The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-06-14
THE ECLIPSED SUN.
OBSERVATIONS GATHERED FROM
EcLiPsEs OF THE SUN.

OBSERVATIONS GATHERED FROM
EcuPSEs OF THE SUN.
Donciusions of Eminent Astronomer vcrt
asa by Recent Photographs Of the suns
Corona rs Seen During the limo That the
soiar Body Was Hidden.
When collapsed, tho majestic king Oh
lay condescendingly permits the struc-
ture Of his mysterious appendages to b,
and analysed spectroscop-
icslly. Never In the whole history Of
astronomy has q finer opportunity fol
such work been afforded and so skill.
fully and completely improved by as.
tronomers as that of the recent eclipse.
The full harvest of their observations
seems to promise some startling revela
lions.
NJ. Flammarion, the French astrono.
mer, after reading the CHILEAN cable dis
patches announcing Professor Picker.
ing's recent eclipse observations. is re.
ported to have said: ''They confirm the
theory that the sun Is surrounded by O
luminous atmosphere to distance equal
to one-eighth Of the suns diameter
Scarcely quarter Of century ago many
astronomers questioned whether the 80
lar atmosphere had any marked extern.
sion, and even doubted whether the CO.
roma was solar appendage at all. Bm
In the light Of the late eclipse it is not
astonishing that an astronomer expresses
the opinion that the SUMS atmosphere
extends outward more than 100 900 miles.
The eruptive forces OF the sun must be
enormous indeed to eject the matter
composing the flaming prominences not
infrequently observed 40 900 miles broad,
with IN uprush of 225 miles a second and
attaining occasionally an elevation of
400, 900 miles. All prominences, Zollnei
and Respigh have shown, are originally
phenomena Of eruption, preceded by rec
tilinear jets, either vertical or oblique,
ascending to great heights and then seen
falling back again toward the sun like
the jets of our fountains. The eruptive
prominences are, as Professor Young
says, generally associated with active
sun spots" Since during the late eclipse
these prominences were conspicuous in
connection with an unusually brilliant
and extended corona and great spotted
ness, the before seemingly established
law that the corona's size and luminosi.
ty are in direct proportion to the suns
spot producing activity is strikingly cor
roborated.
Professor Schaeberle cabled from Chill
that his eclipse observations confirm his
mechanical theory Of the corona, which
regards this vast appendage as composed
of streams Of matter elected with initial
velocities of $50 miles q second from the
sun by forces which are most active nea,
the sun spot zones. Indications of such
eruptive action have been often observed
in the higher regions Of the prominences
A further confirmation of this theory is
that the corona in outline resembled that
which Professor Schaeberle predicted
some months ago. As far back as the
eclipse of 1870 Mr.. Brothers noted that
"prominences were most numerous OIL
the side of the sun where the corona wa.
brightest" an evidence that the coronal
matter is not less than that of the promi
nenccs elected from the sun.
Mr.. Proctor, discussing the observa
tons Of that eclipse, concludes: IT con
ceive we have now clear evidence of 6
form of action-but whether eruptive
electrical or repulsive Is not yet obviou.
-exerted outward to enormous distance.
by the sun and with maximum emery
over the spot zones, but local, variable
and probably intermittent"
1t will be seen, then, that Professor
i Strawberries theory, though by no mean
established, accords with old observa
tons. No other explanation of the coron,
has been offered save that which attrib
utes it TO reflection from myriads of in
candescent meteors or cosmical dust cir
culating around the sun. But this hy
pothesis has never been supported. l
the corona were chiefly due to meteori
dust revolving around the sun, we shout,
certainly expect to see it regular, an,
not as it generally appears, capped, quad
rilateral or four rayed, with immens
wings or extensions. There seems, there
fore, to be no other inference possible
but that which telescope scrutiny ha
4 long ggested-that the corona is orig
mated and maintained by countless eiec
tons issuing from beneath and fun,
through the photosphere by the sum
vertical or volcanic forces.
If the final study of the coronal photo
graphs obtained sustain this view, sci
ence will have at least working ny
! pothesis for the determination of tn
! Ieychcal variations OF solar heat and til
corresponding effects upon terrestria
Temperatures and climates. The theor
in question obviously opens up a ne,
and fascinating inquiry into the anoma
A lies of the earth's seasons which are du
> to variations of solar activity. We seer
n to be thus happily led to the very tire.
hold of one Of the grsndest discoveries G
modern science. which promises whe
4 developed to yield rich harvest of prat
. teal results.
: Now that most numerous and perfee
/ photographs Of all the principal append
0 ages of the sun have been secured i
, Chill and Africa, astronomers shout
igive their best energies to the study c
the data. No problem they can now Al
tack can be of greater interest or in
/ Iportance to science and the world.-Ne,
!. York Herald.