New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-23
SOLAR SURROUNDINGS.
BY PROFESSOR RICHARD A. PROCTOR.


GREAT SCIENTIFIC TRUTH SEEMINGLY EsTAB-
| usHED-FUTURE OF THE INQUIRY.
KEW, England, Dec 5.-My friend DR.. William
Higgins, the eminent physicist and astronomer, en-
tertans the confident belief that he has succeeded
in photographng the solar corona without the aid
of q total solar eclipse Inyself not quite con-
WINGED that what he has photographed is really the
corona, though would fain hope so. And yet the
evidence seems strong enough. His method is SIM
pie and probably well known not only to men of
science in America but to most Of that large pOpn
latiOn there which, without being scientific, takes
interest in scientific matters. l therefore only
sketch 1t, and that lightly.
He takes advantage of the fact that large proper
ton of the light of the belongs to the violet
end Of the spectrum, and uses absorptive media
which allow this sort of light and this only to pass
freely through. Then when the photographing tele-
scope is lurned toward the sun and the corOnal
region the violet light of the corona which is rel
atIyelv strong only has to contend against the violet
! light from the sky around the suns place, and has
at least better chance of making its presence
! knOwn,-n other words, better chance OF record
ing recognizable picture of the cOronal streamers
| on the Photographic plate, on which necessarily the
light from the sky is combined with the light from
the 1t seems clear that If the image Is
taken first the centre Of the telescope field and
then side any optical effects due to the stluc-
ture of the telescope itself must be detected and
eliminated. Streamers Stimulating coronal appear
ance could not possibly be alike in both positions.
SO any other purely instrumental pecuarties can,
il would SEEM be corrected. As for any cOrOnal
streamers caused by own atmosphere. they must
be corrected If take pictures on different days or
at different hours If. under such varying con-
dtions we find that still certain streamers remain
which be recognized the same in all the differ
ent pictures it certainly though there must
be true coronal streamers. This is what Dr. higgins
claims to have DONE and it is what bis pic lures
really seem to show that lie has done. So that L
scarcely know how to Justify the doubts which yet
cannot help entertaining These streamers are so
faint and shaiowy Though that of course they
could not but bel, it is easy to make believe a
good deal" as Dick Swiveler pnts It, in looking ut
appearances SO delicate, especially when las in my
own case we wish very much to believe that great
scientific triumph has been achieved, that an excess
of caution comes over me, and despite the agree
ment of men so competent to Judge as Dr. HuggnS,
Professor Stokes and Captain Abney, my mind i'll
this matter asks for more"
Perhaps one would not be so ready to entertain
still little doubt il not that the matter il one
which can 50 very readily be tested DIR. Hugginss
method is one which can be applied under especially
favorable conditions in the clear skies of America
for testing the method | should be glad to learn
that the mantle of my late most esteemed friend Dr.
Iienry Draper had fallen on a successor as Jealous
in the cause Of science was nay, even that the
instruments he employed 80 successfully had been
directed again To the class of work for which he
made them. but with a slight change of subject.
Solar photography is making great progress in Eng
land but we have not the favorable conditions
which exist in America. II has even been said By
French author who under the Iom de plume of Max
O'Ren impossible namcl has recently discussed
John Bull aud Johns Island, that photograph
the sun in England whenever get the chance lest
we should forget him. without being quite so bad
as that our atmosphere is certainly not the best
suited in the world for the very delicate and diff
cult problem attacked by DR.. higgins. professor
Daniel Draper has indeed shown that ont of 4,i49
possible hours of sunshine, New-lort had 1856 act
ual sunshine hours in 1873 and BIOL IN 1879 say III
round numbers 3, 900 hours; whereas at Greenwich
with only two hours less of possible sunshine, there
were but 1,2iJ hours of actual sunshine in 1873
and 077 in 1879. an average of LII hours only)
| II may perhaps be thought by some who have
noted the supposed discovery made by DR.. Hastings
and Professor Holden during the eclipse of May last,
that astronomy ought to assure itself that the CO.
roma exists. before attempting to photograph it. If
/ the corona has really been proved To he merely
phenomenon of diflractiOn. has been so conf
IDENTIFY and also strangely asserted the ditraction
taking place at the moons edge, then of course when
the moon is not there produce that difracton CO.
roma it is idle to attempt to photograph what-in
that case-has no existence even as an optical phe-
nomenon.
II has been with not little surprise that the news
of this noteworthy discovery has been received by
astronomers. An observation which if II prove any
thing proves only what everyone knew must be the
case-yiz. that light passing close by tho moon IN
total eclipse undergoes ditlraction-is astoundlngy
accepted as explaining the solar coronc with It's COM
pick structure long streamers its faint extension
along the zodiac even beyond the streaners five
millions of miles in length by Professor Cleve
land Able in 1875 and by General Myer in 1869.
IL IL perfectly we'll known that dtracton could ac-
count only for fine cOrona ring of light not even
for the inner bright corona, still less for the struc-
tured corona the sum- and least of all for the
long streamers Yet the mere circumstance that DIR.
Hastings saw what practically certain before
hand he would see if he looked for U-yiz evidence
of dittracton is ut once taken rs full and complete
evidence about matters with which IT IS not IN the
remotest degree connected
The theory that the corona is not solar append
age was not altogether an unreasonable, though 1t
was q demonstrably wrong theory, fifteen years
ago II was clear even then to those who considered
the matter attcntively that none of the non-solar
theories which had up to that time been advanced
Including the difraction theory discussed half
century ago by Baden Powelll were sound. But
even the scientific world has been slow TO accept
tho results of mere reasoning so that IN 500, when
fine celebrated American eclipse occurred, astronO-
mcrs were beginning to hope that photography
would dispose of the solar corona as it had already
disposed Of the solar prominences. There had been
some who denied that the colored promincnccs
could belong to the sun, pointing to difficulties akin
to those which Mr. Larkn urges see, in The Kansas
Ctr Reriec against the doctrine that the corona is
l.. Il -. n.-iAA