248 



NA TURE 



[July 12, 1900 



During totality the^ky ta^visual observers was notably 

 not dark, and no second magnitude star was seen with 

 the naked eye. Mercury was a conspicuous object 



The equatorial streamers were closely observed, and 

 could be followed by the naked eye to 3 or 3^ solar 

 diameters ; their structure was likened by Father 

 Woodman to a structure of mother-o'-pearl, and this 

 was generally conceded. Colour estimates, however, 

 varied, and were given as "yellowish green tinge," 

 "straw-coloured" or "golden." (It may be remarked 

 here that the general description of the colour was given 

 by the British observers in Spain and Portugal as 

 " silvery-white.") Prof. Langley's visual telescopic ob- 

 servations gave, as he remarks, "little indication of the 

 finely-divided structure of the inner corona which he had 

 noticed at Pike's Peak. Structure, to be sure, was evi- 

 dent, but not in such minute subdivision as had then 

 been seen ; and though one remarkable prominence, as 

 well as several smaller ones, was visible, the coronal 

 streamers did not give to the writer the impression of 

 being connected with these prominences, though the 

 relationship of some of them to the solar poles was 

 abundantly manifest." 



The approximate length of totality as observed was 88 

 seconds, or 4 seconds shorter than the duration as given 

 by the Natiiical Almanac. 



portant result was that the corona gave a positive indi- 

 cation of heat as compared with the moon ; this heat 

 though certain, was, we are told, too slight to be subdivided 

 by the dispersion of the prism with the means at hand. 



With regard to the negatives depicting the outer 

 corona, these show the extensions reaching to from 3 to 

 4 solar diameters for the longest streamers. 



The plates taken for a search for intramercurial 

 planets have not been carefully examined, but the con- 

 siderable sky illumination during totality leads Prof. 

 Langley to doubt the possibility of having recorded the 

 images of such faint objects on the plates. Pleione'(6*3 

 magnitude) in the Pleiades, and some fainter stars are^ 

 however, recorded on one of the plates. 



The expedition seems to have gathered some most 

 valuable data, and to have scored a decided success in 

 every respect ; the observations made and the photo- 

 graphs secured promise to be very satisfactory, especially 

 with regard to the primary objects of the expedition. 



THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND ITS 



CONS UL TA Tl VE COMMITTEE. 



T T will be remembered that the Board of Education 



-^ Act, which received the Royal Assent last year^ 



contained in Section 4 the following provision : 



Fig. 3.— North polar coronal region. Taken with a 12-inch lens of 135 feet focal length. Exposure 16 seconds 

 (Natural size of original photograph. Moon 15 inches diam.) 



With regard to the photographs which were found to | 

 have been successfully exposed, but of which only a few i 

 have as yet been developed, most interesting results will 

 be obtained. During totality six plates were exposed for 

 periods ranging from \ to 16 seconds, and three others 

 immediately after third contact ; these were all secured 

 by the large 135-foot telescope. We are fortunately able 

 to illustrate two portions (natural size) of the large 15 -inch 

 disc. Fig. 2 shows one of the principal prominences with 

 the lower filaments near it (exposure 8 seconds), while 

 Fig. 3 is another portion of the north polar region, with a 

 16 seconds' exposure. The part near the sun has been 

 intentionally over-exposed, to show more clearly the 

 outer portions of the polar structure, which extended to 

 6 minutes from the sun. The wealth of detail and im- 

 posing magnitude of the scale on which these pictures 

 are taken will no doubt give us much needed information 

 about the structure of the corona just above the 

 chromosphere. 



The measurement of the heat of the corona appears to 

 have been successfully performed by Mr. Abbot, with the 

 aid of Mr. Mendenhall, and this is probably the first 

 time that it has really been shown to exist. The im- 



NO. 1602, VOL. 62] 



" It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council by Order to 

 establish a Consultative Committee, consisting, as to not less 

 than two-thirds, of persons qualified to represent the views of 

 universities and other bodies interested in education, for the 

 purpose of : — 



{a) framing, with the approval of the Board of Education, 

 regulations for a register of teachers which shall be formed and 

 kept in manner to be provided by the Order in Council ; pro- 

 vided that the register so formed shall contain the names of the 

 registered teachers arranged in alphabetical order, with an entry 

 in respect of each teacher showing the date of his registration, 

 and giving a brief record of his qualifications and experience ; 

 and 



\J}) advising the Board of Education on any matter referred 

 to the committee by the Board." 



The Order in Council nominating the members of the 

 proposed committee and defining its course of pro- 

 cedure, has just been issued, and is a document of 

 considerable public interest and importance. Advisory 

 Boards are not unknown in other departments of the 

 public service, e.g. in the India Board and at the 

 Admiralty ; but a permanent Consultative Committee 

 of unofficial experts, on the scale and with the powers 

 contemplated in the present Order in Council, is- a. 



