1882.] On the Recent and Coming Total Solar Eclipses. 29a 



Fig. 2. 



sun, the lines "will be continuous down to the spectrum of the son 

 seen below as shown. 



6. Now take three concentric envelopes, A, B, C (fig. 3), so that 

 only A rests on the photosphere, B rests on A, and C on B. The 



Fig. 3. 



phenomena will in the main be the same as in the former case, i.e., the 

 line C will still appear to rest on the spectrum of the photosphere, for 

 it will be fed, so to speak, from C and C", though absent along the 

 line CBA at B and A. So also with B. 



7. Thus much having been premised with regard to the observations 

 as conditioned by the fact that we are observing a sphere, we can now 

 proceed to note how the two hypotheses deal with the facts. 



Old Hypothesis. New Hypothesis. 



1. The spectrum of each ele- The spectra should not resemble 

 ment as seen in our laboratories each other, 

 should be exactly represented in 

 the solar spectrum. 



