The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-08-21
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE sUNa

Remarkable Dfsturba nee I'm the Solar
Chroma aeospherc.-Immense Ou,flow Of
Vapor OF Magnesium.-a Change In
LIsht-Supposc that the Sun Should
Go Out or Become Fifty-foid Brighter
and Hotter.
From the London Spectator, August 81
When we consider the intense heat which
has prevailed 10 Europe during July, aud the
circumstance that In America also the heat
has been excessive, iEasmuch that In New
York the number Of deaths during the week
ending July was three times greater than
the average, we are naturally led 10 the con-
cluslon that the sun himself Is giving out more
heat than usual. Though not ndorslng such
an opinion, which, indeed, Is not warranted
by the facts, since terrestrial causes are quite
sufficient to explain the recent unusual heafe,
we cannot rerain from noting, as the least
curious coincidence, that at the very tune
when the heat has been 30 great, the great
central luminary of the solar system has been
TEE SCENE OF VERY REMARKABLE DISTURB.
ANCE,
an event, 10 fact. altogether unlike any which
astronomers have hitherto observed. 1t will
not be unknown to our readers Tin these days,
when every one knows every thing about the
SUM- that astronomers no logger c0nhne their
attention to the actual aspect of the solar orb.
Bya contrlvance which need not here be de-
scribed, the astronomer eau tell what Is going
on 10 u certain gaseous envelope surrounding
the sun, which 10 ordinary telescope research
is altogether invisible, except during eclipses.
This envelope some four thousand or i've
thousand miles deep, Is called the chromos-
phere 10y pnrists, The chromalo osphere,) aud
consists iu the main of glowing hydrogen, but
in the lower Strata contains the glowing
yapors of sodium, magnesium aud many other
elements. These, however, are ordinarily so
low down that they can scarcely be recoguiz-
ed under the ordinary conditions OF
THE NEW METHOD OF OBSERVATION,
except here and there round the suu's disc.
II is as though our earth We're examined by
some highly Ingenious astronomers In Venus
or Mercury, who could recognize at times the
vapor of water 10 our air, wnere 1t rose pretty
oceans, but not over The continents, because
less vapor there arose Into the aic. Ouly 10
The sun's case the vRpors are not, like the
vapor of water on earth, at cool and pleas
ant temperature, but are such vapors as rise
above the molten surface OF metal in our fur.
naces. They are aJ go high temperature that
wind of such vupor, blowing, as such winds
do, over the surface Of the sun. would be COM
petent TO reduce our earth 10 few seconds to
vapor likewise. Now certain Italian spectre
scopists-Resplghi, Secchi, Tacchlnl, and
others-haye set themselves the task OF keep
ing
A CONTINUAL WATCH UPON TUE aOLAR CHRoMA-
TosPHERE
They draw pictures ofit, and of the mighty
colored promlnences which are from time to
time upreared out Of, or through, the chro-
matospheric envelope. They nole the vapors
which are present, as we'll as what can be
learned of the heat at which these vapors
exist, their pressure, their rate of motion, and
other like circumstances. 1t was while en-
gagged in some OF the more difficult and dell
Gale of these tasks that Taccnni noticed the
strange occurrence now to be described. II
have observed phenomenon" he says,
(which Is altogether new In the whole series
OF my observations. Since May 6 had found
certain regions in the SUI remarkable for the
presence Of magnesium" Some Of these ex
tended half way round the sun. This slate Of
things continued, The extension of these mag
neslum regions gradually growing greater,
until at length, ION June 49," says Tacchini,
81 was able to recognize the presence of
MAGNESIUM QUITE ROUND THE SUN,
that is to cay, the chromatosphere was CON-
pletey Invaded by the vapor OF this meIal
This ebullitlon was accompanied by an ab-
sence Of the colored prominence, while, on
the contrary, the flames OF the chromatos.
phere were very marked and brilliant. II
seemed to me as though could see the sur
face of our great source of light renewing It.
SELF" While this was going on Tacchini no.
tced las had frequently happened before iu
his experience,) that the bright streaks on
The sun which are called tacuIG were partc
nlarly brilliant close to those parts OF The
edge of the disc where the flames of the chrc-
matosphere were most splendid and charac-
teristic. The granulations also, which The
astronomer can recognize all over the sun
when large telescope Is employed, were
unusually distinct. TacchiDi concludes (and
the inference seems JUST that there had not
beer -
NUMBER OF LOCAL ERUPTIoNs
of magnesium vapor, but complete expul-
sions. Only we would venture 10 substitute
for The word 'expuls!on" the expression
outflow" or ''uprislDg," since it may Well De
that these vapors rise oy quiet process re-
sembling evaporation, and not by any action
so violent that it could properly be regarded
as expuslve. In whatever way, however,
The glowing vapor of magnesium thus stream;
Ell into the envelope OF the sun, 1t would
seem that the aspect of our lnminary was
modified by the process-not indeed IN very
striking manner, or our observers In Eog-
land would have noticed the change, yet ap-
precIably. more than one person." says
Tacchini, ''has told me that the light the