The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-11-01

rainbow-colored streak of light, such as would
have appeared if the aurora were que TO the
existence of partisans excited to luminosity
by electric action, q single line OF colored light
appeared This indicated that the light ls due
to the incandcscence OF some gas through
which the electric discharges IN upper air takes
place. But this was not the circumstance
which attracted surprise. Rather, this was to
have been looked for. 1t was the position Of
the line which astOnished our physicists. If
the ras had been one which chemists are ac-
ouainted with the bright line would have oc-
cuDed the position proper to that gas, and
would at once have indicated ITS nature. But
there is no known element that the spectrum
has bright line where TINS one appeared;
over again, by Angstron, by Otto Struve, and
recently BY Mr.. Plummer, always with the
same resuft-We cannot tel what the sub
stance NAV be to whose incandescence or lu-
minosity the aurora owes Its brllilancy.
But now q most remarkable discovery has
been effected Angstrom has found that the
mysterious line of the auroral spectrum exists
in'tbe snectlTlrn of another object which had
been thought to be wholly different in charac-
ter Ever since its discovery by Cassini, the
zodiacal light has been an object Of interest to
astronomers. Gradually a theory had been
formed respecting it, which had been sane
toned bv the authority OF such men as Hum
bodt and Sir John Herschel Il was held that
this appearance il, due to the l'gnt refecteG
from multitude OF minute cosmlcal bodies
travelling around the sun within the orplt Oh
otlr earth.
This theory had never been tested by spec
troscoDic ANALYSIS. Indeed, the Zodiacal light
shines so family tlat it was hardly hoped mat
lis spectrum could be rendered visin'e BIZ IL
was confidently anticipated that il the zodiacal
ligl; ever we're thus anaiyzed. lis spectrum
world be that which the theory required
that is. Il very faint reproduction Oh tAe coin-
mon solar spectrum. -
Now. at length. We hear .rom Angsirom that
tlir spectrum of the ZodiaGal lght has been
oi.servcl,aui instead Of bcing, as had pcen
expected. q iaint rlia5owt0lored sIrcak, Il
presents but Il singiC rlinG; That inc Is inc
same tna. we see III tie spectrum ol TIE a,irO-
RI. in c,hce w:ords. The LIGHT OF the zotliacal
mltall and thai or The aurcr1i slT2ilneTs ;ii2
G,io - the saiGa sort Of electric Gi3chtgse TAX
in.' place IN the same meaiuM.
Without pretending; to further interpret tiils
Startling result. we may indicate The promise
it affords Of cxplaiMnga number OF phenom-
ena which have long seemed most perpleX!iig
When once We recognise the fact that electric
action is effective i'll producing any oI the &C.
lestial lights. we have resource ayaila-
bic to remove many difficulties. Astr0n0-
mers were asking how comets, Tor cX-
ample. could exhibit the spectrum Of the
incandcsc2nt vapor of carbon-that lS. j
spectrum indicative of the most intense heat.
when. as in the case Of Winneck's comet
(whose spectrum was of this naturc,) they
were farther from the sun than the earth is
The action of the sun In exciting electrical dis
charges would be quite sufficient TO account
for This and similar phenomena. Again, it
has been long recognized that the necniiarl-
tics of comets tails seem only cNplicable as
due to electrical action; but astronomers were
unwilling TO adopt such theory without some
positiyc evidence in It's favor. We now have
such evidence; and it is most probable that
the first long-tailed comet which is submitted
to spectroscopc analysis will establish the
view which Euler put forth more than half Il
century ago, that comets tails have some
thing in common with the aurora and the
zodacal light. 1t would indeed be strange II
three of,the most mysterious phenomena with
which men of science are acquainted should
find their explanation simultaneously.