238 



NATURE 



\yan. 25, 1872 



sphere at the edge which was the last to be eclipsed — 

 surmounted for a space of about 50° by two groups of 

 prominences, one on the right the other on the left, of the 

 point of contact — was reproduced in the four spectral 

 lines, C, D'', F and G, with extraordinary intensity of light 

 and the most surprising contrast of the brightest colours, 

 so that the four spectral images could be directly com- 

 pared and their minutest differences easily made out. 



In consequence of the achromatism of the object- 

 glass, all these images were well defined, and projected in 

 certain coloured zones, with the tints of the chromatic 

 images of the corona. My attention was mainly directed 

 to the comparison of the forms of the prominences on the 

 four spectral lines, and I was able to determme that the 

 fundamental form, the skeleton or trunk, and the principal 

 branches, were fai'haiUy reproduced or indicated in the 

 images, their extent being, however, greatest in the red, and 

 diminishing successive y in the other colours down to the 

 line G, on which the trunk alone was reproduced. In 

 none of the prominences thus compared was I able to 

 distmguibh, in the yellow image D-^, parts or branches not 

 contamed in the red image C. 



Meanwhile the coloured zones of the corona became 

 continually more strongly marked, one in the red corre 

 sponding with the line C, another in the green, probably 

 coinciding with the line 1474 of Kirchhoff 's scale, and a 

 third in ihe blue perhaps coinciding with F. 



The green zone surrounding the disc of the moon was 

 the brightest, the most uniform, and the best defined. 

 The red zone was also very distinct and well defined, 

 while the blue zone was faint and indistinct. The green 

 zone was well defined at the summit, though less bright 

 than at the base ; its form was sensibly circular and its 

 height about 6' or 7'. The red zone exhibited the same 

 form and approximately the same height as the green, but 

 its light was weaker and less uniform. The height of the 

 green zone was estimated by comparison with the moon's 

 diameter, and from the observed distance of the spectral 

 lines of the prominences. 



These coloured zones shone out upon a faintly illumi- 

 nated ground, without any marked trace of colour. If 

 the corona contained rays of any other kind, their inten- 

 sity must have been so feeble that they were merged in 

 the general illumination of the field. 



Soon after the middle of the total eclipse, there ap- 

 peared on the eastern limb, at about 1 10° from the north 

 point, a fine group of prominences formed of jets rather 

 low but very bright, some rectilinear, others curved round 

 the sun's limb, and exhibiting the intricate deviations and 

 all the characters of prominences in the neighbourhood 

 of solar spots. The brightness and colour of these j< ts 

 were so vivid as to give them the appearance of fire- 

 works. 



The spaces between some of these jets were perfectly 

 dark, so that the red zone of the corona appeared to be 

 entirely wanting there. Perhaps, however, this was only 

 an effect of contrast due to the extraordinary brightness 

 of the neighbouring jets. I have thought it right to refer 

 to this peculiarity, because the appearance of interstices, 

 or dark spaces, between prominences of considerable 

 brightness, is often observed by means of the spectro- 

 scope, independently of total eclipses. 



The want of an assistant to note the time, and to write 



down the observations as they were mide, occasioned me 

 some loss of time, and the end of the total eclipse was 

 already at hand before 1 was aware of it. 



The green and red zones were well developed at the 

 western as at the eastern limb, while the blue remained 

 faint and ill-defined. Soon af.er the appearance of the 

 chromosphere at the western edge, there was suddenly 

 projected on the spectrum of the sun's limb, which then 

 appeared beyond that of the moon, a stratum of bright 

 lines, separated by dark spaces ; but 1 could not deter- 

 mine whether they were due to a general or partial 

 reversal of the spectral solar lines, or to a simple dis- 

 continuity in the spectrum, since they were too soon 

 immersed in a flood of light, which put an end to the 

 totality of the eclipse. 



About half an hour after the total eclipse, the sun vas 

 obscured by clouds, so that I was unable to observe the 

 end of the partial eclipse. 



Later in the day, when the sky had become sufficiently 

 clear, 1 observed with the spectroscope the state of the 

 chromosphere, and of the protuberances existing upon it ; 

 but in consequence of the cloudy state of the sky, the 

 violent wind which prevailed, and the shortness of the 

 time at my command, the picture was not sufficiently 

 distinct and detailed. L. Respighi 



THE ZOOLOGICAL RECORD FUR 1870 



The Zoological Record for i870y being Vol. VH. of Ihc 

 " Record of Zoological Literature'' Edited by Alfred 

 Newton, F.R.S. (London : published by John Van 

 Voorst, for the Zoological Record Association, 1871.) 

 Pp. 523. 



THE " Record of Zoological Literature" is already so 

 well known to, and so well appreciated by, all 

 students of zoology, that we need only remind our readers 

 of the fact that, after five volumes had been published by 

 Mr. Van Voorst, under the editorship of Dr. Giinther, 

 the publisher found it impossible to continue its publica- 

 tion, the actual yearly loss being something very con- 

 siderable. It is true that the British Association for 

 several years contributed 100/. towards this loss, and that 

 three of the Recorders contributed, during the years that 

 the British Association was so liberal, an equal sum out 

 of their own pockets. Still, the expenses of such a work 

 are so great, and the number of copies sold so small, that 

 we were not surprised at Mr. Van Voorst's decision, nor 

 to find that the present editor was compelled to look to 

 the co-operation of zoologists generally to attain its con- 

 tinued publication ; and it speaks much, not only for his 

 energy, but aUo for the peisonal esteem with which he is 

 regarded, that he could obtain in so short a time upwards 

 of eighty friends who should guarantee 400/. between them 

 towards any loss that might accrue on this, the seventh 

 volume. While we do not pretend to be in the councils 

 of the committee of the Zoological Record Association, 

 nor have we received even so much as a hint on the sub- 

 ject from the secretary, yet we may venture to express 

 our belief that the members, while they will have the con- 

 sciousness of having furthered the publication of this work, 

 will not have to pay very much more for the seventh 

 volume than they had for each of the previous six. 



