

1855.] 



THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 1854. 



177 



TORONTO, MARCH, 1855. 



The Solar Eclipse of May 26th, 1854. 



Extract from the Minutes of the Council of the Canadian Itistiiuie. 



^'Resolved, That Professors Cherriman and Irving be ap- 

 pointed a Committee to draw up instructions for general 

 distribution relative to the approaching Solar Eclipse." 



Supplementary Report of tlic above Committee* 



Read before the Iiistilute, January \Zth, 1855. 



appointed by the Council of the Canadian 

 up suggestions for observers of the Solar 



The Committee 

 ■ Institute to draw 



Eclipse of May 26, 1854, having received from several stations 

 in Canada accounts of observations made with reference to the 

 instractions published by order of the Institute, have thought 

 it advisable to lay them before the Institute in a connected 

 form, and at the same time, as several of the phenomena men- 

 tioned in their former I'cport have escaped observation, it 

 appeared desirable to enter at some length into the grounds on 

 which these phenomena were expected to occur and to examine 

 the probable cause of their not having been observed. Many 

 of the points thus involved are of considerable general interest, 

 and the explanation of them is in some cases not easy and even 

 doubtful; neither is information regarding them very accessible : 

 your Committee, therefore, will claim the indulgence of the 

 Institute while discussing these points with a minuteness, which 

 might be tedious and superfluous were they addressing professed 

 astronomers, but which may not be deemed improper in oifering 

 to amateur-observers the received or probable explanations of 

 the points in question. 



Notices of observations have been received from the following 

 stations : — 



1. Kingston, by Lieut. Col. Baron de Kottenburg and Fred. 

 J. Rowan, Esq., from a position contiguous to Murney's tower. 

 Mr. Rowan used a small telescope, by Troughton & Sims, 

 attached to a transit theodolite; Baron de Rottenburg a telescope 

 by Dolland, three and a quarter feet focal length, with an object 

 glass two and a quarter inches. The mean time was obtained 

 from several double altitudes of the sun taken on the days 

 preceding the eclipse and continued up to the day itself by Blr. 

 Rowan. The watches used were of a description to be depended 

 upon, with a probable error of three or four seconds only. The 

 register of the thermometers was carefully attended to by the 

 Messrs. Williams, of Kingston ; one thermometer was placed 

 in sunshine, the other kept in the shade ; the one placed in 

 sunshine had its bulb blackened. The da_y througliout was 

 most serene and cloudless, and highly favourable in all respects. 

 2. At St. Martin, Isle .Je.sus, !Montreal,by Dr. Chas. Smallwood, 

 who contributes a scries of physical observations made at inter- 

 vals of fifteen minutes. It is to be regretted that the day was 

 unfavourable, and thus diminished the importance which the 

 excellence of the instruments and Dr. Smallwood's well known 

 experience and skill would have given to such a series. He 

 observes, " Clouds (Cum. Strat.) had been somewhat heavy for 

 some hours previous, but a few minutes before four o'clock they 

 cleared away and left the first contact visible, and remained so 

 Vol. ITT., No. S, March. 1855. 



with light clouds occasionally pa.s.sing over the sun's disc until 

 after the greatest obscuration. The final contact was obscui'cd 

 by dense (Stratus) clouds which continued until Oh. -45m., when 

 the sun re-appeared under its usual aspect." 



.3. Toronto, the Observatory, by Sergeant Jas. Walker, Cor- 

 poral A. Stewart, and Gunner James Lily, R.A. Physical 

 observations were taken every five minutes with the Observatory 

 instruments, under the usual precautions. The small portable 

 Azimuth-transit telescope was used for noting the times of 

 contact, which were given by the Observatory Chronometer 

 (2393), whose error and rate were known. The day was in 

 every respect favourable. 



4. Prescott, C.W., by the members of the sub-committee, 

 Sergeant Thos. Menzics, R.A., Mr. Ed. Fitzgerald, B.A., and 

 Mr. William Cooper. The telescopes employed were a two-feet 

 Gregorian reflector, by Watkins & Hill, four inches diameter, 

 and a three and a half feet refractor, bj' Dunn, with two and 

 three quarter inches aperture. The magnifying power employed 

 in each was forty. The time was given by an excellent portable 

 chronometer by Arnold, whose error and rate for Toronto were 

 known, an approximate allowance of 15»)i. 20s. being made for 

 the difference of longitude between Prescott and Toronto. The 

 observations were made on the West Bastion of the Fort which 

 is situated on a gentle rising ground to the east of Prescott. 

 The day was very favourable, the sky being perfectly cloudless, 

 though a boisterous wind interfered with the steadiness of the 

 telescopes. 



5. Observations were also attempted at Montreal, by Lieut. 

 A. Noble, R.A., but were prevented bj^ clouds. 



TJte following table gives the times of occurrence of the various phases 

 at the stations named. 



Local times of.. 



Kinp:.';t*^n. 



Lat.4iO-^^N.? 



Long. 76°-iOMV.» 



Toronto. 

 Lat. 43°<i9'-4 N. 

 Long. 790-2r W. 



Pre-scott.* 



Lat. 44042' N.? 



Long.75°^l'-5S"W? 



Eclipse annular Irnti Partial, eleven |Annularandnear!y 

 not central. I di^^its obscured 1 central. 



Commencement of Eclipse 



h, m. .?. 

 3 57 IS 



h. m. X. 

 3. 44 42-5 



/i. m. 5. 

 m 4 03 17 It 

 (2) 4 03 19-5/ 





6 12 38 



(1) 5 17 09-2 1 



(2) 5 17 09-0 / 









5 15 42 ( 



(1) 5 21 02-5 1 



(2) Misse*. ; 







.6 22 25 



U 07-7 



(1) 27 OS-5 1 



(2) 27 05-8 / 





The astronomical application of these limes is to furnish, by 

 comparison of numerous other stations, corrections to the tables 

 of the sun and moon, and also to give approximately the diffe- 

 rences of longitude of the stations themselves; but to enter into 

 these particulars does not fall within the scope of the present 

 paper. 



The following tables embrace the Meteorological Observations 

 forwarded from the different stations : — 



* No. (1), Refracting telescope, J. B. C. ; No. (2) Reflector, G. C. I. 



t This obscnation is too late, n violent gust of wind at tbnt time 



slinking the telescopes ."so ns to render distinct vision impossible. 



