﻿462 
  MR 
  WILLIAM 
  SWAN 
  ON 
  THE 
  

  

  servations 
  of 
  the 
  late 
  eclipse 
  lead 
  to 
  the 
  conclusion, 
  that 
  the 
  cloudy 
  matter 
  com- 
  

   posing 
  them 
  is 
  diffused 
  over 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  sun, 
  to 
  an 
  extent 
  much 
  greater 
  

   than 
  probably 
  has 
  hitherto 
  been 
  suspected. 
  This 
  appears 
  from 
  the 
  following 
  

   facts 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  Mr 
  Hind,* 
  Mr 
  DAWEs,f 
  and 
  Mr 
  Good,! 
  who 
  were 
  situated 
  near 
  the 
  southern 
  

   edge 
  of 
  the 
  moon's 
  shadow, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  witness 
  a 
  nearly 
  tangential 
  eclipse, 
  saw 
  a 
  long 
  

   range 
  of 
  red 
  prominences 
  extending, 
  with 
  little 
  interruption, 
  over 
  nearly 
  a 
  third 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  moon's 
  limb. 
  Observers 
  who 
  were 
  situated 
  near 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  sha- 
  

   dow 
  failed 
  to 
  see 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  long 
  range 
  or 
  sierra, 
  which, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  

   effects 
  of 
  parallax, 
  was 
  probably 
  almost 
  entirely 
  hid 
  from 
  them 
  by 
  the 
  moon 
  ; 
  but 
  

   they 
  saw 
  isolated 
  prominences, 
  which 
  were 
  distributed 
  pretty 
  uniformly 
  all 
  round 
  

   the 
  moon's 
  circumference. 
  A 
  band 
  of 
  red 
  light 
  on 
  the 
  moon's 
  limb, 
  which 
  pre- 
  

   ceded 
  the 
  reappearance 
  of 
  the 
  sun, 
  was 
  likewise 
  seen 
  by 
  Professor 
  Chevallier, 
  

   Lieutenant 
  Pettersson, 
  Mr 
  Jackson, 
  and 
  Mr 
  Gray 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  similar 
  fringe 
  of 
  red 
  

   light 
  was 
  observed 
  by 
  Halley 
  at 
  the 
  total 
  solar 
  eclipse 
  of 
  1715.§ 
  In 
  describing 
  

   this 
  remarkable 
  phenomenon, 
  Lieutenant 
  Pettersson 
  relates, 
  that 
  " 
  about 
  5 
  s 
  before 
  

   the 
  reappearance" 
  of 
  the 
  sun, 
  he 
  " 
  saw 
  along 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  moon, 
  just 
  where 
  he 
  

   expected 
  the 
  sun" 
  to 
  reappear, 
  "a 
  red 
  fringe 
  of 
  rose 
  colour," 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  hook- 
  

   shaped 
  prominence, 
  to 
  which 
  reference 
  has 
  so 
  often 
  been 
  made 
  already, 
  " 
  seemed 
  

   to 
  rest, 
  and 
  of 
  which 
  it 
  seemed 
  a 
  part."|| 
  

  

  Obviously, 
  the 
  simplest 
  view 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  taken 
  of 
  this 
  phenomenon, 
  is 
  to 
  re- 
  

   gard 
  the 
  red 
  fringe 
  and 
  the 
  red 
  prominences 
  as 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  nature 
  ; 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  

   observations 
  will 
  then 
  confirm 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  the 
  matter 
  composing 
  those 
  objects 
  

   is 
  distributed 
  all 
  round 
  the 
  sun. 
  It 
  therefore 
  seems 
  probable, 
  that 
  when 
  we 
  are 
  

   furnished 
  with 
  observations 
  of 
  a 
  tangential 
  phase 
  of 
  the 
  eclipse 
  from 
  stations 
  on 
  

   the 
  north 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  moon's 
  shadow, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  that 
  a 
  sierra 
  appeared 
  to- 
  

   wards 
  the 
  sun's 
  north 
  point, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  detached 
  prominences 
  seen 
  in 
  that 
  

   region, 
  by 
  observers 
  situated 
  near 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  moon's 
  shadow, 
  were 
  only 
  

   the 
  highest 
  peaks. 
  

  

  Now, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  phenomena 
  exhibited 
  by 
  the 
  spots 
  on 
  the 
  sun, 
  

   it 
  has 
  been 
  supposed 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  portions 
  of 
  his 
  comparatively 
  dark 
  body, 
  seen 
  

  

  * 
  Notice 
  of 
  R. 
  Ast. 
  Soc. 
  for 
  Jan. 
  1852, 
  p. 
  67- 
  f 
  lb., 
  p. 
  69. 
  

  

  | 
  Edinburgh 
  New 
  Philosophical 
  Journal 
  for 
  Oct. 
  1851 
  ; 
  or 
  Astron. 
  Nachrichten, 
  No. 
  777. 
  

  

  § 
  Phil. 
  Trans., 
  vol. 
  xxix. 
  

  

  || 
  Notice 
  of 
  R. 
  Ast. 
  Soc, 
  p. 
  59. 
  

  

  A 
  red 
  fringe 
  also 
  appeared 
  towards 
  the 
  beginning 
  and 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  total 
  phase 
  at 
  the 
  eclipse 
  of 
  

   1842. 
  Thus 
  M. 
  Schumacher, 
  who 
  witnessed 
  the 
  eclipse 
  at 
  Vienna, 
  relates, 
  — 
  " 
  Peu 
  de 
  temps 
  avant 
  

   la 
  fin 
  de 
  l'eclipse 
  totale, 
  il 
  s'eleva 
  vers 
  cette 
  partie 
  du 
  disque 
  lunaire 
  d'ou 
  devait 
  jaillir 
  le 
  premiere 
  

   rayon 
  de 
  lumiere, 
  une 
  etroite 
  couche 
  d'un 
  rouge 
  rose 
  qui 
  s'etendait, 
  peut-etre, 
  sur 
  un 
  espace 
  de 
  70 
  

   a 
  80 
  degres 
  le 
  long 
  du 
  bord 
  de 
  la 
  lune, 
  et 
  qui 
  disparut, 
  ainsi 
  que 
  Tanneau 
  lumineux 
  et 
  les 
  montagnes 
  

   rouges, 
  aussitot 
  que 
  le 
  premiere 
  rayon 
  du 
  soleil 
  jaillit." 
  — 
  Annuaire 
  for 
  1846, 
  p. 
  433. 
  

  

  M. 
  Struve 
  remarks. 
  — 
  " 
  Je 
  crois 
  avoir 
  vu, 
  un 
  instant 
  avant 
  la 
  dispai-ition 
  du 
  dernier 
  rayon 
  

   solaire, 
  une 
  couche 
  rouge 
  au 
  bord 
  de 
  la 
  lune, 
  a 
  45 
  degres 
  environ 
  du 
  point 
  ou 
  le 
  soleil 
  disparaissait. 
  ,, 
  

   —Ibid, 
  p. 
  437. 
  

  

  