The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-13
"SOLAR WONDERS"

NuEeb--Ane sun uN'fiHmeH9j--SOfnr
[Pfo'r the London Spectator, November 10.
i Astronomers have been revealing so MANY
Fonders in the vast globe which rules the
planetary scheme, that we cannot vet hope to
pee the startling results of their researces
bo-ordlnated into a consistent whole. On
[Pvery hand new marvels are being brought to
light At one time MIR. Lockyer surprises us
by exhibiting the amazing velocities with
8Fhich the solar storms rage across the blazing
'urface of our luminary. AT another, the
Energetic astronomer who presides over the
2oman Observatory tells us of water within
3he fierce tumult of the solar spots The
Kew observers track the strange inAuenc es of
he planets on the solar atmosphere, watching
pot only the great tide of spots which sweeps
n the ten-year period over the solar storm
Zones, and then leaves our sun clear from
#peck or stain, but also the ripples of spot
formation which come in shorter periods, and
seem inextricably blended to ordinary OBJ
Fervers with the great periodic disturbances.
1astly, Lockyer, Higgins, Zollner, and
pecchi describe the magic changes
III form which pass over tongues
flame, projecting thousands of
miles from the solar surface. We have before
ls as we write series of colored prominence
pictures taken by DR.. Zollner the eminen
photometrician. 1t is impossible to oontem
plate these strange figures without a sense
|he magnihconce of the problem which the
Sun presents to astronomers. Here are vast
bntities-fames, if we will, but flames unlike
Pill those with which we are familiar. And
hese vast tongues of fire assume forms which
speak to us at once of the action of forces of
the utmost violence and intensity. The very
aspect of these objects at once teaches this,
but it is the rapid changes of place and of
Figure to which the spots are subjected that
pre most significant on this point. Here is a
vast cone-shaped flame, with q mushroom
shaped head Of enormous proportions, the
whole object standing 16, 900 or 1000 miles
rom the suns surface. In the cone figure
we see the uprush of lately imprisoned gases,
in the outspreading head the sudden diminu-
tion of pressure as these gases reach the raror
upper atmosphere. But turn from this
object to a series of six pictures placed beside
it; and we see the solar forces in action.
First, there is a vast flame, some $4,000
miles high, bowed towards the right,
hs though some fierce wind were blowing
hpon it. 1t extends in this direction some
four or five thousand miles. The next pic
ture represents the same object ten minutes
ater. The figure of the prominence has
wholly changed. 1t is now globe-shaped
4 mass, standing on q narrow stalk of light
bbove row of flame-hillocks. 1t is bowed
towards the left, so that in those short
minutes the whole mass of the flame has
swept thousands of miles away from its for
mer position. Only two minutes later, and
bgain complete change of appearance The
stalk and flame -hillocks have vanished, and
The globe-shaped mass has become elongated
Three minutes later the shape of the promi-
nence has altered SO completely that one can
hardly recognize it for the same The stalk
is again visible, but the upper mass is bowed
down on the right, SO that the whole figure
raCa al ryro fIa A
bar and with the down-stroke abnormally
thick. This great A is some twenty thousand
miles in height, and the whole mass of our
earth might be bowled between its legs with
out touching them Four minutes pass and
again the figure has changed. The flame
hillocks reappear, the down-stroke of the A
begins to raise itself from the suns surface.
Lastly, after yet another interval of four
minutes, the figure of the prominence has
lost all resemblance to an A, and may now
be likened to camels head looking towards
the right The whole series of changes has
occupied but twenty-three minutes, yet the
fame exceeded our earth in volume ten-fold
at the least But Mr.. Lockyer has recorded
hn instance of yet more marvellous nature.
vast prominence extending seventy or
eighty thousand miles from the suns surface
vanished altogether in ten minutes. The
Fery way in which Zollner's drawings were
Hhk6D ShVOrS Oh Uue udrN6lOuS. we nave
spoken of them as colored. They are ruby
ked, and so the prominences appeared to the
astronomer. The real light of the promi-
nences is not only ruby-red, however, but
rose-colored, with faint indications of pink,
or even blush tints. The fact is, that by the
new method of observation the image of a
prominence is formed by only certain part
of its light, We may say that out of the
several colored images of the same promi-
nence the astronomer selects one only for ex-
animation. The explanation of this is worth
consideration, as it involves the essence OF
the method by which the prominences are
seen at all. When we analyze lights with
simple prism as Newton did, we get instead Of
q round spot of whitehall is, mixed
lght-a row of overlapping spots OF
different color. 1t was only when, in
stead of round spot, a fine line of white
light was analyzed that one could detect
the absence of images of this line along GER
tain parts of the rainbow-colored streak-iI
other words, it was thus only that the darl
lines of the spectrum could be seen. And il
EAwas to see these lines more clearly that the
slit of the spectroscope was made so marrow
and the rainbow-spectrum made so long by
spectroscopists. But the observers of tn
pfominences go back to the old method. Il
they used narrow slit, narrow strip of th
prominence would alone form its spectrum
which would consist of few bright lines
But by having wide slit the whole promi
nsnce forms its spectrum, which consists o
a few bright pictures of the prominences
There is a green picture corresponding to tn
bright spectral line called F. red pictur
corresponding to the bright spectral lin
called g, and so on If the whole set of pic
n lures were formed at once we could see non
of them, for there would be side by side wit