222 Fresh Notes on the Grater Linne. 



Secchi on Linne. 



Father Secchi has sent to the French Academy a letter 

 dated from Borne, 14th Feb., 1867, in which he says, "On the 

 evening of the 10th, between nine and ten o'clock, the crater 

 (Linne) entered into the sun's light, and close by the limiting 

 circle a small prominent point was seen with a little shadow, 

 and round this point an irregular circular corona, very flattened. 

 The weakness of the light and the proximity of the moon to 

 the horizon did not allow the observations to be prolonged. 

 On the 11th, in the evening-, Linne had already advanced into 

 the light, and at seven o'clock, a very small crater was distinctly 

 seen, surrounded by a brilliant white aureole, which glittered 

 against the dark ground of M. Serenitatis. The size of the 

 orifice of the crater was at most ~ of a second, and the aureole 

 was a little larger than Sulpicius Gallus. I insist on this com- 

 parison because it shows that Beer and Madler could never 

 have figured a crater as big and as well-marked as that which 

 they assigned to Linne, for the white spot which at present 

 exists ; in fact Sulpicius Gallus is actually much larger than the 

 little crater which forms the centre of the spot. This last is 

 even smaller than those craters which are indicated merely by 

 letters, without names, and which are distributed at great 

 distances in M. Serenitatis. It cannot be doubted that a 

 change has taken place, and it seems probable that an eruption 

 has filled the ancient crater with a material white enough to 

 look bright against the dark ground of the sea." 



