1889.] Bright Carbon Fluting s in Spectra of Celestial Bodies. 39 



and the tables which I have given show that nebulae, bright-line 

 stars, stars with mixed flutings, and the aurora have spectra closely 

 resembling those of comets, and are therefore probably also meteorifcic 

 phenomena. 



II. "The Presence of Bright Carbon Flutings in the Spectra 

 of Celestial Bodies." By J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S. 

 Keceived November 23, 1889. 



One of the chief conclusions arrived at in my former papers was 

 that not only the nebulae but many of the so-called stars are really 

 sparse groups of meteorites, the latter only differing from the former 

 by the fact that they are more condensed. I also pointed out that if 

 this conclusion were correct the spectra of both these classes of 

 bodies should approximate to those of comets, in which carbon radia- 

 tion is one of the chief features, while their meteoritic nature is 

 generally accepted. Since those papers were written a further in- 

 quiry has been made, both by looking through the records of past 

 observations, and by additional observations at Kensington and 

 Westgate, with a view of gaining more information as to the presence 

 or absence of bright carbon flutings in the spectra of nebulae and 

 stars. 



Certain results have already been obtained which I think suffici- 

 ently interesting to communicate to the Society. Before these ob- 

 servations were made, I suggested that some of Vogel's observations 

 might be interpreted to signify bright carbon, but there was then a 

 little doubt as to the existence of the bright flutings in the stellar 

 spectra, as their presence was only suggested in some cases by slight 

 rises in the light curves. 



The following is a list of the bodies which contain either one or 

 both of the carbon flutings near 517 and 468 — 474, the latter being 

 a group of flutings, which, as I have before shown,* sometimes has 

 its point of maximum brightness shifted from 474 to 468. The 

 fluting near 564 has been omitted from the table, as it is generally 

 masked, either by continuous spectrum or by the superposition of 

 the fluting of manganese near 558. The wave-lengths given are as 

 measured by the various observers stated. 



The spectrum of the aurora is added for the sake of completeness. 



It will be seen from the table that the record of the presence of 

 carbon is unbroken from a planetary nebula through stars with 

 bright lines to those resembling a Herculis, i.e., entirely through 

 Groups I and II of my classification. 



* « Roy. Soc. Proc.,' vol. 35, p. 167. 



