The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-19 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,--Although the eclipse of this day will pro-
bably have been seen in London without inter-
ruption from clouds sufficient to disappoint the ge-
neral observer, the sky was too much obscured
in the direction of the sun to enable us to ascer-
tain the times of beginning and ending satisfac-
torily ; indeed, at the ending the sun was quite
invisible. At 1.11. 38m. 245., or ten seconds before
the calculated time of commencement at this
observatory, the eclipse had certainly not be-
gun. On the next view of the sun, at lh. 39m.
11s., the indentation of the moon upon his disc was
very perceptible. I cannot speak positively as to
the precise time of commencement, but 1 imagine it
must have been later than the moment predicted
lh. 38m. 345.) probably by between 20 and 30
seconds. This difference can hardly arise from
absolute errors in the places of the sun and moon,
though it is not too great to be produced by the
correction which the assumed ratio of. the diameters
may require.
With adequate magnifying power on Mr.
Bishop's 10-feet equatorial telescope, inequalities
on the preceding and following limbs of the moon
were very distinct ; they were great enough to
render pretty certain the visibility of Baily's beads
in the line of totality. Three solar spots were
♦isible to the naked eye.
At 2h. 29m. there was, to my eye, a perceptible
diminution of sunlight, and the blue of the sky, in
breaks towards the N.E., was certainly deepening.
At 2h, 32m. sensibly cooler. At 2h. 34m. the de-
crease in daylight was more perceptible, but a
rather heavy nimbus cloud in the N.W. probably
heightened the effect .of the eclipse. At 2h. 37m.
a large expanse of clear blue sky in the south ; the
blue was not of the ordinary tint—it appeared
duller, or more of an indigo-blue ; the air very
chilly. At 2h. 42m., about six minutes previous
to the greatest eclipse, the deeper colour of the sky
was very marked, in a break N.W. of the zenith.
Near the horizon a mistiness had arisen, obscuring
objects which were distinct enough at the beginning
of the eclipse. At 2h. 48m., about the time of
middle, with the sun shining clearly, the light
thrown over the grounds of the Park was yellow,
as frequently remarked on previous occasions when
the sun has been equally obscured.
At 3h. the eclipse was evidently lessening its
effects, and six minutes later there was a very con-
siderable difference in the blue of the sky, where it
bad been most changed. At 3h. 14m. the sun had
almost recovered his full power.
The following observations of the times of con-
tact of the moon's limb with spots upon the sun's
disc were taken by Mr. C. G. Talmage, assistant at
this observatory

h. m. s.
First contact With large dark spot 1 54 51
Central bisection 1 55 32
Last contact
First contact of W. spot of two 2 44 9
Last contact....
First contact of E. spot 2 44 41
Last contact 2 44 59
A dark spot wholly emerged 2 59 32
Another spot clear of the moon 3 26 20
At 2h. 30m. Mr. Talmage considered the sky
much darker than five minutes previously, it had the
appearance of a November sky just before a snow-
storm. At 2h. 37m. the light of the sky was similar
to that of a summer's morning abont half an hour
before sunrise. At 2h. 49m. (the time of greatest
eclipse), Highgate Church, visible at the commence-
ment, could not be discerned ; it was seen again at
3h. 10m. At Ih. 40m. tits thermometer stood at
70.3 deg. ; at 2h. 30m. the reading was 69.3 deg.,
and at 4h. 68.8 deg. Thus, towards the time of
greatest phase the temperature fell 1 deg. in 50
minutes, but only 0.5 deg. in the next hour and a
half. I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
J. R. HIND,
Mr. Bishop's Observatory, Regent's Park,
Wednesday night.