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HISTORY OF PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY.

few details respecting it, which have been extracted from the paper by-Celsius embodying them.

The pastor of Stona Malm states, that at Catherinesholm, during thetotal obscuration, there was seen a ring around the sun about a digit inbreadth, from which there issued rays of light*. According to the pastorof Forshem, the ring appeared of a reddish colour, similar to that which isperceived in the Iris. At the commencement of the total obscuration itappeared broadest towards the west; in the middle it presented a uniformaspect; and at the close it was broadest towards the northf. Vallerius,another pastor, states, that the ring was more ruddy and compact close tothe sun, and that at a distance from that body it appeared of a greenishcolour. The pastor of Smoland affirms, that during the total obscurationthe limb of the moon resembled gilded brass, and that the faint ringaround it emitted rays in an upward as well as in a downward direction,similar to those seen beneath the sun when a shower of rain is impendingM. Edstrom, Mathematical Lecturer in the Academy of Charlestadt, as-serts, that the ring appeared everywhere of equal breadth, that it emittedrays from above as well as from below, that these rays tvere equal inbrilliancy, but of unequal length, and that they plainly maintained thesame position until they vanished along with the ring upon the reappear-ance of the sun’s limb §. At Lincopia the ring appeared of a bright whitecolour, but it did not exhibit a radial aspect |], From the descriptions givenby several observers, it would seem that at the commencement of the totalobscuration, the ring appeared brighter and broader at the part of themoon’s limb where the sun had disappeared, but that towards the closeof the obscuration it was more conspicuous in both these respects at thepart where the sun ftas about to emerge.

It has been already mentioned, that a luminous ring was seen aroundthe moon during the total eclipse of the sun which happened on the 9thof February, 1766. The most remarkable feature exhibited by it con-sisted of four luminous expansions, separated from each other by equalintervals of 90°. Two of them were situate in the plane of the eclipitic;the other two were at opposite extremities of a diameter of the ring per-pendicular to that plane. A copy of a drawing of the ring by the officersof the French ship of war, the Comte d'Artois, appears at the beginning ofthe second volume of Le Gentil ’s Voyage dans les Mers de VInde.

A very interesting account of the luminous ring as it appeared duringthe total eclipse of 1778, is given b} r the Spanish Admiral Don AntonioIJlloa. He states, that five or six seconds after the commencement of thetotal obscuration, a brilliant luminous circle was seen surrounding themoon, which became more vivid as the centre of that body continued toapproach the centre of the sun. About the middle of the eclipse, its breadthwas equal to one-sixth of the moon’s diameter. There appeared issuingfrom it, a great number of rays of unequal length, which could be discernedto a distance equal to the lunar diameter. It seemed to be endued with arapid rotatory motion, which caused it to resemble a firework turning roundits centre. The colour of the light was not uniform throughout the wholebreadth of the ring. Towards the margin of the lunar disk, it appearedof a reddish hue ; then it changed to a pale yellow, and from the middle

* Acta Lit. et Scien. Suec. Upsal., tom. iv., p. 56. p- Ibid., p. 61.

7 Ibid., p. 62. § Ibid., p. 57. || Ibid., p. 59.