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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
photographs were taken, showing an extensive corona, with persistent rifts. 
M. Janssen telegraphs that the spectrum of the corona demonstrates the 
existence of matter outside the solar atmosphere. 
The spectroscopic observations will probably prove to be scarcely less 
important than the photographic work. Colonel Tennant, in particular, 
announces the complete confirmation of Professor Young’s observation, that 
hundreds of the Fraunhofer lines — if not all — are reversed at the moment 
of totality. It may now be accepted as certain that the true solar atmo- 
sphere lies above the photosphere, and not below, as Mr. Lockyer supposed. 
This, indeed, was accepted as demonstrated, by nearly all who read Professor 
Young’s account of his observation. But it seems to be becoming a rule 
that all facts relating to the solar surroundings should be demonstrated two 
or three times before being definitely accepted. 
Records of former Total Eclipses.— A. most important addition has been 
made to our knowledge respecting the phenomena of eclipses by the collec- 
tion of all narratives and pictures relating to the eclipse of December 1870, 
and to the “ Himalaya ” eclipse of 1860. This work has been mainly carried 
out by Mr. A. C. Ranyard, one of the honorary secretaries of the Organising 
Committee for the former eclipse. We understand that great light has been 
thrown on the question of the corona (so lately a vexata qucestio ), by the 
comparison of a vast array of pictures. 
But then the Treasury unfortunately declines to sanction any expenditure 
of the public money for publishing these valuable records, embodying not 
only the results obtained by the two expeditions which the Government 
was good enough to assist, but also the fruits of many months of patient 
labour. Surely the capacity of our Government for “ declining to sanction’’ 
is worthy of attention — not, perhaps, altogether admiring. 
Amazing Solar Outburst. — On September 7, 1871, Professor Young, the 
eminent American spectroscopist, whose discoveries during the American 
and Mediterranean eclipses have been honoured by such careful European 
confirmation, observed the most remarkable solar eruption yet witnessed by 
astronomers. The circumstances are detailed elsewhere in these pages. It 
is probable that they will receive confirmation ere long ; but in the mean 
time they may be received without a particle of hesitation by all who are 
not working in the same field. 
The Solar Corona. — In the second part of his paper on this subject (sup- 
plementary number of the u Monthly Notices ”) Mr. Proctor considers the 
evidence derived from the microscopic and chemical analyses of meteorites 
in favour of the theory that matter is propelled from our sun and his fellow 
suns in such sort as to pass away beyond their domain. Combining this 
evidence with Zollner’s observations of brilliant linear hashes passing over 
the whole length of the dull spectrum on which the prominences are seen 
by Dr. Huggins’s method, and with the results of the researches of De la 
Hue, Stewart, and Loewy into the behaviour of the solar photosphere, he 
infers that there is sufficient reason for considering with attention the erup- 
tion theory of the corona. The bearing of Professor Young’s observation on 
this somewhat startling theory will at once be recognised. At the last 
meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society Mr. Proctor read a paper dis- 
cussing this point ) and afterwards Mr. Ranyard mentioned that Professor 
