53 
colour of the moon is one of the chief features of a lunar 
eclipse, this point attracted considerable attention. 
Mr. Browning says, in a letter which appeared in the 
Astronomical Register — “ I looked most carefully for colour 
both with the 10 \ silvered glass reflector furnished with 
an achromatic eyepiece of very low power, and also with 
a five-feet refractor; with neither could I detect a trace.” 
Mr. Slack who was also observing with a silvered glass 
reflector, and in the same locality as Mr. Browning says, — 
“ After 12, the eclipsed limb grew noticeably redder, the 
red coppery tint chiefly affected the lower parts of the 
obscured limb, but was visible further in, gradually blending 
with the inky tints presented by the umbra at its advancing 
edge. — (Int. Obs. October.) 
Mr. Weston, observing at Landsdown, near Bath, says, — 
“ The prevailing colours were red-bluish and grey, and 
grey ; the redness increased towards the darkened edge of 
the moon.” — (Monthly Not. 9 — xxvii.) 
Many other observers speak of the presence of colour, but 
on the other hand a few say they did not notice any, the 
eclipsed portion of the moon merely having a darkened 
appearance. 
On this occasion I did not make any Photographs, as I 
could not expect results materially differing from the last, 
and I gave my whole attention to observing the progress of 
the eclipse through the telescope, which is a refractor of 
5 inches aperture. As to the question of the presence of 
colour, I can most distinctly say that colour gave the moon 
a very beautiful appearance, and it seemed to me the most 
interesting feature of the eclipse. The beauty of the moon’s 
surface appeared to increase as the penumbral shadow stole 
over its surface, and until the shadow itself was considerably 
advanced, all the details of the lunar surface could be 
distinctly made out, and during the whole period of the 
eclipse some of the brighter points of light within the 
shadow continued visible, as did also the entire disc with 
