74 Messrs. Huggins and Miller on Specira of Fixed Stars. 
sphere. The spectra of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and 
Venus, agree essentially with the solar spectrum. Differences 
however exist which cannot be due to the earth’s atmosphere. 
The evidence afforded by the prism of the existence of atmos- 
pros around these planets is imperfect. This may be explained 
Y supposing the light to be reflected from masses of clouds in. 
the upper strata of thin atmospheres, and not from the surface 
of the planets, 
Observations on the Fixed Stars—The number of fixed stars 
which we have, to a greater or less extent, examined amounts 
these it may be advantageous to compare the spectra of addi- 
tional metals when the season is again favorable. 
« Tauri (Aldebaran).—The light of this star is of a pale red. 
hen viewed in the spectroscope, numerous strong lines are at 
once evident, particularly in the orange, the green, and the blue 
portions. The positions of about seventy of these lines have 
en measured. 
¥ ey : ’ 
the observations, to believe coincidence was most likely to occur. 
Nine of these spectra exhibited lines coincident with certain lines 
in the spectrum of the star. They are as follows :—sodium, mag- 
nesium, hydrogen, calcium, tron, bismuth, tellurium, antimony, and 
- Seven other elements were compared with this star, viz. nitro- 
gen, cobalt, tin, lead, cadmium, lithium, and barium. No coinci- 
line, with tin five lines, with /ead two strong lines, with cadmium 
ines, with barium two of the strongest in the green, and 
with lithium the line in the orange, but were found to be with- 
out any strong lines in the star-spectrum corresponding with 
them. 
e 
« Orionis.—The light of this star has a decided orange tinge. 
None of the stars which we have examined exhibits a more 
complex or remarkable spectrum than this, 
_ The spectra obtained from sixteen elementary bodies were ob- 
served simultaneously with it. In five of these, viz. sodium, 
magnesium, calctum, tron, and bismuth, lines corresponding with 
certain stellar lines were found to exist. 
The bright green line so characteristic of thallium appears to 
coincide with one of the lines seen in the star-spectrum; but this 
