;512 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



Seeing at once that the upheaval was on a somewhat larger scale than that 

 in April last, we daily expected to hear of peculiar disturbance on the earth. We 

 ;had not long to wait. The whole heavens were hung with a drapery of clouds 

 1 until Sunday, November 19th, when the sky became clear, remaining so four 

 hours, during which the spot was closely observed with high magnifying eye- 

 pieces. The disruption was complete ; the jet-black portions of the spot had 

 broken into five huge masses, and another had developed at some distance, 

 though partially submerged by fire. 



At 8:30 A. M. two tongues of flame projected two-thirds the distance across 

 the largest black division, apparently seeking to go across. 



A 9:30 A. M. a jet started out from the opposite side, and extended toward 

 ^he approaching end of the first. It was quite faint for half an hour, then in- 

 creased in brilliancy, and extended further toward the first jet, which was also 

 •drawing nearer. 



At 10:00 A. M. the ends of both flames became very bright and grew larger, 

 with only a narrow line of black space between, when an approach and union 

 seemed ready to take place at any moment. We watched with intense interest 

 to see them unite, when clouds covered the whole celestial vault and remained all 

 •day, putting an end to astronomical observations. For fear of giving wrong im- 

 pressions as to the rapidity of these movements, we will say that the tongues or 

 jets of fire moved about as fast in the focus of the telescope as the hour-hand of 

 a clock; we cannot see the motion, but after an interval of five minutes one can 

 discern displacement. 



But instances are on record in works on solar physics where the most rapid 

 movements have been seen, such as explosions and sudden outbursts of flames. 

 On October 7, 1880, Professor C. A. Young saw an outburst which hurled solar 

 matter vertically to a height of 350,000 miles. At 10:30 A. M. the jet was 40,- 

 000 miles high; at 11:00 A. M. 80,000, and at noon the enormous altitude of 

 more than 250,000 miles was attained, while at 12:30 P. M. the column of fire 

 had subsided back again into the flames of the Sun. The velocity of ascent in 

 this case was sixty-six miles per second, although in other cases a velocity of 200 

 miles per second has been observed. 



Besides the five divisions in the great spot of November 15-19, 1882, we 

 counted 108 in close proximity. Whenever we observe a large spot we are near- 

 ly always sure of finding many others around the edges. This great cluster then 

 contained 113 distinct black spots, while on other portions of the Sun twenty- 

 three more were to be seen. It is one of nature's mysteries why a solar upheaval 

 should be followed by unrest upon the earth. Yet since the invention of mag- 

 netographs and spectroscopes proof seems conclusive. The magnetic or electric 

 impulse requires but little time to traverse the mighty void between the Sun and 

 Earth, as almost instantly after an outburst is observed on the Sun with a tele- 

 :spectroscope the instruments in magnetic observatories autoihatically record vio- 

 lent displacement. 



On August 5, 1872, Professor Young beheld a powerful disruption on the 



