetl in a first Httempt to draw tliem. 

 If I look<'<l down on my paper to draw a few strokes, the appearance had become changed, when 



Fig. 1. 



I again raised my head. Nevertheless between .'5 h. 11 m. and 3 h. 13 m. I managed to make 

 thrct> sketches; the two that were most characteristic are here very fiiirly repiiv'-ented. After 

 3 h. 13 m. fh(^ light of the emerging sun wius too strong to admit of further ol)servations. The 

 brushes were perfectly distinct and uiunistakeable, they were best seen by holding up the Itand 

 so a.s to mask the sun, and they were perfectly visible through the t«>lescope when it waa so 

 turned as to exclude the sun. There was no mistake whatever alxjut their existt-nce. I trust 

 that the attention of observers of future eclipses will l>e direct<'<l to them, both Ixrfore and after 

 totality. Now whatever may have l)een the cau.se of the brushes, would also, I should gues-s, l>e 

 competent to creatt> the greater part of the Corona: the two apjiearances iK'ing of identically 

 the same genus. It will Ix; observed that the brushes in Fig. 3' fnolose an angle of alMiut 130", 

 on the side of the emergent sun, and that the same angle had changiHl to aliout 19-)* in Fig. t, 

 to say nothing of the api)earance of a central bar of light. The angular change of the brushes 

 was contiiuious, so long as I hiwl an opportunity of l<Kiking continuously at them. 



I have since often looked for, and have only just seen (Sunday Feb. 10th'), an almost precise 



See Figs. 3 and 4, p. 10. 



' Presumably 1861. 



