May 2, 1912] 
NATURE 
221 
predominating in intensity. Both these sets 
of strings of “beads” travelled, or rather were 
successively formed, until they almost met in the 
middle of the limb in the south-west quadrant. 
Unfortunately I could not observe any longer, 
as I had previously arranged at this stage to 
move a lever on my Thorp grating camera to 
expose a plate for one second; thus my attention 
had to be turned to the instrument. When I 
looked up again, about two seconds afterwards, 
the sunlight had just begun to break out in the 
south-western quadrant. 
The accompanying sketch (Fig. 3) illustrates 
approximately the conditions I observed just 
previous to the beginning of the annular phase. 
The impression I gained was that the eclipse, 
from our point of observation, must have been 
very nearly if not actually central. 
Mr. Frank McClean, who was likewise observ- 
ing, also concluded that the eclipse was central; 
he recorded prominences at about 9, 1, and 7.30 
o'clock, and estimated the duration as two or 
three seconds. 
Mr. W. N. McClean observed two prominences, 
one at 8 o’clock and the other at half-past one, 
and both were visible, according to him, “some 
time before Baily’s beads flashed out round the 
dark are.” The eclipse “appeared to be quite 
central, and the duration of darkness about two 
seconds.” 
Our attention being fixed on the immediate 
region of the sun, no observations were made of 
stars, planets, shadow-bands, or such like pheno- 
mena. 
Since my return to London, Dr. Crommelin 
kindly communicated to me the position of his 
predicted line of central eclipse, and this I have 
inserted in Fig. 1. This line, it will be seen, lies 
a little to the north of that representing the 
American prediction. Dr. Crommelin saw the 
eclipse well from a station on the road from St. 
Germain-en-Laye, just north-west of the railway 
crossing, and in the above mentioned communica- 
tion he says, “But from the actual result I think 
that the true line was nearer the ‘American 
Ephemeris’ line than my line.” 
Wriuiam J. S. Lockyer. 
French Observations of the Eclipse. 
In the Comptes rendus for April 22 (No. 17) there 
are seventeen papers giving accounts of the observa- 
tions made, chiefly by French observers, during the 
eclipse of the sun which took place on April 17, but 
in the following notes we can only refer to some of 
the more important results. 
M. Deslandres organised a very complete set of 
observations at Meudon, and also despatched 
observers to Grignon, where M. Bernard used a 
large spectrograph with a circular slit fed by a 
ccelostat, and other members of the expedition took 
direct photographs of the sun through red screens. 
At both stations excellent results were secured. 
At Meudon M. Perot’s attempt to measure the 
rotational velocity of the corona was frustrated by 
the fact that he could only be sure of measuring the 
wave-length of the green corona line on the west 
NO. 2218, VoL. 89] 
side of the sun, 1’ from the limb just before the 
maximum phase. By a rapid setting he found the 
wave-length to be 5303-7, the value published by Sir 
Norman Lockyer. 
The spectroheliograms secured show that, although 
there were no spots or faculz on the disc, there was 
considerable activity, in the form of prominences and 
dark filaments, in the upper layers of the solar atmo- 
sphere, especially near the poles. M. Deslandres sug- 
gests that at sun-spot minimum the activity is 
transferred from the lower to the higher layers and 
| latitudes. 
The positions, dimensions, and intensities of the 
chief prominences shown on the photographs in 
“K” (calcium) light, taken with the smaller spectro- 
ae at 8h. 56m., are shown in the following 
table :-— 
Latitude E. or W. Breadth Height Intensity 
o e 4“ (1-5) 
22N. E I 40 a I 
47 N. E 3 75 4 
17 N. W. 2 10 2 
5319, B. 2°5 50 5 
47 S. W 15 60 5 
28 S. W 7 30 3 
I2/S. se W 2 25 2 
It will be seen that the largest prominence 
(47° S.) was duplicated by one diametrically opposite, 
and it will be interesting to see the coronal extensions 
in these localities if such have been photographed. 
Photographs taken with the  spectroheliographe 
polychrome show that the congeries of particles 
were more intense thereabouts than in the neigh- 
bouring regions, and a similar intensification is 
shown on the plates taken with the large spectro- 
heliograph, using the green coronal line. 
At Grignon the red-screen photographs show the 
larger prominences, but no details attributable solely 
to the corona. The photographs with the large 
photoheliograph are 10 in. in diameter, and should 
furnish exact measures of position; the central line 
was obviously south of the observing station at 
Grignon. 
M. Bigourdan gives a chart of the positions of his 
several instruments at Cormeilles-en-Parisis, and 
finds that he was very near the central line; this 
was in longitude 0° 7’ 20” W. of Paris, and latitude 
48° 58’ 55” N., the altitude being 163 m. Baily’s 
beads were very fine, and frequently the horns of the 
decreasing solar crescent were completely detached 
a Aa interposition of irregularities on the moon’s 
imb. 
A little before second contact M. Bigourdan 
believed he saw the exterior edge of the dark moon 
projected against the lower corona or the upper 
chromosphere. M.  Eysséric, who _ successfully 
observed shadow bands at the 1905 eclipse, was un- 
able to detect any on this occasion. 
In addition to those actually observing at the 
observatory itself, the Paris Observatory had several 
parties located at various points along the eclipse 
path, and the results secured were so numerous and 
various in character that but a small part of them 
may be briefly mentioned here. It appears certain, 
however, that nowhere in Europe was the eclipse 
definitely total. Even in Portugal, M. Salet reports, 
Baily’s beads were to be seen around the moon 
throughout the whole of the maximum phase, and no 
one at Ovar saw the corona; he was located near 
the Bay of Aveiro. Messrs. Slater and Worthington, 
located about 1-5 km. north of Ovar, saw it for the 
fraction of a second, and thus it would appear that 
the ‘“‘Connaissance des Temps” line was too far 
south. M. Salet’s report would place the central line 
