June 22, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



587 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



Professor Charles A. Young writes from Prince- 

 ton, N.J., June 13, "I have received from Professor 

 Holden the following telegram, announcing the suc- 

 cess of the eclipse expedition:" ^ 



San Francisco, Cal., June 11. 

 American eclipse expedition arrived at San Francisco, June 11. 

 Holden reports no Vulcan as bright as 6^ magnitude. Hastings's 

 observations prove the corona to be largely a phenomenon of 

 diiTraction by the great change in length of 1474 line on east 

 and west sides of sun. No black lines in corona spectrum but 

 D. Full observations with grating spectroscope, prismatic 

 telescope, and integrating'spectroscope, by Rockwell, Upton, and 

 Brown. Contacts by Preston. English and French parties 

 successful. (Signed) 



E. S. Holden. 



From a fuller telegraphic report in the New-York 

 tribune, it appears that our party reached Caroline 

 Island on April 20, and the French party two days 

 later. The weather was favorable on the day of the 

 eclipse, and all the observations that had been 

 planned were fully carried out. The English observ- 

 ers who accompanied the American party, and to 

 whom all photographic observations were made over, 

 obtained negatives both of the corona and of its 

 spectrum, the latter containing a number of bright 

 lines. They also got a photograph of the reversal of 

 the lines at the beginning and end of totality, and 

 presumably a number of other plates at intermediate 

 stages. 



The French observers obtained photographs of the 

 corona and of the whole region of sky near the sun 

 (showing the stars — or at least taken for that pur- 

 pose, in hopes of thus photographically catching 

 Vulcan). They report dark lines in corona spec- 

 trum. 



Professor Hastings's observations of the change of 

 length in the 1474 line on the east and west sides of 

 the sun relate to a theory recently proposed by him, 

 that the ' apparent corona,' as it may be called, is 

 mainly a diffraction phenomenon, the real corona 

 itself being only a very narrow ring around the sun, 

 optically widened out by diffraction (not refraction) 

 at the edge of the moon into the extensive halo ac- 

 tually observed. Professor Hastings arranged an ap- 

 paratus by which the coronal spectrum on both sides 

 of the sun could be simultaneously observed, and 

 found that at the beginning of the totality the 1474 

 line was 12' long on the east side, while it was short 

 and faint on the west. As the eclipse advanced, this 

 inequality disappeared, and at its close was reversed, 

 the change being much greater than could be ascribed 

 simply to the moon's motion. While the observation 

 accords satisfactorily with the new theory, it is, how- 

 ever, doubtful whether it will be regarded as proving 

 it, since the effect can also be explained simply as a 

 phenomenon of aevial illumination. 



The corona is reported as having been bright, with 



five well-defined streamers, of length not stated. The 

 chromosphere was unusually quiescent. 



Messrs. Brown and Preston were left at Honolulu 

 to make pendulum observations. All the members 

 of the party are reported as in good health. The 

 French party are also expected at San Francisco in 

 a day or two. 



— The instructions of the Greely-relief party have 

 been published. They are to endeavor to reach 

 Greely by ship if possible. The Proteus has been 

 chartered for the occasion. If unsuccessful, they are 

 to winter at Lifeboat Cove, Littleton Island; though 

 why they should get on the side farthest from the 

 party to be rescued is not clear. Sledge-journeys will 

 be made, if practicable, after winter sets in; though 

 the time when Smith's Sound may be crossed by 

 sledges to Cape Isabella cannot be early In the sea- 

 son, and may not present itself at all. ' Three hard- 

 ice men ' are to be taken from St. Johns, and appar- 

 ently will be the only members of the party having 

 any knowledge or experience of the arctic regions, 

 the rest being officers and enlisted men of the U. S. 

 army. As the expedition has been contemplated for 

 a year at least, it seems unfortunate that the expe- 

 rience of Lieut. Schwatka could not have been 

 brought to bear on the outfit and plans. The instruc- 

 tions state that Greely's supplies will be exhausted in 

 the coming autumn, which is a surprise to those who 

 were informed by the public prints, at the time his ex- 

 pedition set out, that he was provisioned for three 

 years. It is evident that the question of rescue is 

 even more grave than has been generally understood, 

 especially when the usual impracticability of cross- 

 ing Lady Franklin Sound on the ice (as established 

 by the Nares expedition) is taken into account. Mr. 

 Beebe will not accompany tlie relief party. The 

 U. S. S. Tantic will accompany the Proteus as tender. 



Messrs. H. G. Dresel and A. A. Ackerman, ensigns, 

 U. S. navy, accompany the Greely relief party to 

 Greenland as naturalists attached to the U. S. S. Yan- 

 tic. Both of these gentlemen have, during the past 

 eight months, been acting as assistants in the U. S. 

 national museum at Washington, the former in the 

 department of fish, the latter in the department of 

 mineralogy. They are mainly equipped for collect- 

 ing marine objects, and interesting results in the line 

 of fish and marine invertebrates are expected from 

 them. 



— Nature states, that at a meeting of the sub- 

 scribers to the Balfour memorial fund, held at Cam- 

 bridge on the 26th inst., it was stated that £8,309 had 

 been promised, all except £100 of which had been 

 paid. Of this, £8,078 had been invested, yielding an 

 annual income of £284 10 s., which it was hoped 

 further subscriptions would raise to £300. Among 

 the regulations agreed to were the . following : the 

 income of the fund shall be applied, (1) to endow a 

 studentship, the holder of which shall devote himself 



