Chronicles of Science, [July, 



There will be a total eclipse of the moon, visible at Greenwich, 

 on July 12. The first contact with the penumbra will take place at 

 7h. 46m. p.m., first contact with the shadow at 8h. 45m. Totality 

 will commence at 9h. 44m. and end at llh. 24m. Last contact 

 with the shadow will take place at 12h. 24m., last contact with the 

 penumbra at lh. 22m. on the morning of July 13. On July 27th 

 there will be a partial eclipse of the sun invisible at Greenwich. 



Proceedings of the Astronomical Society. 



Lieut. Herschel, in a paper on " Dark Objects crossing the Solar 

 Disc," describes how he was for some time deceived into the belief 

 that a flight of meteors was crossing the sun's face on October 

 17-18, 1869 ; but at length discovered that the objects he had been 

 watching with so much attention were locusts. 



Mr. Proctor contributes a paper " On the Solar Corona and the 

 Zodiacal Light," with suggestions respecting observations to be 

 made on the total solar eclipse of next December. He exhibits a 

 series of arguments for rejecting the view put forward by Mr. 

 Lockyer that the sun's corona is due simply to atmospheric glare, 

 showing in particular that that portion of the sky on which the 

 corona is projected during total eclipses corresponds to a portion of 

 the atmosphere which is absolutely unilluminated by the sun. He 

 gives reasons for believing the corona to be simply the condensed 

 part of the zodiacal light. Eemarking on Dr. Balfour Stewart's 

 recent suggestion that the zodiacal light may be a terrestrial pheno- 

 menon, he points out that the trade-wind region (to the illumination 

 of which by electric discharges Dr. Stewart ascribes the zodiacal 

 light) occupies (above the horizon-plane of any station) a lamina 

 shaped like a watch-glass, and the whole of this lamina (in other 

 words, the whole sky) should be illuminated if the theory were 

 correct. Were the zodiacal light caused in this way, a " tongue- 

 shaped slip " only of this lamina would be illuminated ; and admit- 

 ting this to be a possible arrangement at any time, we have yet no 

 explanation of the fact that this slip always occupies a region near 

 the ecliptic, or that it rises and sets with the stars. Among the 

 suggestions put forward respecting modes of observing the eclipse, 

 there is one which, remembering the very short duration of totality, 

 seems to be worth consideration. When totality begins, the eye, 

 accustomed to a brighter light, is unable to accommodate itself to 

 the darkness of totality, nor does totality last long enough to admit 

 of a change in this respect. If, however, the eye were kept in dark- 

 ness before totality commenced, there seems little doubt that the 

 observer would be able to employ much more effectually the two 



