September 21, 1905] 



NA TURE 



509 



veil ; the clearest intervals were towards the end of 

 totality. The burst of sunlight from the north-west 

 limb of the sun heralded the end of totality, and thus 

 ended the work of the instruments and the greater 

 majority of the different parties. 



We were all, however, bitterly disappointed. So 

 much trouble had been taken to make everything work 

 with the maximum of efficiencv, but, alas ! with so 



the poles. At the north pole there was a region dis- 

 playing the beautiful rifts seen at best during 

 eclipses at a minimum stage, but at the southern pole 

 no such distinctive structure was seen. Unfortunately 

 the eastern and western limb of the sun were shrouded 

 in thicker haze than the north and south region at 

 the time that I had my longest glance. It was there- 

 fore about the solar poles that the longest streamers 



Mr. F. McClean 

 Fig. 3.— Taken after the \ 



Mr. F. McCle: 



Grating Mr. Howard 



pecttograph. Payn. 



;moved. The i6-feet coronagraph, 



small a result. Prismatic cameras of high dispersive 

 power and prismatic reflectors of long focal length, 

 to say nothing of long-focus lenses for three-colour 

 negatives, are not conducive to good results in a 

 cloudy sky ! 



During the few moments that were available 

 between the exposures of the different plates in my 

 instrument I saw enough of the corona to know what 

 a magnificent sight it would have been had it been 



were seen by me, and two in the south-east quadrant 

 extended for at least two solar diameters. 



The eclipse being over there was then nothing 

 more to do than to collect all the photographic plates- 

 exposed and commence with the packing up of the 

 instruments. It is one thing to set up the instru- 

 ments and another to take them down. By the even- 

 ing of the same day about 50 per cent, of the packing 

 up had been completed. 



Fig. 4. — The 6-inch prismatic c 



a, showing staff and po; 



Cusp 

 telescope. 



and the cusp telescope. 



seen in a cloudless sky. The enormously brilliant red 

 prominence in the north-east quadrant was an un- 

 doubted feature of this eclipse, and nothing like it 

 was seen by me in either the 1898 or igoo eclipses. 

 From several accounts the landscape was illuminated 

 by this red radiating object, and sunset effects were 

 recorded by other observers. 



The corona itself was of the maximum type, 

 streamers radiating in all directions even very near 



NO. 1873, VOL. 72] 



In the cool (?) of the evening the development of 

 the plates was commenced. Those which promised 

 to have some kind of record on them were taken first. 

 To sum up the results, now that the whole set has 

 been developed, it may be said that we have been far 

 more fortunate than was at first anticipated. The 

 prismatic reflector worked by Mr. Butler succeeded 

 in securing an excellent picture of the lower corona, 

 the solar diameter being about 8g inches. The i6-feet 



