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the lower part I saw only one of these long sheafs. With Arago's polariscope, already directed very near the sun, I ascertained that the two images were not of equal brilliancy, and that the corona in one was lengthened in one direction, and in the other in a direction perpendicular to the first, but I could only give some seconds to their examination. Returning to the telescope, I regarded for an instant the imposing scene which was then displayed in all its majesty. The moon perfectly black showed itself with all the glory of its rays, which appeared lengthened below and to extend out to the distance of two solar diameters. The heavens were of a light ash color, but not of threatening aspect. Near objects were plunged into feeble twilight contrasting with distant objects not yet in shadow. All this unique scene remains profoundly engraven on my mind; the solemnity of the spectacle appeared forcibly to impress the assistants, who, though numerous, all remained in perfect silence. Not to.lose these precious moments I returned immediately to the telescope. The aspect of the sun was much changed. The two great protuberances of which I have spoken had already disappeared, and a great number of others appeared from on all sides of the sun (this moment corresponding to the middle of the total obscuration), I was for an instant embarrassed to decide which to select for measurement of their angle of position; for it was useless to measure the size, which changed while looking at it. With the mechanism of the micrometer in a few seconds I determined six-although I counted at least ten-there was hardly any part of the surface of the disc where there was not a point, they seemed regularly distributed. These are the angles taken in reckoning from east to northwest. South: 39′0°, 75.0°, 116.0°, 173.0°, 211-3°, 310.0°.

A greater brilliancy of the corona on one side announced that the sun was emerging, then in directing my attention to this side I was astonished to see a very large number of very small protuberances, and above all of them a red cloud entirely detached which was suspended and separate from the rest and from the lunar margin by a marked white space. Its figure was elongated, about 30" of length to 3" of width, and its form somewhat tortuous and sharp at the extremities (I called to my companions to witness this). This cloud was not alone. I had the conviction that it was accompanied with many others which rested at nearly the same level as a series of cirrus. Their color was that of the protuberances, only a little more distinct.

During all this the number of protuberances increased greatly upon this side and soon assumed a continuous arc formed like a saw, which extended at least to 60° of the circumference, and which gradually lengthened while its central part increased in width and brilliancy. The purple color mingled with the white in gradual transition until the white became so strong that the eye could not sustain it; the protuberances then disappeared.

The sun then began to shine in the heavens like a point of true electric light, and made a singular contrast with the corona still remaining, and which (by hiding with my hand the bright part) I could see for 40 seconds longer. That which most struck me in the circumstances, was the immense quantity of red protuberances and their distribution; so

that one could absolutely say they enveloped the sun. Those commonly observed are only the summit of the most elevated, and without doubt it is only in certain favorable circumstances that we can see the sun entirely crowned by them. This corona of light prevented accurate observations of time, and it would give a different solar diameter according to the depth of shade of glass employed.

The time of total obscuration was found by M. Cayetano de Aguilar to be 3m 118, but it passed like a moment and seemed to us, at the most, not more than two minutes.

My convictions upon the nature of that which I saw are that the phenomena were real and that I truly saw the flames in the solar atmosphere and clouds suspended in these flames; it would be impossible to imagine anything else, as for example, that it might be some phenomena of diffraction or refraction.

The clear graduation and distinct mingling of the peach blossom colored light with the white photosphere was of a character so distinct that it can never be mistaken by any phenomena of interference, of refraction, or any illusion whatever. I do not doubt that it really appertains to the sun, and the structure of these suspended clouds tends to strengthen my conviction. As regards the part of the corona more remote and those long bundles of rays, the thing does not appear to me so certain : they have too much the aspect of those seen through the clouds at sunset. Yet it is important to distinguish from these the true corona which was continued much beyond the protuberances.

M. Cepeda, however, who made his observations with an excellent telescope, having a large field, assures me that he saw a bundle of rays, curved and branched like the horns of a stag, at the upper part.

All these observations have been confirmed by photography.

The director, M. Antonio de Aguilar, had brought, for making the solar photographs, the large telescope of Cauchoix, mounted upon a solid cast iron foot, furnished with clock-work. Besides numerous proofs of the entire sun, he took 14 impressions on a larger scale, and 5 of the natural size of the focal image, 23 millimeters in diameter, and which represent all the phases of the phenomena. The examination of these photographs will be made under more favorable circumstances with proper instruments. At present, I will only say that the times of exposure varied from from 3s to 30s, that all the images are solarized in the protuberances, but the corona has an intensity differing according to the time. There was not the same intensity throughout but the most vivid parts do not correspond to the protuberances.

We notice also a greater intensity in the chain of protuberances toward the first and the last instant of total occultation. The force of the light of the protuberances is such that one impression is become triple by a momentary jar of the telescope. In this delicate operation M. Monserat, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Valentia, was charged with all photographic operations, and my compeer, P. Vinader, took charge of the regulation of the telescope. This communication has already become so long that I omit ordinary observations, and will only say that the light was strong enough to enable one to distinguish small objects, and to read without difficulty ordinary books, and without

seeking I saw Jupiter, Venus, and some other luminaries. A portion of this light may have proceeded from the reflection of a thunder cloud, a short distance from and feebly lighted by the sun.

I give the result of the observations made with the thermomultiplier of Melloni by M. Botella, inspector of mines. In general the progress was very regular, as the figures show:

A very sensitive declinometer of Jones, observed hourly by M. Mayo, engineer, showed no disturbance. Professor Barreda observed the solar spectrum at my request, and will give his report thereon in a special

memoir.

4. On the polarization of the light of the corona, and of the red protuberances, in total solar eclipses.-M. PRAZMOWSKI observed at Briviesca in Spain, with special reference to these subjects, the total eclipse of July 18th. His observations seem to justify the following conclusions, viz.

(1.) The light of the red protuberances is not polarized. In this respect they resemble clouds in our atmosphere. May we hence conclude that these are solar clouds, composed of particles, not gaseous, but liquid or even solid? The high temperature of the sun leads us to infer that these clouds are constituted of very refractory matter.

(2.) The polarization of the corona proves that its light emanated from the sun and was reflected. The bright, very decided, polarization, proves also that the gaseous particles from which it was reflected send the light to us reflected nearly at the maximum angle of polarization. For a gas this angle is 45°; but in order to reflect light at this angle it must be near the sun. A solar atmosphere seems to furnish the necessary conditions.-Comptes Rendus, Août 6, 1860.

5. Baily's Beads.-MR. LESPIAULT, who watched especially for this phenomenon, says-(Compt. Rend., li, 221)-some seconds before the first interior contact, the margin formed by the arc of the moon appeared irregular and trembling, but I did not see either the "BailyBeads" or 66 comb-teeth."

6. Third Comet of 1860.—A brilliant comet, with a tail several degrees long, was seen by many persons in different parts of our country, on the evening of June 21st and 22d, 1860. It was seen on the evening of June 20th, by Prof. Caswell of Providence, then on the deck of the steamship Arabia. The first public notice of the comet appears to have been made by Mr. C. W. Tuttle, assistant in the Harvard College Observatory. The comet continued vissible to the naked eye about two weeks.

The following parabolic elements of its orbit were computed by Mr. Tuttle, from observations at Cambridge, Mass., of 21st, 24th and 27th

7. The Meteor of July 20th, 1860.-This remarkable meteor was visible over a portion of the earth's surface at least a thousand miles in length (from N. N. W. to S. S. E.) by seven or eight hundred in width; or from Lake Michigan to the Gulf Stream and from Maine to Virginia. The newspapers have contained many notices of its appearance as seen at various places within these limits, but most of these accounts are too vague to be of any scientific value. We are not yet in possession of a sufficient number of good observations for a final discussion of the phenomena presented, and can only at this time notice briefly a few of the best that have come to hand, and state some approximate results derived from them respecting the height of the meteor above the earth, the direction of its path, &c.

At New Haven, it was seen, during a portion of its flight, by several members of the Scientific Faculty of the College at the house of Prof. J. A. Porter, and pains were at once taken to fix its apparent path by reference to parts of the building, tree-tops, stars, &c., near which it had been seen, and also to determine its time of flight, by noting the time required to repeat the various acts performed while it was in sight. The bearings and altitudes of the points noted for fixing the path were subsequently determined instrumentally. Independent data of the same kind were also obtained by going with many different observers to the places occupied by them at the time, and observing with compass and quadrant the path in the sky pointed out by each, and noting the time for each in the manner already indicated.

By laying down these bearings and altitudes on a globe, a normal or average path was obtained, which cuts the horizon at N. 62° W. and S. 62° E., and gives a maximum altitude of 53°, in a direction S. 28° W.

The time of flight for the different observers, determined as above stated, ranged from 10 to 20 seconds-giving an average of fourteen or fifteen seconds, which agrees with the careful estimate made at the time by the observers at Prof. Porter's.

Valuable observations have also been received from individuals in different places, some items of which we proceed to state. They will be given more fully hereafter.

Mr. J. D. Lawson, of New York, saw the meteor from the corner of Fourth street and Broadway, and has furnished data which give for maximum altitude (N.) 563°. Another independent observation at the same spot, as published in the Journal of Commerce, gives from data subsequently obtained by Prof. H. A. Newton, an altitude of about 55°. We use for N. Y. 56° as the mean of the two.

Mr. F. Huidekoper, of Meadville, Pa., makes the altitude at that place 39° 30′ from the northern horizon; the point of disappearance at altitude 3° 30', and 10° 45′ S. of east; time from crossing meridian till disappearance, 10 to 12 seconds.

Mr. W. King, a surveyor at Erie, Pa., makes the altitude 44°, and point of disappearance in a cloud due east at an altitude of 22°.

Mr. S. B. McMillan, of E. Fairfield, Ohio, reports it as having been seen 'moving from a point about 10° E. of N. to within as much of a due east direction," attaining an altitude of 15°.

Rev. T. K. Beecher at Elmira, N. Y., saw it pass very nearly through his zenith, and "so very close to" a Lyra "as to quench, if not eclipse it." This star was then about 11° from his zenith, and in azimuth S. 761° E. The meteor separated into two parts with an explosion when near the zenith.

Other observations (not now at hand), which have been used in obtaining our results, have been received from Mr. B. V. Marsh, of Philadelphia, and Prof. Hallowell, of Alexandria.

A comparison of these observations, and a few of the best that have been published, give approximate results as follows:

(1.) The vertical plane in which the meteor moved cuts the earth's surface in a line crossing the northern part of Lake Michigan, passing through, or very near to, Goderich on Lake Huron, (C. W.), Buffalo, Elmira and Sing Sing, N. Y., Greenwich, Conn., and in the same direction across Long Island into the Atlantic.

(2.) In this plane the path that best satisfies the observations is sensibly a straight line approaching nearest to the earth (41 miles) at a point about south of Rhode Island, and having an elevation of 42 miles above Long Island Sound, of 44 over the Hudson, 51 at Elmira, 62 at Buffalo, 85 over Lake Huron, and 120 over Lake Michigan. The western observations, however, which are few and imperfect, seem to indicate a somewhat greater elevation than this for the western part of the path. Possibly, therefore its true form may have been a curve convex towards the earth, resulting from the increasing resistance of the atmosphere as the meteor descended into denser portions of it. The observations made this side of Buffalo, which are somewhat numerous and many of them good, are very well satisfied by the straight path already described. Further and more accurate observations beyond Buffalo are greatly needed for determining the true form and position of the orbit, both in respect to the earth's surface and in space.

(3.) The close approximation to parallelism to the earth's surface of the eastern portion of the observed path leaves it a matter of doubt, considering the imperfection of the observations, whether the meteor finally passed out of the atmosphere and went on its way in a disturbed orbit, or descended gradually into the Atlantic. The former supposition is perhaps the more probable, especially if the path was curved, as above suggested, instead of a straight line.

(4.) The meteor exhibited different appearances in different parts of its course. It seems to have been observed first as a single body, more or less elongated, gradually increasing in brilliancy, throwing off occasionally sparks and flakes of light, until it reached the neighborhood of El