166 



The Planet Jupiter, 



April] 



k. m. s. 5 The Moon's border had slightly im- 



At 10 6 40 M. T, pinged upon the limb of the planet. 



r The Moon's border as well as I could 

 \ judge had reached the centre of the Pla- 



At 10 7 7 net, but the figure of the latter was so dis- 



J torted that the observation cannot be de- 

 (. pended upon to 5 seconds. 



At 10 8 17 8S ^ The Planet was totally occulted, obser- 



} vation correct to one tenth of a second. 



Barometer 30.118 — light breeze from the S. E. air 



hazy. 



Thermometer 81-2 



Wet bulb do 7&S 



During the latter part of the observation the distortion 

 continued, exhibiting at 5 seconds before the total occulta- 

 tion a thread of light three quarters of the diameter of the 

 planet in length and much more obtuse at the apex than 

 the ordinary figure of Jupiter. 



The occultation of the 4th Satellite for which I very 

 carefully watched, could not be observed in consequence of 

 its extreme faintness ; when within 1 or 2"^ of the Moon's 

 border it several times disappeared altogether, and after 3 

 or 4 seconds again became distinctly visible, the other Sa- 

 tellites during these intervals did not undergo the slightest 

 change in brilliancy, but on arriving within 2^ or 3^ of the 

 Moon's border the same phenomena occurred. 



The attention of Astronomers has of late years been par- 

 ticularly directed to the observation of planetary occulta- 

 tions from a desire to satisfy doubts which at present exist 

 %vith regard to th e lunar atmosphere ; from the above ob- 

 servations it appears highly probable that the Moon is sur- 

 rounded by an atmosphere, and that its extent is not less 

 than that of our Earth's : the nature of the observation how- 

 ever (which is prolonged only during a few seconds) leav- 

 ing no time for consideration or measurement, will neces- 

 sarily for a long time to come leave us in doubt on this 

 head, in the mean time 



I beg to remain, 



very sincerely yours, 

 T. G. Taylor, 

 H. C. Astronomer, 

 Madras Observatory, lith March, 1835. 



